Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100059835 | Apparatus and Method of Wafer Bonding Using Compatible Alloy - A method of forming an inertial sensor provides 1) a device wafer with a two-dimensional array of inertial sensors and 2) a second wafer, and deposits an alloy of aluminum/germanium onto one or both of the wafers. The alloy is deposited and patterned to form a plurality of closed loops. The method then aligns the device wafer and the second wafer, and then positions the alloy between the wafers. Next, the method melts the alloy, and then solidifies the alloy to form a plurality of conductive hermetic seal rings about the plurality of the inertial sensors. The seal rings bond the device wafer to the second wafer. Finally, the method dices the wafers to form a plurality of individual, hermetically sealed inertial sensors. | 03-11-2010 |
20100062565 | Substrate Bonding with Bonding Material Having Rare Earth Metal - A microchip has a bonding material that bonds a first substrate to a second substrate. The bonding material has, among other things, a rare earth metal and other material. | 03-11-2010 |
20100320548 | Silicon-Rich Nitride Etch Stop Layer for Vapor HF Etching in MEMS Device Fabrication - A thin silicon-rich nitride film (e.g., having a thickness in the range of around 100A to 10000A) deposited using low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) is used for etch stop during vapor HF etching in various MEMS wafer fabrication processes and devices. The LPCVD silicon-rich nitride film may replace, or be used in combination with, a LPCVD stoichiometric nitride layer in many existing MEMS fabrication processes and devices. The LPCVD silicon-rich nitride film is deposited at high temperatures (e.g., typically around 650-900 degrees C.). Such a LPCVD silicon-rich nitride film generally has enhanced etch selectivity to vapor HF and other harsh chemical environments compared to stoichiometric silicon nitride and therefore a thinner layer typically can be used as an embedded etch stop layer in various MEMS wafer fabrication processes and devices and particularly for vapor HF etching processes, saving time and money in the fabrication process. | 12-23-2010 |
20110073859 | Reduced Stiction MEMS Device with Exposed Silicon Carbide - A MEMS device has a first member that is movable relative to a second member. At least one of the first member and the second member has exposed silicon carbide with a water contact angle of greater than about 70 degrees. | 03-31-2011 |
20110212563 | Apparatus and Method of Wafer Bonding Using Compatible Alloy - A method of forming an inertial sensor provides 1) a device wafer with a two-dimensional array of inertial sensors and 2) a second wafer, and deposits an alloy of aluminum/germanium onto one or both of the wafers. The alloy is deposited and patterned to form a plurality of closed loops. The method then aligns the device wafer and the second wafer, and then positions the alloy between the wafers. Next, the method melts the alloy, and then solidifies the alloy to form a plurality of conductive hermetic seal rings about the plurality of the inertial sensors. The seal rings bond the device wafer to the second wafer. Finally, the method dices the wafers to form a plurality of individual, hermetically sealed inertial sensors. | 09-01-2011 |
20110241176 | Substrate Bonding with Bonding Material Having Rare Earth Metal - A microchip has a bonding material that bonds a first substrate to a second substrate. The bonding material has, among other things, a rare earth metal and other material. | 10-06-2011 |
20110244630 | Method of Substrate Bonding with Bonding Material Having Rare Earth Metal - A microchip has a bonding material that bonds a first substrate to a second substrate. The bonding material has, among other things, a rare earth metal and other material. | 10-06-2011 |
20120074417 | Method of Bonding Wafers - A method of bonding wafers with an aluminum-germanium bond includes forming an aluminum layer on a first wafer, and a germanium layer on a second wafer, and implanting the germanium layer with non-germanium atoms prior to forming a eutectic bond at the aluminum-germanium interface. The wafers are aligned to a desired orientation and the two layers are held in contact with one another. The aluminum-germanium interface is heated to a temperature that allows the interface of the layers to melt, thus forming a bond. A portions of the germanium layer may be removed from the second wafer to allow infrared radiation to pass through the second wafer to facilitate wafer alignment. | 03-29-2012 |
20130023082 | Apparatus and Method of Wafer Bonding Using Compatible Alloy - A method of forming a MEMS device provides first and second wafers, where at least one of the first and second wafers has a two-dimensional array of MEMS devices. The method deposits a layer of first germanium onto the first wafer, and a layer of aluminum-germanium alloy onto the second wafer. To deposit the alloy, the method deposits a layer of aluminum onto the second wafer and then a layer of second germanium to the second wafer. Specifically, the layer of second germanium is deposited on the layer of aluminum. Next, the method brings the first wafer into contact with the second wafer so that the first germanium in the aluminum-germanium alloy contacts the second germanium. The wafers then are heated when the first and second germanium are in contact, and cooled to form a plurality of conductive hermetic seal rings about the plurality of the MEMS devices. | 01-24-2013 |
20130288070 | Method for Creating Asperities in Metal for Metal-to-Metal Bonding - A first metal such as germanium is prepared for metal-to-metal bonding by depositing the first metal onto a roughened foundation layer so that asperities are present on the first metal layer substantially following the topology of the asperities on the surface of the foundation layer without having to process the surface of the first metal layer. Such asperities can break through barrier layer(s) on the surface of another metal (e.g., an oxide layer, an anti-stiction coating, and/or other barrier layer) during a bonding process so that direct metal-to-metal bonding can be accomplished without having to remove the barrier layer(s) and without having to process the surface of the first metal such as by photolithography or depositing and subsequently removing a material that partially interdiffuses with the first metal. | 10-31-2013 |