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:
May. 07, 2013
Filed:
Sep. 29, 2011
Thomas Hantschel, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Sven Kosgalwies, Dresden, DE;
Eugene M. Chow, Mountain View, CA (US);
Gordon Todd Jagerson, Jr., Menlo Park, CA (US);
Thomas Hantschel, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Sven Kosgalwies, Dresden, DE;
Eugene M. Chow, Mountain View, CA (US);
Gordon Todd Jagerson, Jr., Menlo Park, CA (US);
Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
Micro-machined (e.g., stress-engineered spring) structures are produced by forming a release layer, forming a partially or fully encapsulated beam/spring structure, and then releasing the beam/spring structure by etching the release layer. The encapsulation structure protects the beam/spring during release, so both the release layer and the beam/spring can be formed using plating and/or using the same material. The encapsulation structure can be metal, resist, polymer, oxide, or nitride, and may be removed after the release process, or retained as part of the completed micro-machined structure.