公开(公告)号：US5706565A

公开(公告)日：1998-01-13

申请号：US707107

申请日：1996-09-03

申请人： Douglas Ray Sparks ,  William J. Baney ,  Steven Edward Staller ,  Dan Wesley Chilcott ,  James Werstler Siekkinen

发明人： Douglas Ray Sparks ,  William J. Baney ,  Steven Edward Staller ,  Dan Wesley Chilcott ,  James Werstler Siekkinen

IPC分类号： G01L9/00 ,  H01G7/00

CPC分类号： G01L9/0073 ,  Y10T29/435

摘要： An all-silicon monolithic capacitive absolute pressure-sensing device and method for making the same. The device employs a single-crystal silicon diaphragm that serves at a flexible capacitor plate of a variable capacitor. The diaphragm is bonded to a single-crystal silicon wafer to overlie a cavity etched into the wafer. A fixed capacitor plate of the variable capacitor is formed by a heavily-doped region at the bottom of the cavity. A thin dielectric layer is grown on the fixed capacitor plate to complete the capacitor. The cavity has a minimal depth such that the fixed capacitor plate provides overpressure protection for the diaphragm. At least a portion of the operating range of the pressure sensor occurs while the diaphragm is contacting the doped region. As a result, the capacitive output signal of the pressure sensor is produced by changes in contact area between the diaphragm and a thin dielectric situated on the doped region in response to pressure applied to the diaphragm.

摘要翻译： 全硅单体电容式绝对压力感测装置及其制造方法。 该器件采用在可变电容器的柔性电容器板上工作的单晶硅膜片。 隔膜结合到单晶硅晶片以覆盖蚀刻到晶片中的空腔。 可变电容器的固定电容器板由空腔底部的重掺杂区域形成。 在固定电容器板上生长薄介电层以完成电容器。 空腔具有最小的深度，使得固定电容器板为隔膜提供过压保护。 当隔膜接触掺杂区域时，压力传感器的工作范围的至少一部分发生。 结果，压力传感器的电容输出信号是通过响应于施加到隔膜的压力而在隔膜和位于掺杂区域上的薄电介质之间的接触面积的变化产生的。

公开(公告)号：US5936164A

公开(公告)日：1999-08-10

申请号：US917974

申请日：1997-08-27

申请人： Douglas Ray Sparks ,  William J Baney ,  Steven Edward Staller ,  Dan Wesley Chilcott ,  James Werstler Siekkinen

发明人： Douglas Ray Sparks ,  William J Baney ,  Steven Edward Staller ,  Dan Wesley Chilcott ,  James Werstler Siekkinen

IPC分类号： G01L9/00 ,  G01L9/12

CPC分类号： G01L9/0073

摘要： An all-silicon monolithic capacitive absolute pressure-sensing device and method for making the same. The device employs a single-crystal silicon diaphragm that serves at a flexible capacitor plate of a variable capacitor. The diaphragm is bonded to a single-crystal silicon wafer to overlie a cavity etched into the wafer. A fixed capacitor plate of the variable capacitor is formed by a heavily-doped region at the bottom of the cavity. A thin dielectric layer is grown on the fixed capacitor plate to complete the capacitor. The cavity has a minimal depth such that the fixed capacitor plate provides overpressure protection for the diaphragm. At least a portion of the operating range of the pressure sensor occurs while the diaphragm is contacting the doped region. As a result, the capacitive output signal of the pressure sensor is produced by changes in contact area between the diaphragm and a thin dielectric situated on the doped region in response to pressure applied to the diaphragm.

摘要翻译： 全硅单体电容式绝对压力感测装置及其制造方法。 该器件采用在可变电容器的柔性电容器板上工作的单晶硅膜片。 隔膜结合到单晶硅晶片以覆盖蚀刻到晶片中的空腔。 可变电容器的固定电容器板由空腔底部的重掺杂区域形成。 在固定电容器板上生长薄介电层以完成电容器。 空腔具有最小的深度，使得固定电容器板为隔膜提供过压保护。 当隔膜接触掺杂区域时，压力传感器的工作范围的至少一部分发生。 结果，压力传感器的电容输出信号是通过响应于施加到隔膜的压力而在隔膜和位于掺杂区域上的薄电介质之间的接触面积的变化产生的。

公开(公告)号：US5721162A

公开(公告)日：1998-02-24

申请号：US552401

申请日：1995-11-03

申请人： Peter James Schubert ,  Steven Edward Staller ,  Dan Wesley Chilcott ,  Mark Billings Kearney

发明人： Peter James Schubert ,  Steven Edward Staller ,  Dan Wesley Chilcott ,  Mark Billings Kearney

IPC分类号： B81C99/00 ,  G01P15/08 ,  H01L21/00

CPC分类号： B81C1/00246 ,  G01P15/0802

摘要： A motion sensor including a sensing wafer with a bulk micromachined sensing element, and a capping wafer on which is formed the conditioning circuitry for the sensor. The sensing and capping wafers are configured such that, when bonded together, the capping wafer encloses the sensing element to form a monolithic sensor. The capping wafer is further configured to expose bond pads on the sensing wafer, and to enable singulation of the two-wafer stack into individual dies. Wire bonds can be made to both wafers, such that the sensor can be packaged in essentially any way desired.

摘要翻译： 一种运动传感器，其包括具有体微加工感测元件的感测晶片和封盖晶片，其上形成有用于传感器的调节电路。 感测和封盖晶片被配置成使得当结合在一起时，封盖晶片包围感测元件以形成单片传感器。 封盖晶片还被配置为暴露感测晶片上的接合焊盘，并且使得能够将双晶片堆叠单独化成单个管芯。 可以对两个晶片进行引线键合，使得传感器可以基本上以任何所需的方式被封装。

公开(公告)号：US06750152B1

公开(公告)日：2004-06-15

申请号：US09411339

申请日：1999-10-01

申请人： John Carl Christenson ,  Steven Edward Staller ,  John Emmett Freeman ,  Troy Allan Chase ,  Robert Lawrence Healton

发明人： John Carl Christenson ,  Steven Edward Staller ,  John Emmett Freeman ,  Troy Allan Chase ,  Robert Lawrence Healton

IPC分类号： H01L2100

CPC分类号： B81C99/004 ,  H01L22/32 ,  H01L22/34

摘要： A semiconductor wafer is etched to create an array of MEMS devices and at the same time, test sites having geometry which represent critical geometry of the MEMS devices. Probe contacts are provided in the test sites to permit measurement of resistance and capacitance between test site geometry as a way of determining the effectiveness of the etch. One test site comprises a ladder of semiconductor structures separated by gaps of graded width. Another test site comprises finger structures formed over a cavity and the probe contacts are located so as to detect inter-finger capacitance and resistance (or continuity) as well as intra-finger resistance.

摘要翻译： 蚀刻半导体晶片以产生MEMS器件的阵列，并且同时具有表示MEMS器件的关键几何形状的几何形状的测试点。 在测试地点提供探头触点，以便测量测试位置几何之间的电阻和电容，以此作为确定蚀刻效果的一种方式。 一个测试地点包括由分级宽度的间隙分开的半导体结构的梯子。 另一个测试点包括形成在空腔上的指状结构，并且探针触点被定位成检测手指间电容和电阻（或连续性）以及手指内部电阻。

公开(公告)号：US06428713B1

公开(公告)日：2002-08-06

申请号：US09410713

申请日：1999-10-01

申请人： John Carl Christenson ,  Steven Edward Staller ,  John Emmett Freeman ,  Troy Allan Chase ,  Robert Lawrence Healton ,  David Boyd Rich

发明人： John Carl Christenson ,  Steven Edward Staller ,  John Emmett Freeman ,  Troy Allan Chase ,  Robert Lawrence Healton ,  David Boyd Rich

IPC分类号： H01L2100

CPC分类号： B81C1/0019 ,  B81B2201/0235 ,  B81C2201/014 ,  B81C2201/019

摘要： A micro-electro-mechanical structure including a semiconductor layer mounted to an annular support structure via an isolation layer wherein the semiconductor layer is micromachined to form a suspended body having a plurality of suspension projections extending from the body to the rim and groups of integral projections extending toward but spaced from the rim between said suspension projections. Each projection in said groups has a base attached to the body and a tip proximate the rim. The structure includes a plurality of inward projections extending from and supported on the rim and toward the body. Each such projection has a base attached to the rim and a tip proximate the body; wherein the grouped projections and the inward projections are arranged in an interdigitated fashion to define a plurality of proximate projection pairs independent of the suspension elements such that a primary capacitive gap is defined between the projections of each projection pair. Also, a process is disclosed for fabricating the micro-electro-mechanical structure including the steps of removing a highly doped etch termination layer and thereafter etching through a lightly doped epitaxial layer to thereby define and release the structure.

摘要翻译： 一种微电子机械结构，其包括通过隔离层安装到环形支撑结构的半导体层，其中半导体层被微加工以形成具有从主体延伸到边缘的多个悬架突起的悬挂体和一组整体突起 从所述悬挂突起之间的边缘延伸到边缘。 所述组中的每个突起具有附接到主体的基部和靠近边缘的尖端。 该结构包括从边缘延伸并支撑在边缘上并朝向身体的多个向内突起。 每个这样的突起具有附接到边缘的基部和靠近身体的尖端; 其中分组的突起和向内的突出部以交错方式布置以限定独立于悬挂元件的多个邻近的投影对，使得在每个突起对的突起之间限定初级电容间隙。 此外，公开了一种用于制造微电子机械结构的方法，包括以下步骤：去除高度掺杂的蚀刻终止层，然后蚀刻通过轻掺杂的外延层从而限定和释放结构。

公开(公告)号：US06555856B1

公开(公告)日：2003-04-29

申请号：US09534587

申请日：2000-03-27

申请人： Steven Edward Staller

发明人： Steven Edward Staller

IPC分类号： H01L2714

CPC分类号： G01N25/56 ,  B81B2207/097 ,  G01L27/00 ,  G01M3/16

摘要： A method and device for verifying whether a cavity (16) enclosing a micromachined sensing structure (14) between a pair of wafers (10, 12) is hermetically sealed by detecting the presence of moisture within the cavity (16). The method entails forming a bare, unpassivated PN junction diode (20) in a semiconductor substrate, preferably a device wafer (10) with the sensing structure (14). The device wafer (10) is then bonded to a capping wafer (12) to enclose the PN junction diode (20) and micromachine (14) within a cavity (16) defined by and between the wafers (10, 12). The reverse diode characteristics of the PN junction diode (20) are then determined by causing a reverse current to flow through the diode (20). For this purpose, either a known voltage is applied across the diode (20) and the reverse leakage current measured, or a known reverse current is forced across the diode (20) and the voltage measured. The unpassivated junction diode (20) exhibits unstable current/voltage readings if sufficient moisture is present within the cavity (16), thereby indicating whether or not the cavity (16) is hermetically sealed.

摘要翻译： 一种用于验证在一对晶片（10,12）之间包围微加工感测结构（14）的空腔（16）是否通过检测空腔（16）内的水分的存在被气密密封的方法和装置。 该方法需要在半导体衬底中形成裸露的，未激活的PN结二极管（20），优选地在具有感测结构（14）的器件晶片（10）上形成。 然后将器件晶片（10）接合到封盖晶片（12）以将PN结二极管（20）和微机械（14）包围在由晶片（10,12）之间和之间限定的空腔（16）内。 然后通过使反向电流流过二极管（20）来确定PN结二极管（20）的反向二极管特性。 为此，在二极管（20）之间施加已知电压，并测量反向漏电流，或者将已知的反向电流强制穿过二极管（20）并测量电压。 如果在空腔（16）内存在足够的水分，则未激活的结二极管（20）表现出不稳定的电流/电压读数，从而指示空腔（16）是否被气密密封。

公开(公告)号：US6074891A

公开(公告)日：2000-06-13

申请号：US98291

申请日：1998-06-16

申请人： Steven Edward Staller

发明人： Steven Edward Staller

IPC分类号： B81C99/00 ,  G01B7/14 ,  G01C19/56 ,  G01L9/04 ,  G01N25/56 ,  G01N27/00 ,  G01P15/08 ,  H01L21/00

CPC分类号： G01N25/56 ,  G01L27/00 ,  G01M3/16 ,  B81B2207/097

摘要： A method and device for verifying whether a cavity (16) enclosing a micromachined sensing structure (14) between a pair of wafers (10, 12) is hermetically sealed by detecting the presence of moisture within the cavity (16). The method entails forming a bare, unpassivated PN junction diode (20) in a semiconductor substrate, preferably a device wafer (10) with the sensing structure (14). The device wafer (10) is then bonded to a capping wafer (12) to enclose the PN junction diode (20) and micromachine (14) within a cavity (16) defined by and between the wafers (10, 12). The reverse diode characteristics of the PN junction diode (20) are then determined by causing a reverse current to flow through the diode (20). For this purpose, either a known voltage is applied across the diode (20) and the reverse leakage current measured, or a known reverse current is forced across the diode (20) and the voltage measured. The unpassivated junction diode (20) exhibits unstable current/voltage readings if sufficient moisture is present within the cavity (16), thereby indicating whether or not the cavity (16) is hermetically sealed.

摘要翻译： 一种用于验证在一对晶片（10,12）之间包围微加工感测结构（14）的空腔（16）是否通过检测空腔（16）内的水分的存在被气密密封的方法和装置。 该方法需要在半导体衬底中形成裸露的，未激活的PN结二极管（20），优选地在具有感测结构（14）的器件晶片（10）上形成。 然后将器件晶片（10）接合到封盖晶片（12）以将PN结二极管（20）和微机械（14）包围在由晶片（10,12）之间和之间限定的空腔（16）内。 然后通过使反向电流流过二极管（20）来确定PN结二极管（20）的反向二极管特性。 为此，在二极管（20）之间施加已知电压，并测量反向漏电流，或者将已知的反向电流强制穿过二极管（20）并测量电压。 如果在空腔（16）内存在足够的水分，则未激活的结二极管（20）表现出不稳定的电流/电压读数，从而指示空腔（16）是否被气密密封。