The Foxboro Company

Richard A Anderson

Harold Lake

Paul E Grandmont

John R Martin

Anthony C Gilby

Dale E Ihnat

A microporous, photoprocessable, moderately hydrophilic material on which metal can be deposited directly using electroless plating techniques, and its use in preparing printed wiring boards and circuit components.

Multilayer circuit board having microporous layers and method for making

Multilayer circuit board having microporous layers and process for

A compliant sealing material with low or no gas permeability and low spring rate is made by coating a metal such as gold, on the surface of a polymer sheet. The metal acts as a complete gas barrier on an atomic level, and the polymer provides structural integrity and mounting attributes without detrimentally increasing compliance. A small number of metal atoms injected at a moderate energy into the near surface of the polymer act as link sites for joining subsequent lower energy atoms forming an impermeable layer. The total heat delivery to the polymer is minimized thereby preserving integrity and continuity. The material is particularly useful in micromechanical devices where high flexibility is needed with complete sealing.

Method of making a compliant fluid-impermeable element

Compliant diaphragm material

A technique is disclosed for achieving critical alignment of optical and mechanical elements, in which one of the foregoing is movable with respect to the other. Specifically, an optical fiber (12) is aligned with respect to a movable member (19) in a first position. The movable member is then displaced to a second position and high levels of radiant energy at a first discernible wavelength are transmitted down the fiber optic path to alter, or pattern, a wavelength sensitive surface area or coating (16) on the surface of the movable member. The movable member is then freed, and radiant energy of a second wavelength to which the coating is insensitive is used to sense the position of the movable member with respect to the fiber optic.

Aligning optical and mechanical elements for optical motion sensing

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North Attleboro, MA, United States of America

Richard A Anderson