Disclosed herein is a method of improving the adhesion of a hydrophobic
self-assembled monolayer (SAM) coating to a surface of a MEMS structure,
for the purpose of preventing stiction. The method comprises pretreating
surfaces of the MEMS structure with a plasma generated from a source gas
comprising oxygen and, optionally, hydrogen. The treatment oxidizes the
surfaces, which are then reacted with hydrogen to form bonded OH groups on
the surfaces. The hydrogen source may be present as part of the plasma
source gas, so that the bonded OH groups are created during treatment of
the surfaces with the plasma. Also disclosed herein is an integrated
method for release and passivation of MEMS structures.
