Ultrathin form factor MEMS microphones and microspeakers
First Claim
1. A process, comprising:
- reducing the thickness of a substrate carrying a plurality of devices, at least certain of the devices having a micromachined mesh;
attaching a carrier wafer to the back side of the substrate;
completing the fabrication of the devices from the top side of the substrate, said completing comprising forming certain of said meshes; and
singulating said plurality of devices.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A process comprises reducing the thickness of a substrate carrying a plurality of devices, with at least certain of the devices having a micro-machined mesh. A carrier wafer is attached to the back side of the substrate and the fabrication of the devices is completed from the top side of the substrate. Thereafter the plurality of devices is singulated. Various alternative embodiments are disclosed which demonstrate that the thinning of the wafer may occur at different times during the process of fabricating the MEMS devices such as before the mesh is formed or after the mesh is formed. Additionally, the use of carrier wafers to support the thinned wafer enables process steps to be carried out on the side opposite from the side having the carrier wafer. The various alternative embodiments demonstrate that the side carrying the carrier wafer can be varied throughout the process.
85 Citations
28 Claims
-
1. A process, comprising:
-
reducing the thickness of a substrate carrying a plurality of devices, at least certain of the devices having a micromachined mesh;
attaching a carrier wafer to the back side of the substrate;
completing the fabrication of the devices from the top side of the substrate, said completing comprising forming certain of said meshes; and
singulating said plurality of devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A process, comprising:
-
reducing the thickness of a substrate carrying a plurality of devices, at least certain of the devices having a mesh;
attaching a first carrier wafer to the back side of the substrate;
forming and releasing a mesh;
attaching a second carrier wafer to the top side of the substrate and removing said first carrier wafer from the back side of the substrate;
fabricating vent holes from the back of the substrate; and
singulating said devices. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A process, comprising:
-
reducing the thickness of a substrate carrying a plurality of devices, at least certain of the devices having a mesh;
attaching a first carrier wafer to the back side of the substrate;
forming a mesh;
attaching a second carrier wafer to the top side of the substrate and removing said first carrier wafer from the back side of the substrate;
fabricating vent holes from the back of the substrate;
attaching a third carrier wafer to the back side of the substrate and removing the second carrier from the top side of the substrate;
releasing the mesh; and
singulating said devices. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
-
-
22. A process, comprising:
-
reducing the thickness of a substrate carrying a plurality of devices, at least certain of the devices having a mesh;
attaching a first carrier wafer to the back side of the substrate;
patterning a resist to define a mesh;
attaching a second carrier wafer to the top side of the substrate and removing said first carrier wafer from the back side of the substrate;
fabricating vent holes from the back of the substrate;
attaching a third carrier wafer to the back side of the substrate and removing the second carrier from the top side of the substrate;
forming and releasing the mesh; and
singulating said devices. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
-
-
27. In a process for fabricating a MEMS device, the improvement comprising:
-
reducing the thickness of a substrate carrying a plurality of devices, at least certain of said devices having a micromachined mesh; and
attaching a carrier wafer to the back side of the substrate for at least a part of the process of fabricating the MEMS device including forming certain of said meshes.
-
-
28. In a process for fabrication a MEMS device, the improvement comprising:
-
reducing the thickness of a substrate; and
attaching a carrier wafer to a back side of the substrate to enable process steps to be performed from the top side of the substrate; and
attaching a carrier wafer to the top side of the substrate and removing the carrier wafer from the back side of the substrate to enable process steps to be performed from the back side of the substrate.
-
Specification