Abstract:
A vertical MEMS gyroscope operated by horizontal driving includes a substrate, a support layer fixed on an upper surface of an area of the substrate, a driving structure floating above the substrate and having a portion fixed to the upper surface of the support layer and another portion in parallel with the fixed portion, the driving structure having a predetermined area capable of vibrating in a predetermined direction parallel to the substrate, a detection structure fixed to the driving structure on a same plane as the driving structure, and having a predetermined area capable of vibrating in a vertical direction with respect to the substrate, a cap wafer bonded with the substrate positioned above the driving structure and the detection structure, and a fixed vertical displacement detection electrode formed at a predetermined location of an underside of the cap wafer, for detecting displacement of the detection structure in the vertical direction.
Abstract:
A gyroscope which comprises: a driving fixed electrode (26) being fixed; a driving displacement electrode (24) being opposite to the driving fixed electrode, and being able to be displaced in a first direction; an inertial mass (23) being connected to the driving displacement electrode (24), being displaced in the first direction according to the first directional displacement of the driving displacement electrode (24), and being displaced in a second direction when an angular rate is applied; a sensing displacement electrode (22) being connected to the inertial mass (23), and being able to be displaced in the second direction according to the second directional displacement of the inertial mass (23); and a sensing fixed electrode (25) being opposite to the sensing displacement electrode and being fixed. The driving displacement electrode (24) is supported by a folded spring (31) movable in the first direction, and the sensing displacement electrode is supported by a folded spring (32) movable in the second direction.
Abstract:
A method and resulting formed device are disclosed wherein the method combines polysilicon surface-micromachining with metal electroplating technology to achieve a capacitively-drive, lateral micromechanical resonator with submicron electrode-to-resonator capacitor gaps. Briefly, surface-micromachining is used to achieve the structural material for a resonator, while conformal metal-plating is used to implement capacitive transducer electrodes. This technology makes possible a variety of new resonator configurations, including disk resonators and lateral clamped-clamped and free-free flexural resonators, all with significant frequency and Q advantages over vertical resonators. In addition, this technology introduces metal electrodes, which greatly reduces the series resistance in electrode interconnects, thus, minimizing Q-loading effects while increasing the power handling ability of micromechanical resonators.
Abstract:
A method of making a micro electro-mechanical gyroscope. A cantilevered beam structure, firstportions of side drive electrodes and a mating structure are defined on a first substrate or wafer;and at least one contact structure, second portions of the side drive electrodes and a matingstructure are defined on a second substrate or wafer, the mating structure on the second substrateor wafer being of a complementary shape to the mating structure on the first substrate or waferand the first and second portions of the side drive electrodes being of a complementary shape to each other. A bonding layer, preferably a eutectic bonding layer, is provided on at least one of the mating structures and one or the first and second portions of the side drive electrodes. The matingstructure of the first substrate is moved into a confronting relationship with the mating structureof the second substrate or wafer. Pressure is applied between the two substrates so as to cause a bond to occur between the two mating structures at the bonding or eutectic layer and alsobetween the first and second portions of the side drive electrodes to cause a bond to occurtherebetween. Then the first substrate or wafer is removed to free the cantilevered beam structurefor movement relative to the second substrate or wafer. The bonds are preferably eutectic bonds.
Abstract:
The invention relates to a method for the production of a silicon torsion spring, whereby, for instance, the rotational speed in a microstructured torsion spring-mass system can be read. The invention aims at providing low torsional stiffness in comparison with a relatively high transversal stiffness in lateral and vertical direction. According to the invention, a wafer or wafer composite is used to produce a spring having a V-shaped cross section after masking by means of anisotropic wet-chemical etching, said spring extending preferably over the entire thickness of the wafer and being defined laterally by the [111] surfaces only. Two wafers or wafer composites thus prestructured are rotated by 180° and bonded to one another by aligning them in a mirror-inverted manner in such a way that the desired X-shaped cross section is obtained. One advantage provided by the invention is that the technology used in the production of the laterally and vertically rigid rotational spring is comparatively simple.
Abstract:
A process is disclosed for producing a speed of rotation Coriolis sensor with oscillating supporting masses elastically suspended from a substrate, driving means for imparting a planar oscillation to the supporting masses and evaluation means for sensing a Coriolis acceleration. The oscillating supporting masses (12, 14), as well as the driving means (20) and integrated stops (36, 38), are produced in a single plasma etching operation from a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer.
Abstract:
A microelectromechanical sensor (MEMS) package includes a gyroscope and an accelerometer. The gyroscope is located within a low-pressure cavity that is sealed from an external pressure. The accelerometer is located within a cavity, and the seal for the accelerometer cavity is entirely within the gyroscope cavity. Under normal operating conditions, the accelerometer seal holds the accelerometer cavity at a higher pressure than the pressure of the enclosing gyroscope cavity. In the event that one of the gyroscope seal or the accelerometer seal is broken, the gyroscope senses the change in pressure and a failure is identified.
Abstract:
A suspended spring-mass system is suspended from a plurality of the anchoring points. A source voltage is provided from one of anchoring points to the suspended spring-mass system. The other anchoring points have measurement nodes which measure the voltage at those anchoring points. If a voltage other than the source voltage is received at one of the measurement nodes, an error is identified.
Abstract:
A method of fabricating a MEMS device includes depositing an expandable material into a first recess of a cap wafer. The cap wafer includes a plurality of walls that surround and define the first recess and a second recess. The cap wafer is bonded to a MEMS wafer including a first MEMS device and a second MEMS device. The first MEMS device is encapsulated in the first recess, and the second MEMS device is encapsulated in the second recess. The expandable material is then heated to at least an activation temperature to cause the expandable material to expand after the first recess has been sealed. The expansion of the expandable material causes a reduction in volume of the first recess.
Abstract:
Described herein is an integrated device (1), having: a first die (2); a second die (6) coupled in a stacked way on the first die (2) along a vertical axis (z); a coupling region (16) arranged between facing surfaces (2a, 6a) of the first die (2) and of the second die (6), which face one another along the vertical axis (z) and lie in a horizontal plane (xy) orthogonal to the vertical axis (z), for mechanical coupling of the first and second dies; electrical-contact elements (17) carried by the facing surfaces (2a, 6a) of the first and second dies, aligned in pairs along the vertical axis (z); and conductive regions (18) arranged between the pairs of electrical-contact elements (17) carried by the facing surfaces (2a, 6a) of the first and second dies, for their electrical coupling. Supporting elements (20) are arranged at the facing surface (2a; 6a) of at least one between the first and second dies and elastically support respective electrical-contact elements.