Lidless Pressure Sensor Membrane Mounting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing configuration of pressure sensors, such as microphones, with an internal sealed environment and a lid attached to lateral walls is challenging due to fragile mechanical connections and difficulty in attaching the lid to thin walls, leading to complexity and reliability issues.
Innovation Solution
A lidless structure with a chip-mounted membrane outside the structure, using a flip-chip connection for both mechanical and electrical attachment, and applying sealing material to create a sealed environment, eliminating the need for a lid and enhancing manufacturing simplicity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a lid is attached to lateral walls of the structure, then the sealed environment is enclosed, but the mechanical connection becomes fragile and difficult to attach due to reduced wall thickness
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the lid component entirely from the structure. The sealed environment is created by mounting the membrane chip directly to the lateral wall, eliminating the need for a separate lid and its fragile mechanical connection. This extraction of the lid resolves the contradiction by removing the source of mechanical fragility and attachment complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the functions of the lid and the membrane chip mounting into a single integrated solution. The membrane chip is mounted directly to the lateral wall, combining the sealing function and the membrane support function into one component, thereby eliminating the need for separate lid attachment and reducing mechanical connection points.
2Volume of moving object
If the lateral walls are made with reduced thickness, then the device size is reduced, but the difficulty of attaching the lid increases
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the lid component entirely, the invention eliminates the attachment difficulty associated with thin walls. The membrane chip is mounted directly to the lateral wall using wire bonding or flip-chip techniques, which do not require the same mechanical attachment strength as a lid, thereby enabling the use of thinner walls without compromising manufacturability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical lid attachment system with an electrical/electronic connection system (wire bonding or flip-chip). This substitution allows for secure connection of the membrane chip to thin walls without requiring the mechanical strength that would be needed for traditional lid attachment, thus enabling reduced wall thickness while maintaining ease of manufacture.
3Reliability
If a lid is used to enclose the sealed environment, then the internal environment is sealed, but the overall device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the lid component from the device structure. The sealed environment is achieved by mounting the membrane chip directly to the lateral wall, which serves as both the structural element and the mounting surface. This elimination of the lid reduces device complexity while maintaining the integrity of the sealed environment through the direct membrane-to-wall connection.
4Reliability
If the chip is mounted inside the structure, then the sealed environment is maintained, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of mounting the chip inside the structure and then closing it with a lid, the invention inverts the approach by mounting the chip outside the structure directly to the lateral wall. This inversion simplifies the manufacturing process by eliminating the need to assemble and seal a lid around internal components, while still maintaining the sealed environment through the direct membrane-to-wall mounting.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration simplifies the manufacturing process, reduces the risk of structural breakage, and provides a stable and reliable pressure sensor with improved mechanical and electrical connections, allowing for efficient pressure measurement without the need for complex lid attachment.
Implementation Method 1
a chip including a membrane deformable on the basis of external pressure
Implementation Method 2
The chip may be attached to the structure via a stable and reliable flip-chip connection, which is both a mechanical connection and an electrical connection
Implementation Method 3
A glue or a film may be applied to the ceiling wall of the structure (and in particular on the outer surface of the ceiling wall), to seal the internal environment
Data Source
AI summary
A pressure sensor includes a lidless structure defining an internal chamber for a sealed environment and presenting an aperture; a chip including a membrane deformable on the basis of external pressure, the chip being mounted outside the lidless structure in correspondence to the aperture so that the membrane closes the sealed environment; and a circuitry configured to provide a pressure measurement information based on the deformation of the membrane.