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:
Oct. 24, 2000
Filed:
Aug. 13, 1999
Rou-Fu Chou, Hualien, TW;
Wen-Syang Hsu, Hsinchu, TW;
Shih-Che Lo, Ilan, TW;
Hsi-Fu Lin, Taipei, TW;
Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, TW;
Abstract
The present invention discloses a planar microprobe and method of manufacturing the same. The present invention utilizes semiconductor process technologies that includes electroplating technology and sacrificial layer technology to integrate constituent elements on a silicon wafer having an insulator layer. The planar microprobe comprises: an upper cantilever beam including a first electrode; a supporting pad coupled to the upper cantilever beam; and a lower cantilever beam coupled to the supporting pad, situated below the upper cantilever beam and spaced by a distance from the upper cantilever beam. Besides, the lower cantilever beam comprises: a second electrode in cooperation with the first electrode to control a vertical displacement of the lower cantilever beam by applying an external voltage thereto. A tip is coupled to the second electrode. The microprobe is manufactured by depositing a photoresist sacrificial layer on a lower cantilever beam. Metal is electroplated to form an upper cantilever beam. Then, residual silicon, silicon oxide and photoresist are etched to release the microprobe.