Innovative Micro Technology

Gregory A Carlson

John Stuart Foster

Jeffery Frank Summers

David M Erlach

Douglas L Thompson

Christopher S Gudeman

Paul Rubel

Alok Paranjpye

Steven H Hovey

Donald C Liu

A drywall repair apparatus and method. The apparatus includes a plastic puck that is dimensioned to fill a hole in damaged drywall. The apparatus is anchored inside the wall. The apparatus may have an integrated plastic puck mounted on a plastic plank. The device mounts inside the wall and the puck fills the ½″ deep void, leaving only 1/16″ to be filled with joint compound. There is no time-consuming multiple layering required. There is no need for broad feathering to hide the repair and the repair is as solid as the original wall before damage.

Drywall repair apparatus and method

A micromechanical pumping system is formed on a substrate surface. The pumping system uses a pumping element which pumps a fluid through valves which move in a plane substantially parallel to the substrate surface. An electromagnetic actuating mechanism may also be fabricated on the surface of the substrate. Magnetic flux produced by a coil around a permeable core may be coupled to a permeable member affixed to a pumping element. The permeable member and pumping element may be configured to move in a plane parallel to the substrate. The electromagnetic actuating mechanism gives the pumping system a large throw and substantial force, such that the fluid pumped by the pumping system may be pumped through a transdermal cannula to deliver a therapeutic substance to the tissue underlying the skin of a patient.

In-plane electromagnetic MEMS pump

A method for providing access to a feature on a device wafer, and located outside an encapsulation region is described. The method includes forming a cavity in the lid wafer, aligning the lid wafer with the device wafer so that the cavity is located substantially above the feature, and removing material substantially uniformly from the bottom surface of the lid wafer, until an aperture is formed at the cavity, over the feature on the device wafer. By removing material from the lid wafer in a substantially uniform manner, difficulties with the prior art procedure of saw cutting, such as alignment and debris generation, are avoided.

System and method for providing access to an encapsulated device

Systems and methods for forming an encapsulated device include a hermetic seal which seals an insulating environment between two substrates, one of which supports the device. The hermetic seal is formed by an alloy of two metal layers, one deposited on a first substrate and the other deposited on the second substrate, along with a raised feature formed on the first or the second substrate. At least one of the metal layers may be deposited conformally over the raised feature. The raised feature penetrates the molten material of the first or the second metal layers during formation of the alloy, and produces a spectrum of stoichiometries for the formation of the desired alloy, as a function of the distance from the raised feature. At some distance from the raised feature, the proper ratio of the first metal to the second metal exists to form an alloy of the preferred stoichiometry.

Wafer level hermetic bond using metal alloy with raised feature

A material for forming a conductive structure for a MEMS device is described, which is an alloy containing about 0.01% manganese and the remainder nickel. Data shows that the alloy possesses advantageous mechanical and electrical properties. In particular, the sheet resistance of the alloy is actually lower than the sheet resistance of the pure metal. In addition, the alloy may have superior creep and higher recrystallization temperature than the pure metal. It is hypothesized that these advantageous material properties are a result of the larger grain structure existing in the NiMn alloy film compared to the pure nickel metal film. These properties may make the alloy appropriate for applications such as MEMS thermal electrical switches for telecommunications applications.

MEMS device using NiMn alloy and method of manufacture

A separated MEMS thermal actuator is disclosed which is largely insensitive to creep in the cantilevered beams of the thermal actuator. In the separated MEMS thermal actuator, a inlaid cantilevered drive beam formed in the same plane, but separated from a passive beam by a small gap. Because the inlaid cantilevered drive beam and the passive beam are not directly coupled, any changes in the quiescent position of the inlaid cantilevered drive beam may not be transmitted to the passive beam, if the magnitude of the changes are less than the size of the gap.

MEMS thermal actuator and method of manufacture

A material for forming a conductive structure for a micromechanical current-driven device is described, which is an alloy containing about 0.025% manganese and the remainder nickel. Data shows that the alloy possesses advantageous mechanical and electrical properties. In particular, the sheet resistance of the alloy is actually lower and more stable than the sheet resistance of the pure metal. Accordingly, when used for conductive leads in a photonic device, the leads using the NiMn alloy may provide current to heat the photonic device while generating less heat within the leads themselves, and a more stable output.

Current-driven device using NiMn alloy and method of manufacture

A hermetic interconnect is fabricated on a substrate by forming a stud of conductive material over a metallization layer, and then overcoating the stud of conductive material and the metallization layer with a layer of compliant dielectric material. In one embodiment, the layer of compliant dielectric material is low Young's modulus silicon dioxide, formed by sputter-deposition at low temperature, in a low pressure argon atmosphere. The interconnect may provide electrical access to a micromechanical device, which is enclosed with a capping wafer hermetically sealed to the substrate with an AuInalloy bond.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Barbara, CA, United States of America

Gregory A Carlson