Freescale Semiconductor,inc.

General Electric Company

Nxp Usa, Inc.

Amphenol Thermometrics, Inc.

North Star Innovations Inc.

Yizhen Lin

Andrew C McNeil

Mark Edward Schlarmann

Todd Frederick Miller

Woo Tae Park

Lisa Z Zhang

Gary G Li

Sergey Alexandrovich Zotov

Christopher Fred Keimel

Marco Francesco Aimi

Hemant D Desai

Ertugrul Berkcan

Cheng-Po Chen

Radislav Alexandrovich Potyrailo

Anil Raj Duggal

Peter Michael Edic

William Albert Challener

Charles Burton Theurer

Jeffrey Michael Ashe

Christopher Michael Puleo

Robert C Davis

Robert F Senzig

Deepak Trivedi

Chad S Dawson

Kaustubh Ravindra Nagarkar

David Mulford Shaddock

Aaron A Geisberger

Hongyi Zhou

Dejan Mijuskovic

Vance Scott Robinson

Jason Harris Karp

David Joseph Monk

Yannan Jin

Richard Vanfleet

Aaron Jay Knobloch

Keith L Kraver

Craig Patrick Galligan

Ansas Matthias Kasten

Nancy Cecelia Stoffel

Sung Jin Jo

Xuele Qi

Nannan Chen

Michael Naumann

Alessandro Stuart Savoia

Marco Fuhrmann

Jan Mehner

Heinz Loreck

Grant Hartman

Sergiy Zalyubovsky

Guohai Chen

Michael Klitzke

Phillipe Lance

Kemaio Jia

Todd F Miller

Woo Tac Park

A method of forming a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) device includes bonding a CMUT substrate to a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate. The CMUT substrate has a first thickness and the SOI substrate includes a handle, a buried oxide layer, and a device layer. At least one of the CMUT substrate or the SOI substrate includes a patterned dielectric layer. The device layer is bonded to the patterned dielectric layer to form a plurality of sealed cavities and the device layer forms a diaphragm of the plurality of cavities. The method further includes reducing the first thickness of the CMUT substrate to a second thickness and forming a plurality of through-silicon vias from a second surface of the CMUT substrate opposite the first surface.

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) devices and methods of manufacturing

A gyroscope includes at least one anchor and a plurality of gyroscope spring elements coupled to the at least one anchor. The gyroscope also includes a plurality of concentric rings coupled to the plurality of gyroscope spring elements and configured to encircle the plurality of gyroscope spring elements. The gyroscope further includes an excitation/detection/tuning unit electrostatically coupled to the plurality of concentric rings.

Inertial sensing systems and methods of manufacturing the same

An insertion apparatus includes an insertion end positionable within a cavity and configured to travel through the cavity, a steering end opposite the insertion end, and a body extending from the insertion end to the steering end and sized to fit within the cavity. The body includes a plurality of members flexibly coupled together and individually actuated. Each member of the plurality of members includes at least one actuator strand. At least one member of the plurality of members has a first configuration in which the at least one member of the plurality of members has a first stiffness and a second configuration in which the at least one member of the plurality of members has a second stiffness greater than the first stiffness. At least a portion of the body is flexible to facilitate travel of the body through the cavity when the at least one member of the plurality of members is in the first configuration. The at least a portion of the body is configured to maintain a selected shape when the at least one member of the plurality of members is in the second configuration.

Insertion apparatus including rigidizable body

The present approach relates to the fabrication and use of a probe array having multiple individual probes. In one embodiment, the probes of the probe array may be functionalized such that certain of the probes are suitable for electrical sensing (e.g., recording) or stimulation, non-electrical sensing or stimulation (e.g., chemical sensing and/or release of biomolecules when activated), or a combination of electrical and non-electrical sensing or stimulation.

Multimodal probe array

An accelerometer includes a controller, a light source operatively coupled to the controller, and a bifurcated waveguide coupled to the light source and configured to receive light output by the light source. The bifurcated waveguide includes a first waveguide portion and a second waveguide portion. The accelerometer also includes a first resonator operatively coupled to the controller and configured to receive light from the first waveguide portion, and a second resonator operatively coupled to the controller and configured to receive light from the second waveguide portion. The first resonator includes a first proof mass, and the second resonator includes a second proof mass.

Resonant opto-mechanical accelerometer for use in navigation grade environments

A downhole dynamometer for a rod pumping unit is provided. The downhole dynamometer includes a shell within which a plurality of sensors, a non-transitory memory, and a dynamometer controller are located. The shell is configured to be coupled to a sucker rod string of the rod pumping unit and disposed in a well opposite a wellhead of the well. The plurality of sensors is configured to measure downhole accelerations of the sucker rod string and to measure a downhole load on the sucker rod string. The dynamometer controller is coupled to the plurality of sensors and the non-transitory memory. The dynamometer controller is configured to periodically collect measurements from the plurality of sensors and store the measurements in the non-transitory memory.

Downhole dynamometer and method of operation

A MEMS pressure sensor device is provided that can provide both a linear output with regard to external pressure, and a differential capacitance output so as to improve the signal amplitude level. These benefits are provided through use of a rotating proof mass that generates capacitive output from electrodes configured at both ends of the rotating proof mass. Sensor output can then be generated using a difference between the capacitances generated from the ends of the rotating proof mass. An additional benefit of such a configuration is that the differential capacitance output changes in a more linear fashion with respect to external pressure changes than does a capacitive output from traditional MEMS pressure sensors.

Pressure sensor with differential capacitive output

A multi-die sensor system comprises a package and one or more transducer dies mounted in the package. Each transducer die includes one or more transducers, a temperature control element, and temperature sensor. The temperature control element changes the temperature of at least a portion of the transducer during operation of the temperature control element. A temperature sensor senses the temperature of at least the portion of the transducer. An output circuitry die mounted in the package receives transducer signals and a sensed temperature signal from the temperature sensor.

Multi-chip device with temperature control element for temperature calibration

A system and method for electrostatic carouseling for inertial sensor gyrocompassing is disclosed. For performing such electrostatic carouseling for inertial sensor gyrocompassing, a three-rotational degree of freedom spring-mass system is provided that includes a proof mass suspended by a plurality of support springs and having three rotational degrees of freedom, a plurality of driving electrodes, and a controller operably connected to the plurality of driving electrodes. The control applies an excitation voltage to the driving electrodes to generate an electrostatic force, with the controller selectively applying the excitation voltage to the plurality of driving electrodes to generate an electrostatic force that varies an orientation of a gyroscope sensitivity axis for carouseling of the three-rotational degree of freedom spring-mass system.

System and method of electrostatic carouseling for gyrocompassing

A micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) transducer () is adapted to use lateral axis vibration to generate non-planar oscillations in a pair of teeter-totter sense mass structures () in response to rotational movement of the transducer about the rotation axis () with sense electrodes connected to add pickups (e.g.,) diagonally from the pair of sense mass structures to cancel out signals associated with rotation vibration.

Vibration robust x-axis ring gyro transducer

A MEMS switch includes a substrate and a switch structure formed on the substrate, with the switch structure further including a conductive contact formed on the substrate, a self-compensating anchor structure coupled to the substrate, and a beam comprising a first end and a second end, the beam integrated with the self-compensating anchor structure at the first end and extending out orthogonally from the self-compensating anchor structure and suspended over the substrate such that the second end comprises a cantilevered portion positioned above the conductive contact. The cantilevered portion of the beam undergoes deformation during periods of strain mismatch between the substrate and the switch structure so as to have a takeoff angle relative to the substrate, and the self-compensating anchor structure directs a portion of the strain mismatch orthogonally to the cantilevered portion so as to warp the anchor and compensate for the takeoff angle of the cantilevered portion.

Electromechanical system substrate attachment for reduced thermal deformation

A MEMS device () includes a base structure () and a microstructure () suspended above the structure (). The base structure () includes an oxide layer () formed on a substrate (), a structural layer () formed on the oxide layer (), and an insulating layer () formed over the structural layer (). A sacrificial layer () is formed overlying the base structure (), and the microstructure () is formed in another structural layer () over the sacrificial layer (). Methodology () entails removing the sacrificial layer () and a portion of the oxide layer () to release the microstructure () and to expose a top surface () of the substrate (). Following removal, a width () of a gap () produced between the microstructure () and the top surface () is greater than a width () of a gap () produced between the microstructure () and the structural layer ().

MEMS device having variable gap width and method of manufacture

A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device includes at least two rate sensors () suspended above a substrate (), and configured to oscillate parallel to a surface () of the substrate (). Drive elements () in communication with at least one of the rate sensors () provide a drive signal () exhibiting a drive frequency. One or more coupling spring structures () interconnect the rate sensors (). The coupling spring structures enable oscillation of the rate sensors () in a drive direction dictated by the coupling spring structures. The drive direction for the rate sensors () is a rotational drive direction () associated with a first axis (), and the drive direction for the rate sensors () is a translational drive direction () associated with a second axis () that is perpendicular to the first axis ().

Multiple axis rate sensor

An angular rate sensor includes a substrate, a drive mass flexibly coupled to the substrate, and a sense mass suspended above the substrate and flexibly coupled to the drive mass via flexible support elements. An electrode structure is mechanically coupled to, but electrically isolated from, the drive mass and is spaced apart from the substrate so that it is not in contact with the substrate. The electrode structure is configured to produce a signal that indicates movement of the sense mass relative to the electrode when the sensor is subjected to angular velocity. When the angular rate sensor experiences quadrature error, the drive mass, the sense mass, and the electrode structure move together relative to the sense axis. Since the sense mass and the electrode structure move together in response to quadrature error, there is little relative motion between the sense mass and the electrode structure so that quadrature error is largely eliminated.

Angular rate sensor with quadrature error compensation

Growing community of inventors

Gilbert, AZ, United States of America

Yizhen Lin