Sensonor As

Sensonor Asa

Gjermund Kittilsland

Daniel Lapadatu

Sissel Jacobsen

Adriana Lapadatu

Terje Kvisteroey

Henrik Jakobsen

Asgeir Nord

Trond Westgaard

A micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) structure for an angular rate sensor includes seismic masses arranged to have a first degree of rotational freedom about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the plane of a silicon substrate, and a second degree of rotational freedom about an axis substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of driving beams to which the seismic masses are attached. A sensing system is arranged such that, when the structure is subjected to an angular velocity around a third axis that is substantially in the plane of the silicon substrate and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the beams, a Coriolis force arises which causes the secondary oscillation of the seismic masses.

MEMS structure for an angular rate sensor

A method for providing hermetic sealing within a silicon-insulator composite wafer for manufacturing a hermetically sealed structure, comprising the steps of: patterning a first silicon wafer to have one or more recesses that extend at least partially through the first silicon wafer; filling said recesses with an insulator material able to be anodically bonded to silicon to form a first composite wafer having a plurality of silicon-insulator interfaces and a first contacting surface consisting of insulator material; and using an anodic bonding technique on the first contacting surface and an opposing second contacting surface to create hermetic sealing between the silicon-insulator interfaces, wherein the second contacting surface consists of silicon.

Method for manufacturing a hermetically sealed structure

A method of forming a focal plane array by: forming a first wafer having sensing material provided on a surface, which is covered by a sacrificial layer, the sensing material being a thermistor material defining at least one pixel; providing supporting legs for the pixel within the sacrificial layer, covering them with a further sacrificial layer and forming first conductive portions in the surface of the sacrificial layer that are in contact with the supporting legs; forming a second wafer having read-out integrated circuit (ROIC), the second wafer being covered by another sacrificial layer, into which is formed second conductive portions in contact with the ROIC; bringing the sacrificial oxide layers of the first wafer and second wafer together such that the first and second conductive portions are aligned and bonding them together such that the sensing material is transferred from the first wafer to the second wafer when a sacrificial bulk layer of the first wafer is removed; and removing the sacrificial layers to release the pixel, with the supporting legs underneath it.

Focal plane array and method for manufacturing the same

A method of forming a focal plane array by: preparing a first wafer having sensing material provided on a surface, which is covered by a sacrificial layer; preparing a second wafer including read-out integrated circuit and a contact pad, which is covered by another sacrificial layer into which are formed support legs in contact with the contact pad, the support legs being covered with a further sacrificial layer; bonding the sacrificial layers of the first and second wafers together such that the sensing material is transferred from the first wafer to the second wafer when a sacrificial bulk layer of the first wafer is removed; defining a pixel in the sensing material and forming a conductive via through the pixel for providing a connection between an uppermost surface of the pixel and the supporting legs; and removing the sacrificial layers to release the pixel, with the supporting legs underneath it.

A micromechanical acceleration switch of silicon or similar materials, comprising a resilient electrode element, a proof mass, a housing and a spring element connecting the electrode element and the proof mass to the housing. The electrode element is mechanically connected adjacent to the proof mass. The proof mass has its centre of gravity located at a given distance from the axis through the spring element, so that when the proof mass is pivoting about the axis of the spring element in response to an externally applied acceleration, with a component in a direction parallel with the first axis. The electrode element also pivots about this axis. The pivot angle being essentially proportional to the magnitude of this component of the acceleration. The resilient electrode element has a mass considerably smaller than the proof mass, and is provided with at least one electrical contact point giving electrical contact and co-operation with corresponding contact areas in said switch housing at a given pivot angle of the electrode element.

Growing community of inventors

Horten, Norway

Gjermund Kittilsland