Medtronic, Inc.

Optical Coating Laboratory, Inc.

Sercalo Microtechnology Ltd.

Seralco Microtechnology Ltd.

Cornel Marxer

Rogier Receveur

Bryant P Hichwa

Peter Herbst

Michael Gale

The invention concerns a micromechanical element including a frame, a moving part rotating inside said frame, about an axis, two torsion beams connecting the moving part to said frame , aligned along the axis and provided with a portion of reinforced width, and stop members arranged on both sides of the reinforced portions, so as to limit the lateral movement of the moving part . According to the invention, the portions of reinforced width are integral with the frame , and the stop members are integral with the moving part.

Micromechanical element mobile along at least one axis of rotation

A hermetically sealed microelectromechanical system (MEMS) package includes a MEMS switch having a movable portion and a stationary portion with an electrical contact thereon. A glass lid is anodically bonded to the MEMS switch to form a sealed cavity over the movable portion of the MEMS switch. The glass lid includes a contact aperture to allow access to the electrical contact on the stationary portion of the MEMS switch. A family of body-implantable hermetically-sealed MEMS packages are provided according to certain aspects and embodiments of the present invention.

Wafer level hermetically sealed MEMS device

A bistable MEMS switch for use in selectively opening or closing electrical circuits included in an implantable medical device system is provided. The switch includes a central movable beam having a movable contact; a suspension system for supporting the movable beam and generating a contact force; an actuator for displacing the beam upon application of an activation signal, and a fixed contact for interfacing the movable contact when the switch is in a closed state. The switch is fabricated from a Si/SiO/Si wafer using photolithography, DRIE and sacrificial oxide etching followed by metalization of electrical contact points with a wear-resistant metal or alloy. An actuation layer may be fabricated from the silicon substrate layer of the wafer and the signal layer may be fabricated from the top silicon layer. The actuation layer and signal layer are thereby electrically decoupled and mechanically coupled by the intervening SiOlayer.

MEMs switching circuit and method for an implantable medical device

The radiation guide switching arrangement having at least one radiation guide switch is produced from a sandwich wafer. The sandwich wafer has a substrate, a covering layer and an electrically insulating intermediate layer. Each radiation guide switch has a moveable switching part ( ) as well as at least two radiation guide ends ( ), which come to rest in a plane and are arranged closely adjacent to one another such that radiation which emerges from one radiation guide end ( ) can be blocked on its optical path to another guide end ( ), or can be reflected into this other guide end, by means of the switching part ( ). The intermediate space ( ) which accommodates the switching part ( ) between the guide ends ( ) is filled with an index matching liquid ( ) which has a predetermined refractive index, and the radiation-carrying core ( ) of each radiation guide ( ) is designed to taper such that radiation collimation ( ) can be achieved by interaction with the refractive index of the index matching liquid ( ) and the free core profile ( ) in the space which is filled with liquid.

Switching arrangement for a radiation guide

A bi-stable micro-machined electromechanical system (&ldquo;MEMS&rdquo;) switch. In a preferred embodiment, the bi-stable MEMS switch is used in an N&times;N optical signal switching system. Spring arms act in conjunction with a hollow beam portion of a movable center body of the switch to accommodate strain in the arms as the switch is moved from a first position to a second position, thus avoiding buckling of the spring arms. Both the first and second switch position occur at local minimums of mechanical potential energy, thus providing two stable switch states. The center body is moved in relation to static portions of the switch by an actuator, such as an electro-static comb drive.

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Neuchatel, Switzerland

Cornel Marxer