There are many inventions described and illustrated herein. In one aspect,
the present invention is directed to a MEMS device, and technique of
fabricating or manufacturing a MEMS device, having mechanical structures
encapsulated in a chamber prior to final packaging and a contact area
disposed at least partially outside the chamber. The contact area is
electrically isolated from nearby electrically conducting regions by way
of dielectric isolation trench that is disposed around the contact area.
The material that encapsulates the mechanical structures, when deposited,
includes one or more of the following attributes: low tensile stress,
good step coverage, maintains its integrity when subjected to subsequent
processing, does not significantly and/or adversely impact the
performance characteristics of the mechanical structures in the chamber
(if coated with the material during deposition), and/or facilitates
integration with high-performance integrated circuits. In one embodiment,
the material that encapsulates the mechanical structures is, for example,
silicon (polycrystalline, amorphous or porous, whether doped or undoped),
silicon carbide, silicon-germanium, germanium, or gallium-arsenide.