The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.

Analog Devices,inc.

Other

William David Sawyer

Marc Steven Weinberg

Jeffrey T Borenstein

Amy Elizabeth Duwel

Jonathan Jay Bernstein

Paul A Ward

Firas Sammoura

Eugene H Cook

James Alan Bickford

Daniel Kenneth Freeman

Anthony S Kourepenis

Stephanie Lynne Golmon

Louis Kratchman

Ronald Steven McNabb, Jr

James S Pringle, Jr

Mirela G Bancu

James H Connelly

Max Lindsay Turnquist

Christopher M Lento

James R Cousens

William A Lenk

Kuang L Yang

Thomas Kieran Nunan

Andrew William Sparks

Christine H Tsau

John Joseph LeBlanc

John J Le Blanc

Methods for fabricating MEMS tuning fork gyroscope sensor system using silicon wafers. This provides the possibly to avoid glass. The sense plates can be formed in a device layer of a silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer or in a deposited polysilicon layer in a few examples.

Silicon MEMS gyroscopes with upper and lower sense plates

Methods for fabricating silicon MEMS gyroscopes with upper and lower sense plates

Aspects are generally directed to a compact and low-noise electric field detector, methods of operation, and methods of production thereof. In one example, an electric field detector includes a proof mass, a source of concentrated charge coupled to the proof mass, and a substrate having a substrate offset space defined therein, the proof mass being suspended above the substrate offset space. The electric field detector further includes a sense electrode disposed on the substrate within the substrate offset space and proximate the proof mass, the sense electrode being configured to measure a change in capacitance relative to the proof mass from movement of the proof mass in response to a received electric field at the source of concentrated charge. The electric field detector includes a control circuit coupled to the sense electrode and configured to determine a characteristic of the electric field based on the measured change in capacitance.

Miniature electric field detector

A method for forming an alignment feature for back side wafer processing in a wafer fabrication process involves forming a trench into but not entirely through a wafer from a top side of the wafer; forming a contrasting material on surfaces of the trench; and grinding a bottom side of the wafer to expose the trench using the handling wafer to handle the wafer during such grinding, wherein the contrasting material lining the exposed trench provides an alignment reference for precise alignment of the wafer for back side processing the wafer.

Apparatus and method for forming alignment features for back side processing of a wafer

A MEMS sensor includes at least one closed nodal anchor along a predetermined closed nodal path on at least one surface of a resonant mass. The resonant mass may be configured to resonate substantially in an in-plane contour mode. Drive and/or sense electrodes may be disposed within a cavity formed at least in part by the resonant mass, the closed nodal anchor, and a substrate.

MEMS sensors with closed nodal anchors for operation in an in-plane contour mode

A method for producing Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and related devices using Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) wafer includes providing an SOI wafer, performing a mesa etch to at least partially define the MEMS device, bonding the SOI wafer to an interposer by direct boding, removing the handle layer of the SOI wafer, removing the oxide layer of the SOI wafer, and further etching the device layer of the SOI wafer to define the MEMS device. A structure manufactured according to the above described processes includes an interposer comprising an SOI wafer and a MEMS device mounted on the interposer. The MEMS device comprises posts extending from a silicon plate. The MEMS device is directly mounted to the interposer by bonding the posts of the MEMS device to the device layer of the interposer.

MEMS device and interposer and method for integrating MEMS device and interposer

A method and apparatus for sensing movement resonates a primary member in a flexure mode at a given frequency, thus causing the primary member to have top and bottom portions that resonate at substantially about zero Hertz. The method also secures the bottom portion to a first substrate, and mechanically constrains the top portion while resonating in the flexure mode to substantially eliminate vibrations in the top portion. Finally, the method generates a changing capacitance signal in response to movement of the primary member. When generating this changing capacitance signal, the primary member resonates in a bulk mode at a given frequency.

Resonating sensor with mechanical constraints

A MEMS stiction testing method applies a first electrical signal to a MEMS device having two opposing surfaces to cause the two opposing surfaces to make physical contact. The two opposing surfaces produce a second electrical signal when in physical contact. The method then substantially mitigates the first electrical signal after detecting that the second electrical signal has reached a prescribed maximum value.

MEMS stiction testing apparatus and method

Method for integrating MEMS device and interposer

The invention provides a general fabrication method for producing MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) and related devices using Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) wafer. The method includes providing an SOI wafer that has (i) a handle layer, (ii) a dielectric layer, and (iii) a device layer, wherein a mesa etch has been made on the device layer of the SOI wafer, providing a substrate, wherein a pattern has been etched onto the substrate, bonding the SOI wafer and the substrate together, removing the handle layer of the SOI wafer, removing the dielectric layer of the SOI wafer, then performing a structural etch on the device layer of the SOI wafer to define the device.

Method for microfabricating structures using silicon-on-insulator material

A method for reducing errors in a tuning fork gyroscope includes determining a first distance, g, between an upper sense plate and a proof mass and a second distance, g, between a lower sense plate and the proof mass. The method further includes applying a first voltage, V, to the upper sense plate and a second voltage, V, to the lower sense plate, wherein the ratio of the first voltage and the second voltage is a function of the first distance and the second distance.

Method for fabricating a tuning fork gyroscope

A tuning fork gyroscope typically including at least one proof mass with an upper sense plate disposed above the proof mass and a lower sense plate disposed below the proof mass and means for sensing changes in the nominal gaps between the sense plate and the proof mass and for outputting a signal indicative of the gyroscope angular rate.

Tuning fork gyroscope

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Arlington, MA, United States of America

William David Sawyer