CAPACITOR MICROPHONE CHIP, CAPACITOR MICROPHONE, AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF

• US 20100189289A1
• Filed: 06/27/2007
• Published: 07/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Yusuke
• Application Number:
  US12/305,775
• Publication Number:
  US 20100189289A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/174
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2201/0257 Microphones or microspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2203/0392 profiles not provided for in B81B2203/0376 - B81B2203/0384
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 3/0072 For controlling internal stress or strain in moving or flexible elements, e.g. stress compensating layers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 19/016 for microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 31/00 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for the manufacture of transducers or diaphragms therefor manufacture of microstructural arrangements of deformable or non-deformable structures in general B81C1/00182
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49005 Acoustic transducer

Abstract

An object of the invention is to design microminiaturization and higher sensitivity of a capacitor microphone chip formed by micromachining a silicon substrate and a wafer is diced so that a silicon substrate of a microphone chip is shaped almost like a hexagon, preferably a regular hexagon, and a back air chamber is shaped like a circle or a regular hexagon.

Claims

1. A capacitor microphone chip wherein a vibration membrane as a movable electrode and a fixed electrode provided so as to be opposed to the vibration membrane with an air gap therebetween and having a sound hole are formed on a silicon substrate, and a back air chamber is formed by removing a part of the silicon substrate so as to expose a back side of the vibration membrane, wherein

the silicon substrate is shaped almost like a regular hexagon.

2. The capacitor microphone chip according to claim 1 wherein

the back air chamber is formed as the center of the silicon substrate is cut like a circle.

3. The capacitor microphone chip according to claim 1 wherein

the back air chamber is formed as the center of the silicon substrate is cut almost like a regular hexagon.

4. The capacitor microphone chip according to claim 1 wherein

the back air chamber is formed as the center of the silicon substrate is cut like a polygon.

5. A capacitor microphone mounting a capacitor microphone chip according to any of claims 1 to 4.

6. A manufacturing method of the capacitor microphone chip according to any of claims 1 to 4, said manufacturing method comprising the steps of:

forming a multilayer film to be a vibration membrane on a surface of a silicon wafer;

forming a fixed electrode through a sacrificial layer on the multilayer film;

executing anisotropic etching until the vibration membrane is exposed from a back side of the silicon wafer and forming a plurality of recess part forming a back air chamber;

executing etching removal of the sacrificial layer to form an air gap; and

dicing the silicon wafer to substantially hexagonal shape so as to have the recess part at the center and to form capacitor microphone chip having a hexagonal shape.

7. The manufacturing method of the capacitor microphone according to claim 6 wherein said dicing step comprises:

a first drawing step of performing laser drawing of the length corresponding to the length of one side of the capacitor microphone chip with a spacing of the length twice the length of one side in a first direction forming one side of the capacitor microphone chip by performing on-off control of a laser;

a second drawing step of performing laser drawing of the length corresponding to the length of one side of the capacitor microphone chip with a spacing of the length twice the length of one side so that the end point of the one side and the start point in the drawing match in a second direction having an angle of 120 degrees with respect to the first direction by performing on-off control of the laser; and

a third drawing step of performing laser drawing of the length corresponding to the length of one side of the capacitor microphone chip with a spacing of the length twice the length of one side so that the end point of the one side and the start point in the drawing match so as to have an angle of 120 degrees with respect to the second direction by performing on-off control of the laser.

8. The manufacturing method of the capacitor microphone according claim 6 or 7 comprising the step of:

forming a thin part by etching in the region where dicing is to be performed prior to said dicing step.

9. The manufacturing method of the capacitor microphone according to claim 8 wherein

the step of forming the thin part is a step of forming a continuous linear groove throughout the region where dicing is to be performed.