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. 12, 2010
Filed:
Mar. 23, 2006
Gregory A. Carlson, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
John S. Foster, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Donald C. Liu, Santa Maria, CA (US);
Douglas L. Thompson, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Gregory A. Carlson, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
John S. Foster, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Donald C. Liu, Santa Maria, CA (US);
Douglas L. Thompson, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Innovative Micro Technology, Goleta, CA (US);
Abstract
A material for forming a conductive structure for a MEMS device is described, which is an alloy containing about 0.01% manganese and the remainder nickel. Data shows that the alloy possesses advantageous mechanical and electrical properties. In particular, the sheet resistance of the alloy is actually lower than the sheet resistance of the pure metal. In addition, the alloy may have superior creep and higher recrystallization temperature than the pure metal. It is hypothesized that these advantageous material properties are a result of the larger grain structure existing in the NiMn alloy film compared to the pure nickel metal film. These properties may make the alloy appropriate for applications such as MEMS thermal electrical switches for telecommunications applications.