THREE-DIMENSIONAL MICROMECHANICAL ELEMENT INCLUDING A FUNCTIONAL THIN FILM AND A METHOD OF FORMING THE FILM

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to produce two or more functional thin films having no overlap regions on the surface of a movable structure portion of a three-dimensional microstructure in a desired shape and a desired pattern according to an intended purpose using a general-purpose solution applicator.SOLUTION: A groove structure pattern 11 surrounding at least a part of micro-regions 12 in which thin films are to be formed is produced on a surface of a three-dimensional microstructure 10 including a movable structure portion in advance. A solution containing a material to become the thin films is applied and extended to outer edges of the three-dimensional microstructure 10 and into each of the micro-regions 12 surrounded by the groove structure pattern 11, and a solvent of the solution is evaporated, thereby making it possible to produce functional thin films 13 such as gas sensitive films only in the micro-regions 12. This method uses a mechanism in which the regions over which the solution spreads is restricted inside the micro-regions 12 since an outer edge of a liquid droplet of the applied solution can have a larger contact angle on edges of the groove structure pattern 11 than on a flat surface thereof by as much as a groove bending angle.