Method of manufacturing of a monolithic silicon acceleration sensor
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing a monolithic silicon acceleration sensor comprising the step of forming at least one silicon acceleration sensor cell, the step of forming a sensor cell comprising the steps of:
- (a) forming a layered sandwich of an etch-stop layer between a first wafer section of electrically conductive silicon having an exposed first surface and a second wafer section of electrically conductive silicon having an exposed second surface;
(b) forming a second section of a movable silicon inertial mass by etching a rectangular frame-shaped channel in the second wafer section of silicon from the exposed second surface extending to the etch-stop layer;
(c) forming a first section of the inertial mass by etching a U-shaped channel and a bar-shaped channel in the first wafer section of silicon from the exposed first surface extending to the etch-stop layer, positioning the bar-shaped channel and the U-shaped channel in the first wafer section of silicon to be in horizontal alignment with, and of equal planar dimensions to the rectangular frame-shaped channel in the second wafer section of silicon;
(d) stripping the etch-stop layer that is exposed by the etched frame-shaped channel, the etched U-shaped channel, and the etched bar-shaped channel, thereby creating a rectangular parallel piped-shaped inertial mass having a first and a second exposed surface, the inertial mass positioned by beam members fixed to a silicon support structure having a first and a second exposed surface; and
(e) providing a means for detecting movement of the inertial mass.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of manufacturing a monolithic silicon acceleration sensor is disclosed. The monolithic silicon acceleration sensor is micromachined from silicon to form one or more sensor cells, each sensor cell having an inertial mass positioned by beam members fixed to a silicon support structure. A sandwiched etch-stop layer is formed between a first silicon wafer section and a second silicon wafer section. A first section of the inertia mass and beam members are formed by etching a U-shaped channel and a bar-shaped channel in the first wafer section of the sandwiched layer to the etch-stop layer. A second section of the inertial mass is formed by aligning a frame-shaped channel in the second wafer section with the U-shaped channel and the bar-shaped channel in the first section, and etching the frame-shaped channel to the etch-stop layer. After stripping exposed etch-stop layer, an inertial mass positioned by beam members fixed to a silicon support structure is formed. A first cover plate structure is bonded to a first surface of the silicon support structure.
15 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing a monolithic silicon acceleration sensor comprising the step of forming at least one silicon acceleration sensor cell, the step of forming a sensor cell comprising the steps of:
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(a) forming a layered sandwich of an etch-stop layer between a first wafer section of electrically conductive silicon having an exposed first surface and a second wafer section of electrically conductive silicon having an exposed second surface;
(b) forming a second section of a movable silicon inertial mass by etching a rectangular frame-shaped channel in the second wafer section of silicon from the exposed second surface extending to the etch-stop layer;
(c) forming a first section of the inertial mass by etching a U-shaped channel and a bar-shaped channel in the first wafer section of silicon from the exposed first surface extending to the etch-stop layer, positioning the bar-shaped channel and the U-shaped channel in the first wafer section of silicon to be in horizontal alignment with, and of equal planar dimensions to the rectangular frame-shaped channel in the second wafer section of silicon;
(d) stripping the etch-stop layer that is exposed by the etched frame-shaped channel, the etched U-shaped channel, and the etched bar-shaped channel, thereby creating a rectangular parallel piped-shaped inertial mass having a first and a second exposed surface, the inertial mass positioned by beam members fixed to a silicon support structure having a first and a second exposed surface; and
(e) providing a means for detecting movement of the inertial mass. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification