The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 03, 1996
Filed:
Nov. 14, 1994
John H Tregilgas, Richardson, TX (US);
Texas Instruments Incorporated, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
An electrically addressable, integrated, monolithic, micromirror device (10) is formed by the utilization of sputtering techniques, including various metal and oxide layers, photoresists, liquid and plasma etching, plasma stripping and related techniques and materials. The device (10) includes a selectively electrostatically deflectable mass or mirror (12) of supported by one or more beams (18) formed by sputtering and selective etching. The beams (18) are improved by being constituted of an electrically conductive, intermetallic aluminum compound, or a mixture of two or more such compounds. The materials constituting the improved beams (18) have relatively high melting points, exhibit fewer primary slip systems than FCC crystalline structures, are etchable by the same or similar etchants and procedures used to etch aluminum and aluminum alloy, and are stronger and experience less relaxation than aluminum or aluminum alloys. Accordingly, the improved beams (18) exhibit increased strength, and decreased relaxation without requiring significant or radical deviations from the typical processing steps employed to produce the otherwise unaltered device.