Photo-patternable gelatin as protection layers in low-temperature surface micromachinings

This paper describes a newly developed low temperature photo-pattemable gelatin technology that is useful to produce a thick (>10 mum) gelatin protecting and strengthening layer for weak MEMS microstructures. Example demonstrated here is the gelatin process integrated with the parylene MEMS technology. The complete processing details and formulae are reported and allow anyone to use gelatin like photo-resist. We find that it is a chemical-resistant and mechanical-robust material for MEMS applications. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.