151 results about "Micro fabrication" patented technology

The present invention relates to a single crystal micromechanical resonator. In particular, the resonator includes a lithium niobate or lithium tantalate suspended plate. Also provided are improved microfabrication methods of making resonators, which does not rely on complicated wafer bonding, layer fracturing, and mechanical polishing steps. Rather, the methods allow the resonator and its components to be formed from a single crystal.

A method and system for defect inspection of microfabricated structures such as semiconductor wafers, masks or reticles for micro-fabrication, flat panel displays, micro-electro-mechanical (MEMs) having repetitive array regions such as memories or pixels. In one embodiment a method of inspection of microfabricated structures includes the steps of acquiring contrast data or images from the microfabricated structures, analyzing automatically the contrast data or images to find repetitive regions of the contrast data and comparing the repetitive regions of the contrast data with reference data to detect defects in the microfabricated structures. In the analyzing step, a cell-metric such as the range, or mean or other statistical or mathematical measure of the contrast data is used to find the repetitive regions. Image or contrast data acquisition can be performed with an optical, e-beam or other microscope suited for microfabricated structures.

The invention is a flexible, micro-fabricated fuel cell and fuel cell stack that can be helically wound or bend into cylindrical shapes. The electrolyte is a proton exchange membrane (PEM) upon which can be printed, by ink jet means, the anode and cathode electrodes and the current collectors that convey current to or from the edges of the PEM which has a thickness on the order of 0.001 to 0.010 inch. Pluralities of the series connected fuel cell stacks can be arranged in electrical and physical parallel with one another to provide what are batteries of fuel cell stacks that can be connected by manifolds to sources of fuel and oxidizer. The invention is directed to a thin, light-weight, flexible fuel cell assembly that can be produced in ambient conditions using standard micro-fabrication techniques, such as thick film printing and ink jet deposition. Thick film printing techniques, screen printing or ink jet printing, are used to deposit porous current collectors on either side of the membrane.

A micro-fabrication method characterized by comprising the steps of applying a pulse laser beam to a plastic material to be processed exhibiting a glass phase transition by heating and having a heat-shrinkage to form laser-processed patterns on the surface of or in the above plastic material to be processed, and then heat-treating the plastic material to be processed at a temperature not lower than a glass transition temperature Tg to fine the formed patterns by heat-shrinkage.

An system, and method are disclosed for harmonic modulation of standing wavefields for spatial focusing, manipulation, and patterning of particles, cells, powders, aerosols, colloids, and solids using a multifrequency wave source, a chamber a control module and an analysis module to generate standard wavefields useful for tissue engineering, micro fabrication, therapeutic treatment, and diagnostic tests.

The invention discloses a maskless method for preparing black silicon by deep reactive ion etching, which comprises the following steps: performing initialization and plasma stability on equipment adopted by the method for preparing the black silicon so as to make plasma perform glow discharge; and controlling technological parameters for preparing the black silicon by deep reactive ion etching, and adopting etching and passivating modes to alternately process a silicon chip, wherein the parameters comprise plasma gas flow, panel etching power, panel passivating power, coil power, and etching and passivating cycle and temperature. The maskless method directly performs plasma processing on the surface of the silicon chip, and can generate large-range high-intensity nanostructures on the surface of the silicon chip in case of no nano mask by adjusting and selecting proper etching technological parameters. Meanwhile, the method for preparing the black silicon has high efficiency and low cost, and can be integrated with other micro-fabrication technology.

A fluid delivery system having a closed-loop control process for delivering a medical fluid to a patient. A fluid infusion system includes a pump for delivering a fluid to a patient via an administration tube. A flow sensor associated with the administration tube provides an indication of the actual flow rate of fluid in the administration tube. Such a flow sensor may comprise a positive displacement flow sensor constructed using micro-fabrication and / or micro-molding techniques. A reader reads the actual flow rate signal and provides an indication to a controller for controlling the pump. The flow rate information can also be used for providing status information, such as the existence of a blockage in the fluid delivery system.

Microscopic batteries, integratable or integrated with and integrated circuit, including a MEMS microcircuit, and methods of microfabrication of such microscopic batteries are disclosed.

The present disclosure provides a catalyst-free growth mode of defect-free Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)-based nanoneedles on silicon (Si) substrates with a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible growth temperature of around 400° C. Each nanoneedle has a sharp 2 to 5 nanometer (nm) tip, a 600 nm wide base and a 4 micrometer (μm) length. Thus, the disclosed nanoneedles are substantially hexagonal needle-like crystal structures that assume a 6° to 9° tapered shape. The 600 nm wide base allows the typical micro-fabrication processes, such as optical lithography, to be applied. Therefore, nanoneedles are an ideal platform for the integration of optoelectronic devices on Si substrates. A nanoneedle avalanche photodiode (APD) grown on silicon is presented in this disclosure as a device application example. The APD attains a high current gain of 265 with only 8V bias.

The present invention relates to: a resist composition such as a chemically amplified resist composition for providing an excellent pattern profile even at a substrate-side boundary face of resist, in addition to a higher resolution in photolithography for micro-fabrication, and particularly in photolithography adopting, as an exposure source, KrF laser, ArF laser, F2 laser, ultra-short ultraviolet light, electron beam, X-rays, or the like; and a patterning process utilizing the resist composition. The present invention provides a chemically amplified resist composition comprising one or more kinds of amine compounds or amine oxide compounds (except for those having a nitrogen atom of amine or amine oxide included in a ring structure of an aromatic ring) at least having a carboxyl group and having no hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to a nitrogen atom as a basic center.

An embodiment of the invention provides a neural probe containing a plurality of nanoscale recording electrodes. The recording electrodes have a width of 1 micron or less and a distance between adjacent recording electrodes is 10 microns or less. Another embodiment of the invention provides a neural probe comprising a plurality of microfabricated recording electrodes located on a polymer base material, such as a flexible polymer cantilever.

The invention provides a general fabrication method for producing MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) and related devices using Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) wafer. The method includes providing an SOI wafer that has (i) a handle layer, (ii) a dielectric layer, and (iii) a device layer, wherein a mesa etch has been made on the device layer of the SOI wafer, providing a substrate, wherein a pattern has been etched onto the substrate, bonding the SOI wafer and the substrate together, removing the handle layer of the SOI wafer, removing the dielectric layer of the SOI wafer, then performing a structural etch on the device layer of the SOI wafer to define the device.

An improved microfluidic device and method of using the microfluidic device to measure natural motile response of a living moiety to a chemotactic agent. The invention comprises integrating microfluidic containment trenches within the microfluidic devices for cellular trapping, manipulation and real-time analysis of biological phenomena, including chemotaxis. The invention captures the design methodology for these traps, as well as the fabrication means and the associated external control mechanism that allows rapid, reversible and fully controlled changes in the chemical environment to which trapped cells are exposed.

A method for microfabrication of a three dimensional transistor stack having gate-all-around field-effect transistor devices. The channels hang between source / drain regions. Each channel is selectively deposited with layers of materials designed for adjusting the threshold voltage of the channel. The layers may be oxides, high-k materials, work function materials and metallization. The three dimensional transistor stack forms an array of high threshold voltage devices and low threshold voltage devices in a single package.

A carbon nanostructured micro-fabricated gas chromatography column which is particularly well-suited to the surface well-site and / or the downhole analysis of natural gas in oilfield or gasfield applications (but which may also be used in non-oilfield or non-gasfield situations) is described. This micro-fabricated column integrates a micro-structured substrate such as a silicon substrate with carbon nanotubes as an active nanostructured material in a micro-channel. Benefits of the present invention include enhanced separation of alkanes and isomers, particularly below hexane (i.e., below C6), as well as the separation of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and water and other substances present in natural gas. The chromatography column of the present invention is in one embodiment a part of an entire gas chromatograph system that in its simplest form also comprises an injector and a detector. Preferably the injector, separation column, and detector are all micro-fabricated on a substrate.

The invention relates to a laser differential confocal LIBS, a Raman spectrum-mass spectrum imaging method and a Raman spectrum-mass spectrum imaging device and belongs to the technical fields of confocal microscopy imaging, mass spectrum imaging and spectral measurement. In the invention, the differential confocal microscopy imaging technology is combined with a spectrum and mass spectrum detection technology; a high-spatial-discrimination differential confocal system is used for axially focusing and imaging a sample; a mass spectrum detection system is used for performing mass spectrum detection to charged molecules and atoms in a sample microcell; and a spectral detection system is used for performing microcell spectrum detection to focal spot excitation spectrums (Raman spectrum and induced breakdown spectrum) of a differential confocal microscopy system, thereby achieving high-spatial discrimination and high-sensitivity imaging and detection of complete component information and configuration parameters of the sample microcell. The invention achieves advantage complement and structure and function fusion of laser poly-spectrum component imaging detection (mass spectrum, Raman spectrum and laser-induced breakdown spectrum). The method and the device have wide application prospect in the fields of biology, physical chemistry, micro-fabrication and nano-fabrication and the like.

Methods for microfabricating composite materials and composite materials prepared there from are described herein. The sacrificial material can be etched or patterned to create a two-dimensional and / or three-dimensional sacrificial material structure. The resulting sacrificial material structure can be embedded in one or more embedding materials. The sacrificial material(s) are materials whose solubility can be altered by application of a stimulus typically pH, and / or temperature, light, pH, pressure, presence of absence of ions, and combinations thereof. The embedding materials can contain one or more additives that modify one or more properties of the embedding materials, such as degradation properties, porosity, mechanical properties, viscosity, conductive properties, and combinations thereof. The composite materials can be used in tissue engineering, drug screening, toxin detection, drug delivery, filtrations, bioseparations, and as microfluidic devices for fluid mixing and structural repair.

An enhanced microfabricated spring contact structure and associated method comprises improvements to spring structures above the substrate surface, and / or improvements to structures on or within the substrate. Improved spring structures and processes comprise embodiments having selectively formed and etched, coated and / or plated regions, which are preferably further processed through planarization and / or annealment. Improved substrate structures and processes typically comprise the establishment of a decoupling structure on at least one surface of the substrate, and electromechanical fulcrum connections between elastic core members, e.g. stress metal springs, through defined openings in the decoupling structure toward electrically conductive pathways in the support substrate.

An infrared sensor, comprising a focal plane array (FPA) of resistance microbolometer infrared detectors connected in such a manner to produce different pixel formats to meet specific detection requirements. Typically each imaging pixel may be a mosaic comprising a number of sub-pixels connected in parallel (although other configurations are possible), resulting in enhanced performance and ease of manufacture by micro-fabrication methods. The FPA may be integrated with a readout microcircuit on the same substrate so that with appropriate signal processing one is capable of forming an image of the field of view of interest, facilitating target recognition and very low false alarm rate.

The invention relates to a timepiece component, such as a balance (1), an oscillating mass (12) or a wheel (20), that comprises a structure (2) made according to a micro-manufacturing technique, such as the DRIE technique. The component is characterised in that it further comprises at least one member (3) formed in or at the periphery of the structure (2) and made of a material different from that of the structure (2). This member (3) is typically metal and is formed by electro-forming using a cavity (7) of the structure (2) as a mould.

The invention relates to a liquid injection type super smooth surface and a laser precision micro-fabrication method thereof, and belongs to the technical field of functional materials. The liquid injection type super smooth surface takes a metal as a substrate; firstly, a micro-nano composite structure is prepared on the metal surface by means of laser etching; after that, a super-hydrophobic surface is obtained by baking, and then injected liquid covers the super-hydrophobic surface to obtain the liquid injection type super smooth surface. Test droplets include water droplets, acid solutions, alkali solutions, lake water, sea water, serum, glycerin and ketchup. The liquid injection type super smooth surface provided by the invention has very small frictional resistance, and can very easily slide off the surface and reduce the retention time and probability of the water droplets and other test liquid on the surface. The laser precision micro-fabrication method of the liquid injection type super smooth surface provided by the invention adopts the laser precision machining technology to prepare the micro-nano composite structure on the metal surface, the technological process is simple and easy to operate, no other chemical additives are needed, and there is no toxic side effect and pollution, so that the laser precision micro-fabrication method is suitable for large-scale and mass production.

The invention relates to a laser confocal LIBS, a Raman spectrum-mass spectrum imaging method and a Raman spectrum-mass spectrum imaging device and belongs to the technical fields of confocal microscopy imaging, mass spectrum imaging and spectral measurement. In the invention, the confocal microscopy imaging technology is combined with a spectrum and mass spectrum detection technology; a high-spatial-discrimination confocal system is used for axially focusing and imaging a sample; a mass spectrum detection system is used for performing mass spectrum detection to charged molecules and atoms in a sample microcell; and a spectral detection system is used for performing microcell spectrum detection to focal spot excitation spectrums (Raman spectrum and induced breakdown spectrum) of a confocal microscopy system, thereby achieving high-spatial discrimination and high-sensitivity imaging and detection of complete component information and configuration parameters of the sample microcell. The invention achieves advantage complement and structure and function fusion of laser poly-spectrum component imaging detection (mass spectrum, Raman spectrum and laser-induced breakdown spectrum). The method and the device have wide application prospect in the fields of biology, physical chemistry, micro-fabrication and nano-fabrication and the like.

There are disclosed a method and an apparatus for circuit designing, which enable arranging and wiring operations to be efficiently performed by using indices for arranging and wiring without the occurrence of any error paths. In the method and apparatus for circuit designing, path tracing is performed from one or more tracing start pins for a result of logical designing and the number of passing through each pin of cells to be arranged is counted during the path tracing. Thus, the method and apparatus for circuit designing are suitably used for designing of a circuit such as a LSI or the like, which has been enlarged in size and complex following an advance in a micro fabrication art.

The invention discloses an optoacoustic and ultrasonic bimodal endoscope imaging system. The optoacoustic and ultrasonic bimodal endoscope imaging system is composed of an endoscope lens, a light source, a controlling and processing device, an impulse voltage generator, an interface module, a cable, a display screen, a crystal oscillator circuit and a power circuit. The optoacoustic and ultrasonic bimodal endoscope imaging system can achieve endoscopic type optoacoustic and ultrasonic bimodal imaging. According to the optoacoustic and ultrasonic bimodal endoscope imaging system, a high density CMUT ring array manufactured by using surface micro fabrication technology is used, an excitation unit and a sensing unit are designed into coaxial and homocentric integrative microstructure, and integration, microminiaturization and practical performance of optoacoustic and ultrasonic excitation and sensing are achieved. The optoacoustic and ultrasonic bimodal endoscope imaging system can be widely used in fields of medical endoscopic diagnosis, jewelry identification, industrial inspection and flaw detection and the like.

Micro-fabrication forms a plurality of stiff vertical micro probes on the front surface of a ceramic substrate and a plurality of contacts on the back surface of the ceramic substrate. Photolithography, various etching technologies and electroplating are used to form the micro probes on the surface of the ceramic substrate. The produced micro probes are mechanically strong and consequently have a long duty life. Moreover, the probes can be arranged into a high-density planar array to conform to the newest integrated circuit devices which have dense I / O terminal arrays.

A method for fabricating an integrated MEMS-CMOS device uses a micro-fabrication process that realizes moving mechanical structures (MEMS) on top of a conventional CMOS structure by bonding a mechanical structural wafer on top of the CMOS and etching the mechanical layer using plasma etching processes, such as Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE). During etching of the mechanical layer, CMOS devices that are directly connected to the mechanical layer are exposed to plasma. This sometimes causes permanent damage to CMOS circuits and is termed Plasma Induced Damage (PID). Embodiments of the present invention presents methods and structures to prevent or reduce this PID and protect the underlying CMOS circuits by grounding and providing an alternate path for the CMOS circuits until the MEMS layer is completely etched.

A vertical probe card for testing electronic devices includes a multi-layer ceramic substrate mounted on a printed circuit board. The multi-layer ceramic substrate provides a plurality of vertical probes arranged in a planar array and formed on the surface of the multi-layer ceramic substrate by micro-fabrication technology. The method of using the vertical probe card includes disposing a device to be tested under the card, aligning the card's probes with the I / O terminals of the device, and contacting the device with the card's ceramic substrate so that all of the contact portions of the I / O terminals are contacted and deformed by the probes. The relative positions of the electronic device and the apparatus are maintained while Automatic Test Equipment tests the device.