Hard magnetic materials for MEMS applications

Hard magnetic materials for MEMS applications Nora M. Dempsey Institut Néel, CNRS-UJF, 25 rue des Martyrs, 38042, Grenoble, France nora.dempsey@grenoble.cnrs.fr Abstract Micro-magnets of thickness in the range 1-500 μm have many potential applica-tions in Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) because of favorable down scaling laws and their unique ability to produce long range bi-directional forces. The advantages and disadvantages of a number of “top-down” routes, which use bulk processed precursors (magnets or magnetic powders), to produce μ-magnets of thickness in the range 10-500 μm will be discussed. Progress in the fabrication and patterning of thick film magnets (1-100 μm) using “bottom-up” deposition techniques will be reviewed. In particular, recent results concerning high-rate tri-ode sputtering and micro-patterning of high performance NdFeB and SmCo films will be presented