34 results about "Bulk micromachining" patented technology

A microphone having an optical component for converting the sound-induced motion of the diaphragm into an electronic signal using a diffraction grating. The microphone with inter-digitated fingers is fabricated on a silicon substrate using a combination of surface and bulk micromachining techniques. A 1 mm×2 mm microphone diaphragm, made of polysilicon, has stiffeners and hinge supports to ensure that it responds like a rigid body on flexible hinges. The diaphragm is designed to respond to pressure gradients, giving it a first order directional response to incident sound. This mechanical structure is integrated with a compact optoelectronic readout system that displays results based on optical interferometry.

As well as achieving both downsizing and thickness reduction and sensitivity improvement of a semiconductor device that has: a MEMS sensor formed by bulk micromachining technique such as an acceleration sensor and an angular rate sensor; and an LSI circuit, a packaging structure of the semiconductor device having the MEMS sensor and the LSI circuit can be simplified. An integrated circuit having MISFETs and wirings is formed on a silicon layer of an SOI substrate, and the MEMS sensor containing a structure inside is formed by processing a substrate layer of the SOI substrate. In other words, by using both surfaces of the SOI substrate, the integrated circuit and the MEMS sensor are mounted on one SOI substrate. The integrated circuit and the MEMS sensor are electrically connected to each other by a through-electrode provided in the SOI substrate.

The present invention provides fabrication methods using sacrificial materials comprising polymers. In some embodiments, the polymer may be treated to alter its solubility with respect to at least one solvent (e.g., aqueous solution) used in the fabrication process. The preparation of the sacrificial materials is rapid and simple, and dissolution of the sacrificial material can be carried out in mild environments. Sacrificial materials of the present invention may be useful for surface micromachining, bulk micromachining, and other microfabrication processes in which a sacrificial layer is employed for producing a selected and corresponding physical structure.

An inertia device is constructed by both suspension structure and micro-electroplating structure. The suspension structure may be manufactured by surface micromachining technique of sacrificial layer process or bulk micromachining technique incorporating with thin film process. One side of the suspension structure is arranged firmly to a supporting piece, so that another side of the suspension structure is in a suspension state. The suspension side of the suspension structure is made as micro-electroplating structure through the micro-electroplating process and functions as inertia mass for an inertia sensor. The size of the micro-electroplating structure may be changed through the micro-electroplating process, such that the inertia sensor may be adapted for sensing in different levels. Furthermore, a microstructure of high aspect ratio may be achieved by taking the advantage of a metal during the selection of a processing material, such that the objective for lateral sensing or driving signal may be fulfilled.

A mechanism and method for motion conversion is disclosed. This mechanism can be easily fabricated using standard bulk micromachining technology. Based on this method with appropriate design, a horizontal, in-plane motion can be converted to a vertical or angular displacement out-of-plane. This design has great advantages in micro devices, which are built from a single layer, i.e. wafer fabrication, where an in-plane force is easy to implement, such as by the use of comb drive mechanisms, but an out-of-plane motion may be hard to achieve. The mechanism comprises a pair of beams of different heights, rigidly connected together at a number of points along their length, such that application of an in-plane force to the double beam structure results in out-of-plane motion of the double beam structure at points distant from the point of application of the force.

A manufacturing process of a three-layer continuous surface MEMS deformable mirror based on a bonding process, which mainly includes dry etching a release hole on the upper surface of an SOI wafer, partially releasing the middle oxide layer of the SOI wafer, and performing a process on the lower surface of the SOI wafer. Wet etching, and deposit metal on another substrate (silicon wafer or glass) as an electrode structure, and finally bond the substrate with the SOI wafer. It is characterized in that the bulk silicon micromachining process and the surface micromachining process are combined, and the upper two-layer structure obtained by the bulk silicon process is bonded with the lower electrode structure layer obtained by surface micromachining to obtain a three-layer micromechanical structure. . The invention is a three-layer continuous surface MEMS deformable mirror based on a bonding process, and its manufacturing process is relatively easy, which solves the disadvantage that the traditional continuous surface micromechanical deformable mirror is difficult to process through three-layer surface micromachining, and the processing The deformable mirror can obtain a large out-of-plane displacement, and eliminate the defect of short circuit caused by electrostatic pull-in by adding a silicon nitride insulating layer, and can be widely used in the fields of optical communication and adaptive optics.