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:
Nov. 01, 2005
Filed:
May. 23, 2003
Mark J. Bly, Falcon Heights, MN (US);
Thomas W. Kenny, San Carlos, CA (US);
Sara A. Shaughnessy, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Michael S. Bartsch, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Mark J. Bly, Falcon Heights, MN (US);
Thomas W. Kenny, San Carlos, CA (US);
Sara A. Shaughnessy, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Michael S. Bartsch, Menlo Park, CA (US);
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
A new and versatile ultra-miniature pressure sensor comprises a very thin diaphragm of approximately one micron or less, e.g., 0.2 microns. In some embodiments, the diaphragm has a radius of 20 microns and the pressure sensor can detect signals at or near 0.1 Atm with 1% accuracy. The diaphragm is formed by epitaxial growth of silicon or by bonding and etching. A plurality of high sensitivity piezoresistive strain gauges measure strain of the diaphragm. Less than 0.1 microns thick, the piezoresistive strain gauges are embedded in the diaphragm by ion implantation or formed thereon by epitaxial growth. The ability to form ultra-thin piezoresistive layers on very thin diaphragms enables the miniaturization of the pressure sensor as well as any device that employs it.