VERFAHREN ZUR HERSTELLUNG EINES MIKROMECHANISCHEN BAUELEMENTS MIT EINER PARTIELLEN SCHUTZSCHICHT

The invention relates to a method for producing a micromechanical component comprising at least one self-supporting structure. According to said method a conductor track plane (11) and a sacrificial layer (4) consisting of an electrically non-conductive material are applied to a substrate (2) in such a way that the conductor track plane (11) lies between the substrate (2) and the sacrificial layer (4) or inside the sacrificial layer (4), and a layer (3) that forms the self-supporting structure is deposited on the sacrificial layer (4), the latter (4) being partially removed by etching in order to complete the self-supporting structure. An electrically conductive protective layer (15) is embedded in the sacrificial layer (4) above a region on the conductor plane (11) that is to be protected, said protective layer acting as an etching barrier during the etching process for the removal of the sacrificial layer (4). The protective layer (15) is removed again in a subsequent process, leaving a thin sacrificial layer (17) as a passivation layer lying below on the conductor tracks. The method permits sensitive areas of the conductor track plane to be protected and can be simply achieved with existing surface micromechanical processes.