International Business Machines Corporation

Ute Drechsler

Michel Despont

Peter Vettiger

Emmanuel Delamarche

Hugo Eric Rothuizen

Roy Rongqing Yu

Urs T Duerig

Armin W Knoll

Christoph Hermann Hagleitner

H Bernhard Pogge

Patrick Ruch

Roy H Magnuson

Robert Dean Lovchik

Laurent A Dellmann

Neil Ebejer

Daniel Grogg

Mark I Lutwyche

Emanuel Marc Löertscher

Yu Pu

Roland W Widmer

Roland M Guerre

James L Hedrick

Robert Dennis Miller

Abu Sebastian

Bernd W Gotsmann

Siegfried Friedrich Karg

Walter Heinrich Riess

Peter Mueller

Chandrika Prasad

Veeresh Vidyadhar Deshpande

Jane Elizabeth Frommer

Harish Bhaskaran

Stefan Filipp

Roland Germann

Tilman A Beierlein

Thilo Hermann Stoeferle

Matthias Geissler

Paul F Seidler

Andreas Fuhrer

Marc Ganzhorn

Marcel Mayor

Tobias Kraus

Santos F Alvarado

Diego Monserrat Lopez

Andreas Kuhlmann

Brian K Crone

Lieike Riel

Beat Ruhstaller

Michel Desponet

Gabriel Fernando Puebla Hellmann

A sensor device, such as a biosensor, may comprise a polymer substrate, which is structured so as to form sets of microneedles and respective vias. The microneedles extend, each, from a base surface of the substrate. Each of the vias extends through a thickness of the substrate, thereby forming a corresponding set of apertures on the base surface. Each of the apertures is adjacent to a respective one of the microneedles. The device further may comprise two or more electrodes, these including a sensing electrode and a reference electrode. Each electrode may comprise an electrically conductive material layer that coats a region of the substrate, so as to coat at least some of the microneedles and neighboring portions of said base surface. Related devices, apparatuses, and methods of fabrication and use of such devices may be provided.

Electrically functional polymer microneedle array

A device includes a first layer of an electrically insulating material and a second layer of a non-electrically insulating material (e.g., semiconductor or electrically conductive) extending on the first layer. The second layer is structured so as to define opposite, lateral walls of a microchannel, a bottom wall of which is defined by an exposed surface of the first layer. The second layer is further structured to form one or more electrical insulation barriers; each barrier includes a line of through holes, each surrounded by an oxidized region of the material of the second layer. The through holes alternate with oxidized portions of the oxidized region along the line. Each barrier extends, as a whole, laterally across the second layer up to one of the lateral walls and delimits two sections of the second layer on each side of the barrier and on a same side of the microchannel.

Microfluidic devices with electrodes formed as physically separated sections of microchannel side walls

A method of processing a layer structure with a semiconductor layer to form metasurface structures is disclosed. The method relies on a layer structure that includes a substrate, a layer stack, and resist structures. The latter are made of a resist material that includes a semiconductor element. The layer stack is arranged on top of the substrate. The resist structures form a pattern on the layer stack. The layer stack includes: a semiconductor layer (arranged on top of the substrate); a protective layer (arranged on top of the semiconductor layer); and a transfer layer (arranged on top of the protective layer). The layer structure is obtained by forming the layer stack on top of the substrate, wherein the protective layer is deposited using an atomic-layer deposition process.

Mass fabrication-compatible processing of semiconductor metasurfaces

Embodiments are directed to a superconducting microwave circuit. The circuit includes a substrate and two electrodes. The latter form an electrode pair dimensioned so as to support an electromagnetic field, which allows the circuit to be operated in the microwave domain. The substrate exhibits a raised portion, which includes a top surface and two lateral surfaces. The top surface connects the two lateral surfaces, which show respective undercuts (on the lateral sides of the raised portions). Each of the electrodes includes a structure that includes a potentially superconducting material. Two protruding structures are accordingly formed, which are shaped complementarily to the respective undercuts. This way, the shaped structure of each of the electrodes protrudes toward the other one of the electrodes of the pair.

Buried electrode geometry for lowering surface losses in superconducting microwave circuits

An atomic-force microscope system is provided including: an electrically conducting cantilever support; an electrically insulating element; and an electrically conducting cantilever anchored at a first end to the cantilever support via the insulating element, the cantilever including a probe tip at a second end opposite to the first end and the cantilever support is configured as a backside electrode of the cantilever for backside actuation thereof; a Fabry-Perot interferometer including: a resonator with a first mirror defined on the cantilever; and a second mirror defined on the cantilever support having a first side and a second side configured to allow light injection, opposite to the first side, the latter extending at least partly vis-&#xe0;-vis the first mirror. The interferometer includes a light-emitting device, and a detector configured for detecting a property of the system impacted by interferences of light emitted by the light-emitting device. Methods of operations are also provided.

Atomic-force microscope system with integrated fabry-perot resonator

A nano-electro-mechanical switch includes an input electrode, a body electrode, an insulating layer, an actuator electrode, an output electrode, and a cantilever beam adapted to flex in response to an actuation voltage applied between the body electrode and the actuator electrode. The cantilever beam includes the input electrode, the body electrode and the insulating layer, the latter separating the body electrode from the input electrode, the cantilever beam being configured such that, upon flexion of the cantilever beam, the input electrode comes in contact with the output electrode at a single mechanical contact point at the level of an end of the cantilever beam.

Four terminal nano-electromechanical switch with a single mechanical contact

Methods for fabricating an electromechanical switch

An article for producing an integrated device includes a deformable layer and one or more components releasably attached on one surface of the deformable layer.

Method for producing an integrated device

A micro fluidic probe head includes a first layer, a second layer, and a first tubing port extending from an upper face of the first layer. The first layer has a first via, enabling fluid communication between the first port and a lower face of the first layer. The second layer includes a first aperture on a face, and a first microchannel enabling fluid communication between an upper face of the second layer, facing the lower face of the first layer, and the first aperture. The head enables fluid communication between the first via and the first microchannel. At least a portion of the first microchannel is a groove open on the upper face of the second layer, closed by a portion of a lower face of a layer of the head. The probe head further comprises a second tubing port, a second via, a second aperture and a second micro channel.

Multilayer microfluidic probe head and method of fabrication thereof

A microfluidic probe head includes a first layer, a second layer, and a first tubing port extending from an upper face of the first layer. The first layer has a first via, enabling fluid communication between the first port and a lower face of the first layer. The second layer includes a first aperture on a face, and a first microchannel enabling fluid communication between an upper face of the second layer, facing the lower face of the first layer, and the first aperture. The head enables fluid communication between the first via and the first microchannel. At least a portion of the first microchannel is a groove open on the upper face of the second layer, closed by a portion of a lower face of a layer of the head. The probe head further comprises a second tubing port, a second via, a second aperture and a second microchannel.

Tips including a platinum silicide at an apex of a single crystal silicon tip are provided herein. Also, techniques for creating a tip are provided. The techniques include depositing an amount of platinum (Pt) on a single crystal silicon tip, annealing the platinum and single crystal silicon tip to form a platinum silicide, and selectively etching the platinum with respect to the formed platinum silicide.

Platinum silicide tip apices for probe-based technologies

A method for producing an integrated device. A source substrate is provided, the source substrate carrying one or more components to be attached to a receiver surface having a uneven topography. The source substrate includes a deformable layer on a surface on which the one or more components are carried. The source substrate is aligned such that said one or more components carried thereon are associated with contact areas of the receiver surface. The source substrate and the receiver surface are moved towards each other such that the one or more components are brought into contact with the contact areas wherein the deformable layer is at least partially deformed. The source substrate is removed such that the one or more of the components remain located on the contact areas of the receiver surface.

A method of protecting a polymeric layer from contamination by a photoresist layer. The method includes: (a) forming a polymeric layer over a substrate; (b) forming a non-photoactive protection layer over the polymeric layer; (c) forming a photoresist layer over the protection layer; (d) exposing the photoresist layer to actinic radiation and developing the photoresist layer to form a patterned photoresist layer, thereby exposing regions of the protection layer; (e) etching through the protection layer and the polymeric layer where the protection layer is not protected by the patterned photoresist layer; (f) removing the patterned photoresist layer in a first removal process; and (g) removing the protection layer in a second removal process different from the first removal process.

Protection of polymer surfaces during micro-fabrication

A method for protecting a material of a microstructure comprising the material and a noble metal layer against undesired galvanic etching during manufacture, the method comprises forming on the structure a sacrificial metal layer having a lower redox potential than the material, the sacrificial metal layer being electrically connected to the noble metal layer.

Fabrication of silicon micro-mechanical structures

Growing community of inventors

Rueschlikon, Switzerland

Ute Drechsler