STRAIN AND PRESSURE SENSING DEVICE, MICROPHONE, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING STRAIN AND PRESSURE SENSING DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING MICROPHONE

• US 20130170669A1
• Filed: 06/28/2012
• Published: 07/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: FUKUZAWA, Hideaki, Ohguro, Tatsuya, Kojima, Akihiro, Sugizaki, Yoshiaki, Takayanagi, Mariko, Fuji, Yoshihiko, Hori, Akio, Hara, Michiko
• Granted Patent: US 8,958,574 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/115
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2201/0264 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 1/00158 Diaphragms, membranes manufacture process for semi-permeable inorganic membranes B01D67/0039
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 1/00246 Monolithic integration, i.e. micromechanical structure and electronic processing unit are integrated on the same substrate
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 2203/0771 Stacking the electronic processing unit and the micromechanical structure
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 9/0042 Constructional details associated with semiconductive diaphragm sensors, e.g. etching, or constructional details of non-semiconductive diaphragms details about the integration or bonding of piezoresistor in or on the diaphragm G01L9/0052 and G01L9/0057 respectively
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/08 Mouthpieces; Microphones; Attachments therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 19/005 using semiconductor materials
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 19/04 Microphones H04R19/01 takes precedence
• 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

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a strain and pressure sensing device includes a semiconductor circuit unit and a sensing unit. The semiconductor circuit unit includes a semiconductor substrate and a transistor. The transistor is provided on a semiconductor substrate. The sensing unit is provided on the semiconductor circuit unit, and has space and non-space portions. The non-space portion is juxtaposed with the space portion. The sensing unit further includes a movable beam, a strain sensing element unit, and first and second buried interconnects. The movable beam has fixed and movable portions, and includes first and second interconnect layers. The fixed portion is fixed to the non-space portion. The movable portion is separated from the transistor and extends from the fixed portion into the space portion. The strain sensing element unit is fixed to the movable portion. The first and second buried interconnects are provided in the non-space portion.

Claims

1. A strain and pressure sensing device, comprising:

a semiconductor circuit unit including a semiconductor substrate and a transistor provided on the semiconductor substrate; and

a sensing unit provided on the semiconductor circuit unit,

the sensing unit having

a space portion and a non-space portion, the space portion being provided above the transistor, the non-space portion being juxtaposed with the space portion in a plane parallel to a surface of the semiconductor substrate with the transistor provided;

the sensing unit further including;

a movable beam having;

a fixed portion fixed to the non-space portion; and

a movable portion separated from the transistor and extending from the fixed portion into the space portion, a distance between the transistor and the movable portion being changeable, the movable beam including

a first interconnect layer; and

a second interconnect layer extending from the fixed portion toward the movable portion,

a strain sensing element unit fixed to the movable portion, one end of the strain sensing element unit being electrically connected to the first interconnect layer, one other end of the strain sensing element unit being electrically connected to the second interconnect layer, the strain sensing element unit including a first magnetic layer,

a first buried interconnect provided in the non-space portion to electrically connect the first interconnect layer with the semiconductor circuit unit,

a second buried interconnect being provided in the non-space portion to electrically connect the second interconnect layer with the semiconductor circuit unit.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the movable portion further includes a diaphragm unit, a width of the diaphragm unit along a second direction parallel to the surface and perpendicular to a first direction from the fixed portion toward the movable portion being wider than a width of the first interconnect layer along the second direction and a width of the second interconnect layer along the second direction.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein a thickness of the diaphragm along a direction perpendicular to the surface is not less than 200 nanometers and not more than 2 micrometer.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the first interconnect layer is provided between the second interconnect layer and the semiconductor circuit unit, and

a width of the first interconnect layer in the movable portion along a second direction parallel to the surface and perpendicular to a first direction from the fixed portion toward the movable portion is wider than a width of the second interconnect layer in the movable portion along the second direction.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein a magnetization direction of the first magnetic layer changes according to a change of the distance from the movable portion to the transistor, and an electrical resistance between the one end and the one other end changes according to the change of the magnetization direction.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the strain sensing element unit further includes:

the second magnetic layer; and

an intermediate layer provided between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer, the intermediate layer being nonmagnetic.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the second magnetic layer is a magnetization fixed layer or a magnetization free layer.

8. The device according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer includes at least one of Fe, Co and Ni.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein a length of the strain sensing element unit along a first direction from the fixed portion toward the movable portion is not less than 20 nanometers and not more than 10 micrometers.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein a length of the strain sensing element unit along a direction parallel to the surface and perpendicular to a first direction from the fixed portion toward the movable portion is not less than 20 nanometers and not more than 10 micrometers.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein a length of the strain sensing element unit along a direction perpendicular to the surface is not less than 20 nanometers and not more than 100 nanometers.

12. The device according to claim 1, wherein the strain sensing element unit further includes a bias layer juxtaposed with the first magnetic layer to apply a bias magnetic field to the first magnetic layer.

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein a magnetostriction constant of the first magnetic layer is not less than 10⁻

5.

14. The device according to claim 1, wherein the movable portion has a hole piercing the movable portion.

15. The device according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the movable portion and the transistor changes in a range not less than 1 micrometer and not more than 10 micrometers.

16. The device according to claim 1, wherein a length of the movable portion along a first direction from the fixed portion toward the movable portion is not less than 10 micrometers and not more than 500 micrometers.

17. The device according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor circuit unit includes a processing circuit configured to process a signal based on a current flowing in the strain sensing element unit.

18. The device according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor circuit unit includes a transmitting circuit configured to perform a wireless transmission of data based on an electrical signal flowing in the strain sensing element unit.

19. A microphone, comprising:

a semiconductor circuit unit including a semiconductor substrate and a transistor provided on the semiconductor substrate; and

a sensing unit provided on the semiconductor circuit unit,

the sensing unit having

a space portion and a non-space portion, the space portion being provided above the transistor, the non-space portion being juxtaposed with the space portion in a plane parallel to a surface of the semiconductor substrate with the transistor provided;

the sensing unit further including;

a movable beam having;

a fixed portion fixed to the non-space portion; and

a movable portion separated from the transistor and extending from the fixed portion into the space portion, a distance between the transistor and the movable portion being changeable, the movable beam including

a first interconnect layer; and

a second interconnect layer extending from the fixed portion toward the movable portion,

a strain sensing element unit fixed to the movable portion, one end of the strain sensing element unit being electrically connected to the first interconnect layer, one other end of the strain sensing element unit being electrically connected to the second interconnect layer, the strain sensing element unit including a first magnetic layer,

a first buried interconnect provided in the non-space portion to electrically connect the first interconnect layer with the semiconductor circuit unit,

a second buried interconnect being provided in the non-space portion to electrically connect the second interconnect layer with the semiconductor circuit unit.

20. A method for manufacturing a strain and pressure sensing device, comprising:

forming a transistor on a semiconductor substrate;

forming an inter-layer insulating layer on the semiconductor substrate and forming a sacrificial layer on the transistor;

forming a first conductive layer used to form a first interconnect layer on the inter-layer insulating layer and the sacrificial layer;

forming a strain sensing element unit including a first magnetic layer on the first conductive layer on the sacrificial layer;

forming a second conductive layer used to form a second interconnect layer on the strain sensing element unit;

forming a first buried interconnect and a second buried interconnect inside the inter-layer insulating layer, the first buried interconnect electrically connecting the first conductive layer with the semiconductor substrate, the second buried interconnect electrically connecting the second conductive layer with the semiconductor substrate; and

removing the sacrificial layer.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the removing of the sacrificial layer includes removing the sacrificial layer from an upper surface of the sacrificial layer.

22. A method for manufacturing a microphone, comprising:

forming a transistor on a semiconductor substrate;

forming an inter-layer insulating layer on the semiconductor substrate and forming a sacrificial layer on the transistor;

forming a first conductive layer used to form a first interconnect layer on the inter-layer insulating layer and the sacrificial layer;

forming a strain sensing element unit including a first magnetic layer on the first conductive layer on the sacrificial layer;

forming a second conductive layer used to form a second interconnect layer on the strain sensing element unit;

forming a first buried interconnect and a second buried interconnect inside the inter-layer insulating layer, the first buried interconnect electrically connecting the first conductive layer with the semiconductor substrate, the second buried interconnect electrically connecting the second conductive layer with the semiconductor substrate; and

removing the sacrificial layer.