1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to spring structures, and more particularly to the manufacture and use of self-releasing spring structures.
2. Description of Related Art
Spring device fabrication generally requires the use of a release etching step to lift up the springs from a substrate. Conventionally, the release etching step first implies the deposition of a release material such as, for instance, titanium, and then the use of a release etching step such as, for instance, hydrofluoric acid etching. Both of these steps incur high costs on the final product because of the additional steps in the manufacturing line. The additional steps are, for instance, a sputtering step in a sputter chamber for depositing titanium and hydrofluoric acid etching. Moreover, these additional steps can cause non-uniform spring heights because of non-uniform etching of the etched layer under the spring, and the release metal often suffers from low conductivity such as, for example, titanium (Ti). Moreover, self-aligning the springs manufactured with an etching under layer and through a release etching step is very difficult.