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:
Feb. 28, 2012
Filed:
Feb. 28, 2011
Joseph Damian Gordon Lacey, Milpitas, CA (US);
Thomas L. Maguire, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Vikram Joshi, Mountain View, CA (US);
Dennis J. Yost, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Joseph Damian Gordon Lacey, Milpitas, CA (US);
Thomas L. Maguire, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Vikram Joshi, Mountain View, CA (US);
Dennis J. Yost, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Cavendish Kinetics, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention generally relates to the formation of a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) cantilever switch in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) back end of the line (BEOL) process. The cantilever switch is formed in electrical communication with a lower electrode in the structure. The lower electrode may be either blanket deposited and patterned or simply deposited in vias or trenches of the underlying structure. The excess material used for the lower electrode is then planarized by chemical mechanical polishing or planarization (CMP). The cantilever switch is then formed over the planarized lower electrode.