Invensense, Inc.

Intel Corporation

Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.

Transparent Optical, Inc.

Atmel Corporation

Integrated Sensor Solutions

Transparent Networks, Inc.

Invensence, Inc.

Steven Saeed Nasiri

Anthony Francis Flannery, Jr

David Sachs

Janusz Bryzek

Joseph Seeger

Babak A Taheri

Dmitry Vasily Bakin

Cheng-Chung Huang

Alex Harwit

Martin Lim

David W Burns

Goksen G Yaralioglu

Randall Brian Sprague

James Higgins Smith

Alexander Castro

Michael Julian Daneman

Hasan Akyol

Sean S Cahill

Joseph Jiang

Kegang Huang

Janusz B Liberkowski

Zhenfang Chen

Mitchell Novack

Zbigniew Sufleta

Shang-Hung Lin

Haesung Kwon

Yuan Zheng

Ilya Gurin

Mansur Kiadeh

Igor Tchertkov

Jeff Jarfa

Bruno Borovic

Jianbo Shi

Joe Seeger

James B Starr

Sheena F Shi

Anjia Gu

David Lambe Marx

Kishore Moturi

James Starr

Anthony Flannery

A module operable to be mounted onto a surface of a board. The module includes a linear accelerometer to provide a first measurement output corresponding to a measurement of linear acceleration in at least one axis, and a first rotation sensor operable to provide a second measurement output corresponding to a measurement of rotation about at least one axis. The accelerometer and the first rotation sensor are formed on a first substrate. The module further includes an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to receive both the first measurement output from the linear accelerometer and the second measurement output from the first rotation sensor. The ASIC includes an analog-to-digital converter and is implemented on a second substrate. The first substrate is vertically bonded to the second substrate.

Integrated motion processing unit (MPU) with MEMS inertial sensing and embedded digital electronics

A rotational sensor for measuring rotational acceleration is disclosed. The rotational sensor comprises a sense substrate; at least two proof masses, and a set of two transducers. Each of the at least two proof masses is anchored to the sense substrate via at least one flexure and electrically isolated from each other; and the at least two proof masses are capable of rotating in-plane about a Z-axis relative to the sense substrate, wherein the Z-axis is normal to the substrate. Each of the transducers can sense rotation of each proof mass with respect to the sense substrate in response to a rotation of the rotational sensor.

MEMS rotation sensor with integrated electronics

Interfacing application programs and motion sensors of a device. In one aspect, a high-level command is received from an application program running on a motion sensing device, where the application program implements one of multiple different types of applications available for use on the device. The high-level command requests high-level information derived from the output of motion sensors of the device that include rotational motion sensors and linear motion sensors. The command is translated to cause low-level processing of motion sensor data output by the motion sensors, the low-level processing following requirements of the type of application and determining the high-level information in response to the command. The application program is ignorant of the low-level processing, and the high-level information is provided to the application program.

Interfacing application programs and motion sensors of a device

A method of bonding of germanium to aluminum between two substrates to create a robust electrical and mechanical contact is disclosed. An aluminum-germanium bond has the following unique combination of attributes: (1) it can form a hermetic seal; (2) it can be used to create an electrically conductive path between two substrates; (3) it can be patterned so that this conduction path is localized; (4) the bond can be made with the aluminum that is available as standard foundry CMOS process. This has the significant advantage of allowing for wafer-level bonding or packaging without the addition of any additional process layers to the CMOS wafer.

Method of fabrication of Al/Ge bonding in a wafer packaging environment and a product produced therefrom

Handheld electronic devices including motion sensing and processing. In one aspect, a handheld electronic device includes a set of motion sensors provided on a single sensor wafer, including at least one gyroscope sensing rotational rate of the device around at least three axes and at least one accelerometer sensing gravity and linear acceleration of the device along the at least three axes. Memory stores sensor data derived from the at least one gyroscope and accelerometer, where the sensor data describes movement of the device including a rotation of the device around at least one of the three axes of the device, the rotation causing interaction with the device. The memory is provided on an electronics wafer positioned vertically with respect to the sensor wafer and substantially parallel to the sensor wafer. The electronics wafer is vertically bonded to and electrically connected to the sensor wafer.

Controlling and accessing content using motion processing on mobile devices

Sensors for measuring angular acceleration about three mutually orthogonal axes, X, Y, Z or about the combination of these axes are disclosed. The sensor comprises a sensor subassembly. The sensor subassembly further comprises a base which is substantially parallel to the X-Y sensing plane; a proof mass disposed in the X-Y sensing plane and constrained to rotate substantially about the X, and/or Y, and/or Z, by at least one linkage and is responsive to angular accelerations about the X, and/or Y, and/or Z directions. Finally, the sensor includes at least one electrode at the base plate or perpendicular to the base plate and at least one transducer for each sensing direction of the sensor subassembly responsive to the angular acceleration. Multi-axis detection is enabled by adjusting a configuration of flexures and electrodes.

Vertically integrated 3-axis MEMS angular accelerometer with integrated electronics

Method of fabrication of Al/GE bonding in a wafer packaging environment and a product produced therefrom

An integrated MEMS device comprises a wafer where the wafer contains two or more cavities of different depths. The MEMS device includes one movable structure within a first cavity of a first depth and a second movable structure within a second cavity of a second depth. The cavities are sealed to maintain different pressures for the different movable structures for optimal operation. MEMS stops can be formed in the same multiple cavity depth processing flow. The MEMS device can be integrated with a CMOS wafer.

Integrated MEMS devices with controlled pressure environments by means of enclosed volumes

In a method and system in accordance with the present invention, solder balls are added on top of vertically integrated MEMS with CMOS by using wafer scale fabrication compatible with existing chip scale packaging capabilities. In the present invention, both the MEMS and the CMOS dies are fabricated in equal dimensions. On the MEMS level, silicon islands are defined by DRIE etching to be bonded on top of CMOS pads. These conducting silicon islands later provide electrical connections between the CMOS pads and the conducting traces that lead to solder balls on top.

Wafer scale chip scale packaging of vertically integrated MEMS sensors with electronics

Various embodiments provide systems and methods capable of facilitating interaction with handheld electronics devices based on sensing rotational rate around at least three axes and linear acceleration along at least three axes. In one aspect, a handheld electronic device includes a subsystem providing display capability, a set of motion sensors sensing rotational rate around at least three axes and linear acceleration along at least three axes, and a subsystem which, based on motion data derived from at least one of the motion sensors, is capable of facilitating interaction with the device.

Growing community of inventors

Saratoga, CA, United States of America

Steven Saeed Nasiri