Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Naomasa Oka

Yuji Suzuki

Hiroshi Fukshima

Jun Ogihara

Hiroshi Noge

Kiyohiko Kawano

Hiroshi Harada

Yoshiaki Honda

Yoshifumi Watabe

Tsutomu Ichihara

Takuya Komoda

Nobuyoshi Koshida

Koichi Aizawa

Hitoshi Yoshida

Takashi Hatai

Masahiko Suzumura

Takaaki Yoshihara

Fumihiro Kasano

Shigeaki Tomonari

Yukihiro Kondo

Masanao Kamakura

Takuro Nakamura

Takuro Ishida

An electrostatically driven latchable actuator system has an actuator and a pair of side effectors on opposite ends of the actuator. The actuator is resiliently supported to a substrate and is movable along a linear axis between two operative positions as being electrically attracted to one of the side effectors. A latch mechanism is provided to mechanically latch the actuator at either of the operative positions. The side effectors are movably towards and away from the actuator along the linear axis between a normal position and a shifted position close to the actuator. Both of the side effectors are also resiliently supported to the substrate to be movable towards the actuator by being electrostatically attracted thereto and away from the actuator by resiliency. The moving side effector is interlocked to the latch mechanism through a mechanical link so as to unlatch the actuator in response to one of the side effectors being attracted to the actuator, and allow the actuator to move from one operative position to the other operative position to be again latched thereat.

Electrostatically driven latchable actuator system

A process for fabricating a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) composed of fixed components fixedly supported on a lower substrate and movable components movably supported on the lower substrate. The process utilizes an upper substrate separate from the lower substrate. The upper substrate is selectively etched in its top layer to form therein a plurality of posts which project commonly from a bottom layer of the upper substrate. The posts include the fixed components to be fixed to the lower substrate and the movable components which are resiliently supported only to one or more of the fixed components to be movable relative to the fixed components. The lower substrate is formed in its top surface with at least one recess. The upper substrate is then bonded to the top of the lower substrate upside down in such a manner as to place the fixed components directly on the lower substrate and to place the movable components upwardly of the recess. Finally, the bottom layer of the upper substrate is removed to release the movable components from the bottom layer for floating the movable components above the recess and allowing them to move relative to the lower substrate, while keeping the fixed components fixed to the top of the lower substrate.

Process for fabricating a micro-electro-mechanical system with movable components

An array of field emission electron sources and a method of preparing the array which discharges electrons from desired regions of a surface electrode of field emission electron sources. The field emission electron source comprises an electrically conductive substrate of p-type silicon substrate ; n-type regions of stripes of diffusion layers on one of principal surfaces of the p-type silicon substrate, strong electric field drift layers formed on the n-type regions which is made of oxidized porous poly-silicon for drifting electrons injected from the n-type region ; poly-silicon layers between the strong field drift layers ; surface electrodes of the stripes of thin conductive film formed in a manner to cross over the stripes of the strong field drift layer and the poly-silicon layers . By selecting a pair of the n-type regions and the surface electrodes and thereby making electron emitted from the crossing points due to combination of the surface electrode to be electrically applied and the n-type region to be electrically applied, electrons can be discharged from desired regions of the surface electrodes

Field emission electron source, method of producing the same, and use of the same

A flexure transducer element used in an acceleration sensor for sensing an acceleration applied thereto and the method of making the same. The flexure transducer element comprises a frame, a sheet member, a weight, and a support member.

Acceleration sensor element and method of its manufacture

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Naomasa Oka