MEMS DEVICE AND CORRESPONDING MICROMECHANICAL STRUCTURE WITH INTEGRATED COMPENSATION OF THERMO-MECHANICAL STRESS

• US 20140252509A1
• Filed: 02/25/2014
• Published: 09/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: STMicroelectronics International N.V. (STMicroelectronics NV)
• Original Assignee: STMicroelectronics SRL (STMicroelectronics NV)
• Inventors: Merassi, Angelo Antonio
• Granted Patent: US 9,327,962 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/415
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2201/0242 Gyroscopes
• 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: G01P 1/006 used for thermal compensation
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/125 by capacitive pick-up
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/18 in two or more dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 2015/0814 for translational movement of the mass, e.g. shuttle type
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 2015/0831 the mass being of the paddle type having the pivot axis between the longitudinal ends of the mass, e.g. see-saw configuration

Abstract

A micromechanical structure of a MEMS device, integrated in a die of semiconductor material provided with a substrate and having at least a first axis of symmetry lying in a horizontal plane, has a stator structure, which is fixed with respect to the substrate, and a rotor structure, having a suspended mass, mobile with respect to the substrate and to the stator structure as a result of an external action, the stator structure having fixed sensing electrodes capacitively coupled to the rotor structure; a compensation structure is integrated in the die for compensation of thermo-mechanical strains. The compensation structure has stator compensation electrodes, which are fixed with respect to the substrate, are capacitively coupled to the rotor structure, and are arranged symmetrically to the fixed sensing electrodes with respect to the first axis of symmetry.

Claims

1. A micromechanical structure having a first axis of symmetry, the micromechanical structure comprising:

a semiconductor substrate;

a stator structure that is fixed with respect to said substrate and includes fixed sensing electrodes;

a rotor structure having a suspended mass that is mobile with respect to said substrate and to said stator structure in response to an external acceleration, said fixed sensing electrodes being capacitively coupled to said rotor structure; and

a compensation structure configured to compensate for thermo-mechanical strains that occur within said micromechanical structure, said compensation structure including stator compensation electrodes that are fixed with respect to said substrate and are capacitively coupled to said rotor structure, the compensation electrodes being symmetrically arranged relative to said fixed sensing electrodes with respect to the first axis of symmetry.

2. The micromechanical structure according to claim 1, wherein:

said micromechanical structure has a second axis of symmetry that is orthogonal to said first axis of symmetry; and

each stator compensation electrode being arranged a first distance from the second axis of symmetry, each of the fixed sensing electrodes being arranged a second distance from the second axis of symmetry, the second distance being substantially equal to the first distance.

3. The micromechanical structure according to claim 1, wherein:

stator compensation electrodes of a first set are configured to be electrically coupled to one another and define with said rotor structure a first compensation capacitor; and

fixed sensing electrodes of a second set that are symmetrical to the stator compensation electrodes of the first set with respect to the first axis of symmetry, the fixed sensing electrodes of the second set being electrically coupled to one another and defining with said rotor structure a first sensing capacitor, the first sensing capacitor being configured to generate a capacitive variation due to said thermo-mechanical strains that is compensated for by a corresponding capacitive variation of said first compensation capacitor.

4. The micromechanical structure according to claim 1, wherein in an absence of the external acceleration, a first distance from the rotor structure to each stator compensation electrode is substantially equal to a second distance from the rotor structure to the fixed sensing electrode.

5. The micromechanical structure according to claim 1, wherein said rotor structure includes a window and a suspension body arranged in said window, the suspension body being fixed to said substrate, the micromechanical structure further including elastic elements, said suspended mass being electrically and elastically coupled to said suspension body by the elastic elements, and wherein said stator compensation electrodes are arranged in said window and are facing and capacitively coupled to said suspension body.

6. The micromechanical structure according to claim 5, wherein:

said suspended mass is configured to move in a first direction and includes mobile sensing electrodes that extend within said window facing at a first distance apart from and capacitively coupled to corresponding electrodes of said fixed sensing electrodes; and

said suspension body includes rotor compensation electrodes facing at a first distance apart from and capacitively coupled to corresponding electrodes of said stator compensation electrodes, and wherein in the absence of the external acceleration, the first distance being substantially equal to the second distance.

7. The micromechanical structure according to claim 6, further comprising anchorage elements, wherein each stator compensation electrodes is fixedly coupled to said substrate by a respective anchorage element.

8. The micromechanical structure according to claim 6, wherein said first axis of symmetry is parallel to said first direction, and wherein said suspension body has a portion that is located at said first axis of symmetry.

9. The micromechanical structure according to claim 6, wherein said first axis of symmetry is orthogonal to said first direction, and wherein said suspension body has a portion that is located at said first axis of symmetry.

10. The micromechanical structure according to claim 5, wherein said fixed sensing electrodes face said suspended mass along a vertical axis orthogonal to a surface of the substrate, and said stator compensation electrodes face said suspension body along said vertical axis, and wherein said suspended mass is configured to move in a direction that is out of a plane defined by the surface of the substrate.

11. The micromechanical structure according to claim 1, wherein the fixed sensing electrodes and the rotor structure are configured to detect a component of linear acceleration acting in a first direction.

12. A MEMS device comprising:

a first micromechanical structure having a first axis of symmetry, the micromechanical structure including;

a semiconductor substrate;

a stator structure fixed to the substrate and includes fixed sensing electrodes;

a rotor structure having a suspended mass that is moveable relative to the substrate and to the stator structure in response to an external acceleration, the fixed sensing electrodes being capacitively coupled to the rotor structure; and

a compensation structure configured to compensate for thermo-mechanical strains that occur within the micromechanical structure, the compensation structure including stator compensation electrodes that are fixed with respect to the substrate and are capacitively coupled to the rotor structure, the compensation electrodes being symmetrically arranged relative to the fixed sensing electrodes with respect to the first axis of symmetry; and

an electronic circuit coupled to the first micromechanical structure and configured to determine a capacitive sensing signal as a function of a first capacitance of a first sensing capacitor formed between said fixed sensing electrodes and the rotor structure and determine a capacitive compensation signal as a function of a second capacitance of a first compensation capacitor formed between the stator compensation electrodes and the rotor structure, wherein the electronic circuit is further configured to determine a resulting signal that compensates for thermo-mechanical strain as a function of the capacitive sensing signal and the capacitive compensation signal.

13. The MEMS device according to claim 12, wherein said electronic circuit is an ASIC.

14. The MEMS device according to claim 12, wherein said electronic circuit is configured to determine said resulting signal as a function of a difference between said capacitive sensing signal and said capacitive compensation signal.

15. The MEMS device according to claim 12, further comprising a second micromechanical structure similar to the first mechanical structure, said MEMS device is configured to respond to a first external acceleration acting along a first axis and to a second external acceleration acting along a second axis, the second axis being perpendicular to the first axis.

16. The MEMS device according to claim 15, further comprising a third micromechanical structure similar to the first micromechanical structure, said MEMS device being configured to respond to a third external action acting along a vertical axis that is orthogonal to a plane of said MEMS device.

17. The MEMS device according to claim 12, wherein said electronic circuit is configured to differentially determine said capacitive sensing signal as a function of a second sensing capacitor formed between said fixed sensing electrodes and said rotor structure, and to differentially determine said capacitive compensation signal as a function of a second compensation capacitor formed between said stator compensation electrodes and said rotor structure.

18. A micromechanical structure having a first axis of symmetry and a second axis of symmetry perpendicular to the first axis, the micromechanical structure comprising:

a semiconductor substrate having a surface;

a stator structure that is fixed the base surface and includes fixed sensing electrodes;

a rotor structure that includes rotor sensing electrodes that move relative to the substrate and to said stator structure in response to an external acceleration, each of the fixed sensing electrodes being capacitively coupled to a respective rotor sensing electrode and forming a sensing capacitor;

a compensation rotor structure that includes compensation rotor electrodes;

a compensation stator structure that includes compensation stator electrodes, each of the compensation stator electrodes being capactively coupled to a respective compensation rotor electrode and forming a compensation capacitor, the compensation capacitors being symmetrically arranged relative to the sensing capacitors with respect to the first axis of symmetry.

19. The micromechanical structure according to claim 18, wherein the compensation rotor structure is elastically coupled to the rotor structure and coupled to the substrate.

20. The micromechanical structure according to claim 19, further comprising elastic elements located at ends of the compensation rotor structure, wherein the compensation rotor structure is coupled to the rotor structure by the elastic elements.

21. The micromechanical structure according to claim 19, wherein a center portion of the compensation rotor structure is coupled to the substrate.

22. The micromechanical structure according to claim 18, wherein the compensation capacitors are symmetrically arranged relative to the sensing capacitors with respect to the second axis of symmetry.