Micromechanical component for sensor device, microphone device and / or microspeaker device

By using strip reinforcement structure as a cover on micromechanical components, the damage problem in high impact load environments is solved, the service life and robustness are improved, and the quality problems increased by traditional protection measures are avoided.

CN119233940APending Publication Date: 2024-12-31ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202380041771.2
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2022-05-20
Filing Date
2023-05-15
Publication Date
2024-12-31

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing micromechanical components are susceptible to damage in high impact load environments, and traditional protective measures increase the overall mass of the diaphragm, affecting its bending motion and detection behavior.

Method used

Using a strip reinforcement structure as the cap structure, at least two strip reinforcement structures parallel to each other are enhanced on the sensitive surface of the micromechanical member, and their robustness is enhanced and the sensitive surface is protected, and manufactured at a low cost through semiconductor processes.

Benefits of technology

It improves the service life and robustness of micromechanical components, avoids damage in high impact environments, and does not increase manufacturing costs, and protects the surface of the diaphragm without affecting its detection behavior.

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Abstract

The invention relates to a micromechanical component for a sensor device, a microphone device and / or a microspeaker device, comprising a cover structure (12) having an inner side (12a) of the cover structure (12), which inner side is oriented towards a sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component, which inner side at least partially covers the sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component, according to the invention, the closure structure also has at least one air and / or medium inlet opening (14), which is structured through the closure structure (12) and which extends from an inner side (12a) of the closure structure (12) to an outer side (12b) of the closure structure (12), which outer side (12b) is oriented away from the inner side (12a) of the closure structure (12), according to the invention, the cover structure (12) has at least two strip-shaped reinforcing structures (24) protruding on the inner side (12a) of the cover structure (12), which reinforcing structures are oriented parallel to one another, with a distance between two adjacent reinforcing structures (24) that is not equal to zero.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a micromechanical component for a sensor device, a microphone device and / or a micro-speaker device. The invention also relates to a method for producing a micromechanical component for a sensor device, a microphone device and / or a micro-speaker device. Background Art

[0002] DE 10 2020 201 576 A1 discloses a micromechanical component for a sensor device, which has at least one stator electrode, at least one actuator electrode and a diaphragm spanning the electrodes, the diaphragm having an outer side of the diaphragm pointing away from the electrodes. In addition, a reinforcement and / or protective structure is formed on the micromechanical component, protruding on the outer side of the diaphragm, which structure, for example as a protective grid, is intended to protect the outer side of the diaphragm from particles in order to prevent contamination of the diaphragm. Summary of the invention

[0003] The invention provides a micromechanical component for a sensor device, a microphone device and / or a micro-speaker device having the features of claim 1 and a method for producing a micromechanical component for a sensor device, a microphone device and / or a micro-speaker device having the features of claim 6 .

[0004] Advantages of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides a micromechanical component, which guarantees reliable protection of the sensitive surface of the corresponding micromechanical component from environmental influences, pollution and damage due to its corresponding cover structure with a strip reinforcement structure. The strip reinforcement structure of the micromechanical component according to the present invention also guarantees the high robustness of its cover structure, even when the cover structure hits an object. In the micromechanical component according to the present invention, even relatively very sensitive surfaces, such as the diaphragm surface of a bendable diaphragm used as a sensitive surface, are almost not subject to the risk of damage. Therefore, the micromechanical component according to the present invention can still be used reliably in harsh environments with high impact loads. In addition, the invention described here provides a micromechanical component with an increased service life compared to the prior art. As explained more precisely below, the strip reinforcement structure can also be constructed on the inner side of the cover structure of the micromechanical component according to the present invention without (significant) additional work by means of the present invention. Therefore, the use of the present invention does not / hardly increases the manufacturing cost of the corresponding micromechanical component.

[0006] If a silicone gel is used as a protective layer for the diaphragm surface of the bendable diaphragm that serves as a sensitive surface in the conventional manner, the total mass that can be displaced during the bending movement increases. For this reason, the diaphragm surface that is conventionally "protected" by means of a silicone gel reacts more strongly to the acceleration of the device configured with the bendable diaphragm. In contrast, in the micromechanical component according to the present invention, the strip-shaped reinforcement structure constructed on its cover structure does not lead to an increase in the total mass that can be displaced during the bending movement. Therefore, the acceleration of the micromechanical component of the present invention with the diaphragm surface of the bendable diaphragm used as a sensitive surface does not / hardly contribute to the bending of the diaphragm. Therefore, the increased protection of the diaphragm surface used as a sensitive surface of the diaphragm when using the present invention does not affect the detection behavior of the diaphragm.

[0007] Likewise, the micromechanical component is constructed with a capping structure which is more rigid due to its strip-shaped reinforcement structure, which helps to better protect the partially manufactured micromechanical component during its processing. Accordingly, the micromechanical component according to the invention is reliably protected from damage during its transportation due to its capping structure with the strip-shaped reinforcement structure protruding on the inside.

[0008] In an advantageous embodiment of the micromechanical component, a width oriented perpendicularly to the respective maximum length can be defined for each of the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures, wherein the distance between two adjacent reinforcement structures is greater than the arithmetic mean of the widths of the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures by a factor of at least 5. Advantageously, the distances between the reinforcement structures described here contribute to increasing the robustness of the capping structure that is respectively configured with this distance.

[0009] Alternatively or additionally, a width oriented perpendicularly to the respective maximum length can be defined for each of the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures, and the height of the reinforcement structure protruding on the inner side of the cover structure can be greater than the arithmetic mean of the widths of the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures by a factor of at least 2. This also helps to improve the robustness of the corresponding cover structure, so that even when an object hits the cover structure, there is no need or almost no need to worry about damage to the cover structure or damage to the sensitive surface of the micromechanical component protected by the cover structure.

[0010] Advantageously, the sensitive surface of the micromechanical component can be the membrane surface of the curved membrane. Advantageously, the invention described here also helps to protect otherwise relatively very sensitive surfaces from contamination and from damage.

[0011] For example, the bendable membrane can be formed from a first semiconductor layer and the capping structure with at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures can be formed from a second semiconductor layer. As will become apparent from the following description, the micromechanical component embodiments described here can be produced relatively simply and cost-effectively.

[0012] The implementation of a corresponding production method for a sensor device, a microphone device and / or a micro-speaker device also provides the advantages explained above. It is explicitly pointed out that the production method can be further developed according to the above-explained embodiments of the micromechanical component.

[0013] In an advantageous embodiment of the production method, the following sub-steps are carried out in order to arrange the capping structure adjacent to the sensitive surface of the micromechanical component and to simultaneously form at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures: at least partially covering the sensitive surface of the micromechanical component with at least one sacrificial layer; structuring at least two mutually parallel grooves into the at least one sacrificial layer, with a distance between two adjacent grooves not equal to zero; and depositing a semiconductor layer on the at least one sacrificial layer, wherein the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures are formed by filling the grooves with material of the semiconductor layer. The sub-steps described here can be carried out in a cost-effective manner using standard semiconductor processes.

[0014] Preferably, a first sacrificial layer is first formed on the sensitive surface of the micromechanical component as the at least one sacrificial layer in such a way that the first sacrificial layer at least partially covers the sensitive surface of the micromechanical component, wherein at least three auxiliary trenches oriented parallel to one another are structured in the first sacrificial layer, with a distance between two adjacent auxiliary trenches not equal to zero, and after the auxiliary trenches have been structured, a second sacrificial layer is deposited on the first sacrificial layer as the at least one sacrificial layer in such a way that the auxiliary trenches are covered by the second sacrificial layer as cavities, and at least two trenches oriented parallel to one another are structured in the second sacrificial layer. As will be shown in the following description, the formation of the cavity facilitates the subsequent removal of sacrificial layer material of the first sacrificial layer and the second sacrificial layer by means of an etching process.

[0015] In particular, at least two trenches oriented parallel to one another can be structured in the second sacrificial layer in such a way that each trench is located between two adjacent cavities along a projection of an axis oriented perpendicularly to the sensitive surface in the first sacrificial layer. In this case, the cavities are positioned in such a way that they accelerate the etching process for removing sacrificial layer material of the first sacrificial layer and the second sacrificial layer and at the same time also allow for reliable removal of sacrificial layer material in the intermediate region between two adjacent reinforcement structures.

[0016] In another advantageous embodiment of the production method, the capping structure is anchored on a further semiconductor layer, from which the bendable membrane with the sensitive surface of the micromechanical component as the membrane surface is formed, by exposing part of the surface of the further semiconductor layer by the first sacrificial layer and the second sacrificial layer before the semiconductor layer is deposited. By anchoring the capping structure on the further semiconductor layer in this way, the bendable region of the bendable membrane can be advantageously determined / defined, in such a way that the surrounding regions of the other semiconductor layers surrounding the membrane are prevented from bending when the membrane is bent. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Other features and advantages of the present invention are explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings show:

[0018] Figure 1 : A schematic diagram of a first embodiment of a micromechanical component;

[0019] Figure 2 : A schematic diagram of a second embodiment of a micromechanical component; and

[0020] Figures 3A to 3E : Schematic diagram of a cross section through an intermediate product for explaining an embodiment of a method for producing a micromechanical component. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic diagram shows a first specific embodiment of a micromechanical component.

[0022] exist Figure 1 The micromechanical component schematically illustrated in FIG. 4 can be used as (at least part of) a sensor device, a microphone device and / or a microspeaker device. Figure 1 The micromechanical component can be used as a pressure sensor only by way of example, wherein the diaphragm surface 10a of the micromechanical component's deflectable diaphragm 10 can be used as a sensitive surface 10a to measure the pressure difference between the pressure p existing in the environment outside the micromechanical component and a predetermined reference pressure p0. However, it should be pointed out here that the configurability of the micromechanical component explained below, in particular the configurability of its cover structure 12, is not limited to a specific sensor type.

[0023] The cover structure 12 is used to protect the sensitive surface 10a of the micromechanical component and has an inner side 12a oriented toward the sensitive surface 10a of the micromechanical component, and the inner side at least partially spans the sensitive surface 10a. In contrast, the outer side 12b of the cover structure 12 is oriented away from the inner side 12a and away from the sensitive surface 10a of the micromechanical component. In addition, the cover structure 12 is configured with at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14 structured through the cover structure, wherein the at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14 extends from the inner side 12a of the cover structure 12 to the outer side 12b of the cover structure 12, respectively. Figure 1 The micromechanical component has, by way of example only, only a single air and / or medium inlet opening 14, which extends centrally through the cover structure 12. However, it should be pointed out that Figure 1 The cover structure 12 depicted in FIG. 1 is configured with only one air and / or medium inlet opening 14 and is to be interpreted as exemplary only.

[0024] By means of the at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14, it is ensured, for example, that the pressure p present in the external environment of the micromechanical component is also present in a measuring volume 16 of the micromechanical component, which is formed between the sensitive surface 10a of the micromechanical component and the inner side 12a of the cover structure 12. A reference pressure p0 is enclosed in a reference volume 18, which is bounded by the diaphragm inner side 10b of the diaphragm 10 pointing away from the sensitive surface 10a. In addition, at least one actuator electrode or sensor electrode 20 is suspended on the diaphragm inner side 10b of the diaphragm 10, which can be displaced / displaced relative to at least one fixedly arranged stator electrode 22 by means of a camber of the diaphragm 10 caused by the pressure difference between the pressure p and the reference pressure p0. Thus, the pressure difference between the pressure p and the reference pressure p0 can be determined based on the evaluation of the voltage or capacitance applied between the at least one actuator electrode or sensor electrode 20 and the at least one stator electrode 22.

[0025] As in Figure 1 As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the cover structure 12 has at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures 24 protruding on the inner side 12a of the cover structure 12. The at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures 24 of the cover structure 12 are oriented parallel to each other, wherein there is a distance between two adjacent reinforcement structures 24 that is not equal to zero. Therefore, each reinforcement structure 24 has its maximum length in a common spatial direction, which is Figure 1 The at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14 may also extend through at least one of the reinforcement structures 24 .

[0026] The cover structure 12 described here is constructed with at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures 24 protruding on the inner side 12a, which is advantageous for improving the robustness of the cover structure 12. The cover structure 12 constructed with the reinforcement structure 24 can therefore better fulfill its task as a protective structure or protective layer for protecting the sensitive surface 10a of the micromechanical component from environmental influences, contamination and damage. Therefore, the conventionally relatively sensitive sensitive surface 10a, such as in Figure 1 The diaphragm surface 10a of the curved diaphragm 10 depicted in the figure can also perform its function more reliably. Even if an object hits the outer side 12b of the cover structure 12, this generally does not lead to an erroneous measurement when determining the pressure difference between the pressure p and the reference pressure p0 or to damage to the sensitive surface 10a. In addition, the cover structure 12 also protects the sensitive surface 10a from foreign particles present in the measurement volume 16 and from wetting of the sensitive surface 10a by liquid. In addition, according to Figure 1 It can also be seen that the advantageous formation of the cover structure 12 with at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures 24 on its inner side 12 a does not hinder or hardly hinders the detection behavior of the membrane 10 .

[0027] Furthermore, for each of the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures 24, its width oriented perpendicularly to its maximum length (perpendicular to Figure 1 ). Preferably, the distance between two adjacent reinforcement structures 24 is greater than the arithmetic mean of the widths of the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures 24, by at least 5 times, in particular at least 10 times. Alternatively or in addition, the height of the reinforcement structure 24 protruding on the inner side 12a of the cover structure 12 is greater than the arithmetic mean of the widths of the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures 24, by at least 2 times, in particular at least 5 times. The spacing and shape of the reinforcement structures 24 described here ensure the advantageous robustness of the cover structure 12 respectively constructed with the reinforcement structure.

[0028] The bendable membrane 10 can be formed from a first semiconductor layer 26, for example a polysilicon layer 26, and the capping structure 12 with at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures 24 can be formed from a second semiconductor layer 28, in particular a polysilicon layer 28. In addition, at least one anchoring region 30 (formed from the second semiconductor layer 28) can protrude on the inner side 12a of the capping structure 12, which anchoring region is in mechanical contact with the first semiconductor layer 26 so that the capping structure 12 is anchored on the first semiconductor layer 26 via its at least one anchoring region 30. By means of the configuration of the at least one anchoring region 30 of the capping structure 12, the peripheral regions of the first semiconductor layer 26 surrounding the membrane 10 can be "fixed" in such a way that when the membrane 10 is bent, the peripheral regions are prevented from undesired accompanying bending movements due to the fixing of the peripheral regions by means of the at least one anchoring region 30. Therefore, the bending behavior of the membrane 10 can be optimized by means of the corresponding positioning of the at least one anchoring region 30.

[0029] For example, Figure 1 The micromechanical component has a substrate 32, in which a substrate surface 32a is at least partially covered by at least one insulating layer 34a and 34b. The substrate 32 can be a silicon substrate 32 in particular. The at least one insulating layer 34a and 34b can be, for example, a silicon oxide layer 34a and / or a silicon-rich silicon nitride layer 34b. A first electrode layer 36, for example a polysilicon layer 36, is deposited on the at least one insulating layer 34a and 34b, from which at least one stator electrode 22 is structured. Optionally, at least one reference counter electrode 38 and / or at least one conductor track can also be structured from the first electrode layer 36. A second electrode layer 42 can be deposited on a first sacrificial layer 40, in particular a silicon oxide layer 40, which at least partially covers the structured first electrode layer 36, from which at least one actuator electrode or sensor electrode 20 and possibly also at least one reference electrode 44 can be structured. The second electrode layer 42 can also be a polysilicon layer 42. The first semiconductor layer 26 can be deposited on a second sacrificial layer 46, for example a polysilicon layer 46, which at least partially covers the second electrode layer 42. At least one further sacrificial layer 48, in particular at least one further polysilicon layer 48, can be formed between the first semiconductor layer 26 and the second semiconductor layer 28. After at least partially removing the sacrificial layers 40, 46 and 48 to expose the measuring volume 16 and the reference volume 18, the diaphragm 10 can bend as a reaction to the pressure difference between the pressure p and the reference pressure p0, so that the desired pressure measurement can be carried out by means of the micromechanical component.

[0030] As in Figure 1 As can be seen, the second semiconductor layer 28 can also be used for depositing further layers, for example at least one conductive layer 50 and / or at least one insulating layer 52 a and 52 b , and / or for fixing at least one contact structure 54 .

[0031] Figure 2 A schematic illustration of a second specific embodiment of a micromechanical component is shown.

[0032] exist Figure 2 The micromechanical component schematically shown in FIG. 1 differs from the previously explained embodiments only in the positioning of its at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14. Figure 2 As can be seen in FIG. 1 , a plurality of air and / or medium inlet openings 14 can also be structured through the cover structure 12. For example, in Figure 2 The air and / or medium inlet opening 14 in the micromechanical component rests against an edge region of the cover structure 12 which is left open by the strip-shaped reinforcement structure 24 but is surrounded by at least one anchoring region 30. Figure 2 For other features and properties of the micromechanical component and its advantages, reference is made to the embodiments explained above.

[0033] Figures 3A to 3E The schematic diagram shows a cross section through an intermediate product in order to explain one embodiment of a method for producing a micromechanical component.

[0034] The manufacturing method described below can be used to produce a variety of different sensor devices, microphone devices and / or micro-loudspeaker devices. For example, the method steps explained below can be implemented to produce the micromechanical components explained above. However, it should be pointed out that the feasibility of the manufacturing method is not limited to the production of the micromechanical components explained above.

[0035] By means of the method steps described below, the capping structure 12 is arranged adjacent to the sensitive surface 10a of the subsequent micromechanical component in such a way that the inner side 12a of the capping structure 12 oriented toward the sensitive surface 10a of the micromechanical component at least partially spans the sensitive surface 10a. The capping structure 12 formed by means of the production method described here is arranged only as an example on the first semiconductor layer 26, from which the flexible membrane 10 with the sensitive surface 10a of the micromechanical component as the membrane surface 10a is formed. The first semiconductor layer 26 can be, for example, a polysilicon layer 26. However, the feasibility of the method steps described below is not limited to the sensitive surface 10 configured as the membrane surface 10a of the flexible membrane 10.

[0036] In order to arrange the capping structure 12 adjacent to the sensitive surface 10a, the sensitive surface 10a of the micromechanical component is at least partially covered by at least one sacrificial layer 48a and 48b. In particular, in the embodiment of the manufacturing method described here, a first sacrificial layer 48a, preferably a silicon oxide layer 48a, is first formed on the sensitive surface 10a as the at least one sacrificial layer 48a and 48b so that the first sacrificial layer 48a at least partially covers the sensitive surface 10a.

[0037] Figure 3A The intermediate product is shown after structuring at least three mutually parallel oriented auxiliary trenches 60 in the first sacrificial layer 48a, with a distance between two adjacent auxiliary trenches not equal to zero. Preferably, the structuring of the auxiliary trenches 60 in the first sacrificial layer 48a is carried out by means of an anisotropic etching step using an etching mask (not shown).

[0038] As in Figure 3BAs can be seen in FIG. 1 , after the auxiliary trench 60 is structured, a second sacrificial layer 48b, for example a silicon oxide layer 48b, is deposited as the at least one sacrificial layer 48a and 48b on the first sacrificial layer 48a in such a way that the auxiliary trench 60 is covered by the second sacrificial layer 48b as a cavity 62. Preferably, the auxiliary trench 60 is structured into the first sacrificial layer 48a with an extension oriented perpendicular to the sensitive surface 10a, which is so small that the auxiliary trench 60 is not / is hardly filled when the second sacrificial layer 48b is deposited. The advantages of the cavity 62 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0039] In order to construct the reinforcement structure 24 explained above on the capping structure 12 formed by means of the method steps described here, at least two mutually parallel grooves 64 are structured into at least one sacrificial layer 48a and 48b, with a distance between two adjacent grooves 64 not equal to zero. In the embodiment of the manufacturing method described here, the grooves are structured in particular into the second sacrificial layer 48b. The position and extension of the subsequent reinforcement structure 24 can be determined by means of the respective position and shape of the grooves 64.

[0040] The structuring of the trenches 64 is preferably carried out by carrying out an anisotropic etching step using an etching mask (not shown). Furthermore, in the embodiment described here, at least two trenches 64 oriented parallel to one another are structured in the second sacrificial layer 48 b in such a way that the projection of each trench 64 in the first sacrificial layer 48 a along an axis oriented perpendicularly to the sensitive surface 10 a is located between two adjacent cavities 62. The advantages of such positioning of the cavities 62 in the first sacrificial layer 48 a relative to the trenches 64 in the second sacrificial layer 48 b will be discussed below.

[0041] In order to anchor the subsequently formed capping structure 12 on the first semiconductor layer 26, at least a partial surface of the first semiconductor layer 26 is exposed by the first sacrificial layer 48a and the second sacrificial layer 48b after the deposition of the second semiconductor layer 28 and preferably also after the structured trench 64. For this purpose, at least one continuous recess 66 is etched through the first sacrificial layer 48a and the second sacrificial layer 48b, for example using an etching mask. The intermediate product formed in this way is Figure 3C Shown in.

[0042] In the production method described here, the formation of the capping structure 12 adjacent to the sensitive surface 10a and the formation of its at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures 24 are carried out simultaneously by depositing a second semiconductor layer 28, such as in particular a polysilicon layer 28. It can be seen that when the second semiconductor layer 28 is deposited on at least one sacrificial layer 48a and 48b, at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures 24 protruding on the inner side 12a of the capping structure 12 are formed by filling the previous trenches 64 (with the material of the second semiconductor layer 28). Due to the parallel orientation of the previous trenches 64, the strip-shaped reinforcement structures 24 are also oriented parallel to each other.

[0043] Furthermore, by filling at least one continuous gap 66 (with the material of the second semiconductor layer 28), at least one anchoring region 30 is formed, which protrudes on the inner side 12a of the capping structure 12 and anchors the capping structure 12 on the first semiconductor layer 26 via this region. It can be seen that the arrangement of the cavity 62 and the groove 64 described above relative to each other positions the cavity 62 in the first sacrificial layer 48a relatively close to the middle region 68 between two adjacent reinforcement structures 24. The advantages of this position of the cavity 62 relative to the middle region 68 will be explained below.

[0044] Figure 3D The intermediate product after the structured air and / or medium inlet opening 14 is shown, and the air and / or medium inlet opening passes through the cover structure 12 in such a way that at least one structured air and / or medium inlet opening 14 extends from the inner side 12a of the cover structure 12 to the outer side 12b of the cover structure 12 pointing away from the inner side 12a. In order to structure at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14, another anisotropic etching step can be implemented under the condition of using an etching mask (not shown). The structuring of at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14 of the cover structure 12 can be carried out relatively late in the manufacturing process of the micromechanical component, when all the process steps of releasing particles and / or splashing liquid have ended. Therefore, there is no need to worry about particles and / or liquid invading at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14 and possibly invading the measurement volume 16 formed subsequently via at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14.

[0045] After structuring the at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14, a gas phase etching process is performed in order to remove at least part of the sacrificial layer material of at least one sacrificial layer 48a and 48b from the measuring volume 16 (and possibly also from the reference volume 18 (not shown)). Figure 3EAs can be seen in FIG. 1 , the cavity 62 simplifies and accelerates the at least partial removal of sacrificial layer material of at least one sacrificial layer 48a and 48b from the measuring volume 16. In particular, if the grooves 64 are structured in the second sacrificial layer 48b relative to the cavity 62 in such a way that the projection of each groove 64 in the first sacrificial layer 48a along an axis oriented perpendicularly to the sensitive surface 10a is located between two adjacent cavities 62, the cavity 62 is advantageously positioned toward an intermediate region 68 between two adjacent reinforcement structures 24 that is at risk of etching in a conventional manner (see FIG. 1 ). Figure 3D ). This also simplifies the removal of sacrificial layer material of at least one sacrificial layer 48a and 48b from the intermediate region 68. Undesired residues of sacrificial layer material in the measurement volume 16 can thus be reliably prevented.

[0046] In Figure 3E In a method step not shown schematically in the drawings, at least one hydrophobic material, for example a fluoropolymer, can also be deposited in an optimized manner on at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14, so that an undesired intrusion of liquid into the measurement volume 16 via at least one air and / or medium inlet opening 14 coated with a hydrophobic material can be additionally prevented. If the (not shown) reference cavity 18 is also exposed in the gas phase etching process, a desired pressure value for the reference pressure p0 can then be set in the reference cavity 18 before the reference cavity 18 is closed air-tight and gas-tight.

[0047] Although the invention has been explained above with reference to a pressure sensor, its applicability is not limited to this type of sensor. For example, the invention can also be used in chemical test sensors, whose sensitive surface 10a reacts to the adsorption of a test substance on the sensitive surface 10a by a detectable change in its electrical properties.

[0048] The present invention can be used in smart phones, tablet computers, wearable devices, smart ear-worn devices, drones, robots, games, toys, calorie counting devices, motion monitoring devices, devices for detecting free fall, motion verification devices, devices for detecting in the ear, devices for verifying head movement, devices for verifying air quality, devices for air conditioning control, devices for detecting ground height, devices for detecting water surface height, devices for supporting the elderly, indoor navigation, position tracking, flight control and / or stabilizing altitude.

Claims

1. A micromechanical component for a sensor device, a microphone device and / or a micro-speaker device, comprising: A cover structure (12), the cover structure having an inner side (12a) of the cover structure (12) oriented toward the sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component, the inner side at least partially spanning the sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component, and the cover structure having at least one air and / or medium inlet opening (14) structured through the cover structure (12), the air and / or medium inlet opening respectively extending from the inner side (12a) of the cover structure (12) to an outer side (12b) of the cover structure (12) oriented away from the inner side (12a) of the cover structure (12), characterized in that At least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures (24) are provided which protrude on the inner side (12a) of the cover structure (12), the reinforcement structures being oriented parallel to each other and having a distance between two adjacent reinforcement structures (24) which is not equal to zero.

2. The micromechanical component according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures (24) can define a width oriented perpendicularly to its respective maximum length, and the distance between two adjacent reinforcement structures (24) is at least 5 times greater than the arithmetic mean of the widths of the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures (24).

3. The micromechanical component according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: Each of the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures (24) can define a width oriented perpendicularly to its respective maximum length, and a height of the reinforcement structure (24) protruding on the inner side (12a) of the covering structure (12) is at least twice greater than the arithmetic mean of the widths of the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures (24).

4. The micromechanical component according to claim 1, wherein: The sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component is a diaphragm surface (10a) of a bendable diaphragm (10).

5. The micromechanical component according to claim 4, wherein: The bendable membrane (10) is formed from a first semiconductor layer (26), and the cover structure (12) having the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures (24) is formed from a second semiconductor layer (28).

6. A method for producing a micromechanical component for a sensor device, a microphone device and / or a microspeaker device, comprising the following steps: The cover structure (12) is arranged adjacent to the sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component such that an inner side (12a) of the cover structure (12) oriented toward the sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component at least partially spans the sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component, and at least one air and / or medium inlet opening (14) is structured through the cover structure (12) in such a way that the structured at least one air and / or medium inlet opening (14) extends from an inner side (12a) of the cover structure (12) to an outer side (12b) of the cover structure (12) which is oriented away from the inner side (12a) of the cover structure (12); It is characterized in that The following steps are involved: At least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures (24) are formed, which protrude on the inner side (12a) of the cover structure (12) and are oriented parallel to each other, with a distance between two adjacent reinforcement structures (24) not equal to zero.

7. The manufacturing method according to claim 6, wherein: In order to arrange the covering structure (12) adjacent to the sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component and to simultaneously form the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures (24), the following substeps are carried out: at least partially covering the sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component with at least one sacrificial layer (48a, 48b); At least two trenches (64) oriented parallel to one another are structured in the at least one sacrificial layer (48b), with a distance between two adjacent trenches (64) not equal to zero; and A semiconductor layer (28) is deposited on the at least one sacrificial layer (48a, 48b), wherein the at least two strip-shaped reinforcement structures (24) are formed by filling the grooves (64) with material of the semiconductor layer (28).

8. The manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein: First, a first sacrificial layer (48a) is formed on the sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component as the at least one sacrificial layer (48a, 48b) in such a way that the first sacrificial layer (48a) at least partially covers the sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component, wherein at least three auxiliary grooves (60) oriented parallel to each other are structured in the first sacrificial layer (48a), and a distance between two adjacent auxiliary grooves (60) is not equal to zero, wherein, after the auxiliary grooves (60) are structured, a second sacrificial layer (48b) as the at least one sacrificial layer (48a, 48b) is deposited on the first sacrificial layer (48a) in such a way that the auxiliary grooves (60) are covered by the second sacrificial layer (48b) as cavities (62), and the at least two grooves (64) oriented parallel to each other are structured in the second sacrificial layer (48b).

9. The manufacturing method according to claim 8, wherein: The at least two trenches (64) oriented parallel to one another are structured in the second sacrificial layer (48b) such that a projection of each trench (64) along an axis oriented perpendicularly to the sensitive surface (10a) in the first sacrificial layer (48a) is located between two adjacent cavities (62).

10. The manufacturing method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein: The capping structure (12) is anchored on another semiconductor layer (26), from which a bendable diaphragm (10) is formed, the diaphragm having the sensitive surface (10a) of the micromechanical component as a diaphragm surface (10a), in that a portion of the surface of the other semiconductor layer (26) is exposed by the first sacrificial layer (48a) and the second sacrificial layer (48b) before depositing the semiconductor layer (28).