Cornell Research Foundation Inc.

University of California

Other

Calient Networks, Inc.

Kionix, Inc.

Noel C MacDonald

Kevin A Shaw

Z Lisa Zhang

Scott G Adams

Seung Bok Lee

Kanakasabapathi Subramanian

Timothy J Davis

Marco F Aimi

Jun J Yao

Zuoying L Zhang

Liang-Yuh Chen

John E Bowers

Roger Jonathan Helkey

Payam Bozorgi

John M Chong

Susanne C Arney

Xiaojun T Huang

Russell Y Webb

Gregory J Galvin

Carl D Meinhart

Brian Piorek

Bryan Walter Reed

Scott A Miller

Robert Kehl Sink

Gaurav Soni

Hercules Neves

Changsong Ding

James P Spallas

Mohammed T A Saif

Kimberly L Turner

Yu-Hwa Lo

Damien Craig Rodger

Charles Matthew Corbalis

Brian Thibeault

Dan Haronian

Peter Hunt

Martin Moskovits

James W Mayer

John Matthew Chong

Cyrus R Safinya

Qi Chen

Robert C Anderson

J Richard Shealy

Garrett Cole

Masa P Rao

James S Thorp

Thomas David Kudrle

Emily R Parker

Muhammad T Saif

Trent Huang

Yongmei Cindy Wang

Fred M Bertsch

Muhammed T Saif

John H Das

Ali Jazairy

Wolfgang Hofmann

Zhoying L Zhang

Gyorgy A Porkolab

Liang-Yu Chen

E Staffan Björlin

Andrei Kolmakov

Marcus Ward

Zuruzi Abu Samah

Robert Lewis

Yang Xu

Wolfgang M J Hofmann

Masaru P Rao

Russel Y Webb

Titanium-based thermal ground planes are described. A thermal ground plane in accordance with the present invention comprises a titanium substrate comprising a plurality of pillars, wherein the plurality of Ti pillars can be optionally oxidized to form nanostructured titania coated pillars, and a vapor cavity, in communication with the plurality of titanium pillars, for transporting thermal energy from one region of the thermal ground plane to another region of the thermal ground plane.

Titanium-based thermal ground plane

A new packaging method for a wide range of MEMS for application on both the wafer and device scale. Titanium is used as the packaging material and both silicon and titanium MEMS devices are integrated on to a titanium substrate. A Nd:YAG pulsed laser is used to micro-weld the titanium cap to the substrate. A three-dimensional time dependent model of heat flow during laser beam welding is presented. The heat transfer and parametric design capabilities of COMSOL were employed for this purpose. Model calculations are compared and calibrated with experimental results of pulsed laser welds. The functionality and hermiticity of the proposed packaging was evaluated by packaging a self actuated Veeco Instrument AFM cantilever tip. The experimental measurements show that the resonance frequency and quality factor of the device stay the same before and after packaging and the applied technique has no effect on the device.

Using millisecond pulsed laser welding in MEMS packaging

Monocyclic chlorine based inductively coupled plasma deep etching processes for the rapid micromachining of titanium substrates and titanium devices so produced are disclosed. The method parameters are adjustable to simultaneously vary etch rate, mask selectivity, and surface roughness and can be applied to titanium substrates having a wide variety of thicknesses to produce high aspect ratio features, smooth sidewalls, and smooth surfaces. The titanium microdevices so produced exhibit beneficially high fracture toughness, biocompatibility and are robust and able to withstand harsh environments making them useful in a wide variety of applications including microelectronics, micromechanical devices, MEMS, and biological devices that may be used in vivo.

Monocyclic high aspect ratio titanium inductively coupled plasma deep etching processes and products so produced

A method and device of nanostructured titania that is crack free. A method in accordance with the present invention comprises depositing a Ti film on a surface, depositing a masking layer on the Ti film, etching said masking layer to expose a limited region of the Ti film, the limited region being of an area less than a threshold area, oxidizing the exposed limited region of the Th.ucsbi film, and annealing the exposed limited region of the Ti film.

Nanostructured titania

The present invention relates, in general, to a method for three-dimensional (3D) microfabrication of complex, high aspect ratio structures with arbitrary surface height profiles in metallic materials, and to devices fabricated in accordance with this process. The method builds upon anisotropic deep etching methods for metallic materials previously developed by the inventors by enabling simplified realization of complex, non-prismatic structural geometries composed of multiple height levels and sloping and/or non-planar surface profiles. The utility of this approach is demonstrated in the fabrication of a sloping electrode structure intended for application in bulk micromachined titanium micromirror devices, however such a method could find use in the fabrication of any number of other microactuator, microsensor, microtransducer, or microstructure devices as well.

Three-dimensional metal microfabrication process and devices produced thereby

Metal MEMS structures are fabricated from metal substrates, preferably titanium, utilizing micromachining processes with a new deep etching procedure to provide released microelectromechanical devices. The deep etch procedure includes metal anisotropic reactive ion etching utilizing repetitive alternating steps of etching and side wall protection. Variations in the timing of the etching and protecting steps produces walls of different roughness and taper. The metal wafers can be macomachined before forming the MEMS structures, and the resulting wafers can be stacked and bonded in packages.

Metal MEMS devices and methods of making same

Multi-level structures are formed in a semiconductor substrate by first forming a pattern of lines or structures of different widths. Width information on the pattern is decoded by processing steps into level information to form a MEMS structure. The pattern is etched to form structures having a first floor. The structures are oxidized until structures of thinner width are substantially fully oxidized. A portion of the oxide is then etched to expose the first floor. The first floor is then etched to form a second floor. The oxide is then optionally removed, leaving a multi-level structure. In one embodiment, high aspect ratio comb actuators are formed using the multi-level structure process.

Multi-finger z-actuator

A MEMS-tunable semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). A device in accordance with the present invention comprises a substrate, a first mirror, coupled to the substrate, a second mirror, an active region, coupled between the first and second mirror, and a microelectromechanical actuator, coupled to the second mirror, wherein a voltage is applied to the microelectromechanical actuator to tune the SOA.

MEMS tunable vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifier

A process cycles between etching and passivating chemistries to create rough sidewalls that are converted into small structures. In one embodiment, a mask is used to define lines in a single crystal silicon wafer. The process creates ripples on sidewalls of the lines corresponding to the cycles. The lines are oxidized in one embodiment to form a silicon wire corresponding to each ripple. The oxide is removed in a further embodiment to form structures ranging from micro sharp tips to photonic arrays of wires. Fluidic channels are formed by oxidizing adjacent rippled sidewalls. The same mask is also used to form other structures for MEMS devices.

Small scale wires with microelectromechanical devices

Three dimensional high aspect ratio micromachining

Shaped electrodes for micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) devices to improve actuator performance and methods for fabricating the same are disclosed. The shaped electrodes utilize its three-dimensional geometry to shape an electric field for electrostatic actuation for MEMS devices. For example, the height, width, length, sidewall slope, and layout of the shaped electrodes can be used to provide an optimum electric field in moving a MEMS mirror device. The shaped electrodes can provide electrostatic actuation at a low operating voltage and provide an optimum electric field for maximum tilt or angular range of motion for a MEMS mirror device. The shaped electrodes can be fabricated simply by using a pillar wafer and an electrode wafer. The pillar wafer can be used to form pillars as electrodes, or, alternatively, as barriers. A single substrate can also be used to form pillars and electrodes.

Shaped electrodes for micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) devices to improve actuator performance and methods for fabricating the same

Single crystal silicon micromirror and array

Growing community of inventors

Ithaca, NY, United States of America

Noel C MacDonald