Substrate contact for a capped MEMS and method of making the substrate contact at the wafer level

摘要

A MEMS device ( 100 ) is provided that includes a handle layer ( 108 ) having a sidewall ( 138 ), a cap ( 132 ) overlying said handle layer ( 108 ), said cap ( 132 ) having a sidewall ( 138 ), and a conductive material ( 136 ) disposed on at least a portion of said sidewall of said cap ( 138 ) and said sidewall of said handle layer ( 138 ) to thereby electrically couple said handle layer ( 108 ) to said cap ( 132 ). A wafer-level method for manufacturing the MEMS device from a substrate ( 300 ) comprising a handle layer ( 108 ) and a cap ( 132 ) overlying the handle layer ( 108 ) is also provided. The method includes making a first cut through the cap ( 132 ) and at least a portion of the substrate ( 300 ) to form a first sidewall ( 138 ), and depositing a conductive material ( 136 ) onto the first sidewall ( 138 ) to electrically couple the cap ( 132 ) to the substrate ( 300 ).