Micromechanical device having an improved beam
First Claim
1. An improved deformable beam for a micromechanical device of the type which includes a deflectable mass supported by the beam, which is deformable upon deflection of the mass, wherein the improvement comprises:
- the beam being constituted of one or more electrically conductive aluminum compounds exhibiting fewer primary slip systems than FCC crystalline structures.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrically addressable, integrated, monolithic, micromirror device (10) is formed by the utilization of sputtering techniques, including various metal and oxide layers, photoresists, liquid and plasma etching, plasma stripping and related techniques and materials. The device (10) includes a selectively electrostatically deflectable mass or mirror (12) of supported by one or more beams (18) formed by sputtering and selective etching. The beams (18) are improved by being constituted of an electrically conductive, intermetallic aluminum compound, or a mixture of two or more such compounds. The materials constituting the improved beams (18) have relatively high melting points, exhibit fewer primary slip systems than FCC crystalline structures, are etchable by the same or similar etchants and procedures used to etch aluminum and aluminum alloy, and are stronger and experience less relaxation than aluminum or aluminum alloys. Accordingly, the improved beams (18) exhibit increased strength, and decreased relaxation without requiring significant or radical deviations from the typical processing steps employed to produce the otherwise unaltered device.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. An improved deformable beam for a micromechanical device of the type which includes a deflectable mass supported by the beam, which is deformable upon deflection of the mass, wherein the improvement comprises:
the beam being constituted of one or more electrically conductive aluminum compounds exhibiting fewer primary slip systems than FCC crystalline structures.
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2. An improved deformable beam for a micromechanical device of the type which includes a deflectable mass supported by the beam, which is deformable upon deflection of the mass, wherein the improvement comprises:
the beam being constituted of one or more electrically conductive, aluminum intermetallic compounds. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An improved deformable beam for a micromechanical device of the type which includes a deflectable mass supported by the beam, deflection of the mass deforming the beam, wherein the improvement comprises:
the beam being constituted of a material selected from the group consisting of intermetallic compounds which include aluminum, compound semiconductors which include aluminum, compounds which include aluminum and a rare earth, and compounds which include aluminum and a non-metal. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An improved deformable beam for a micromechanical device of the type which includes a deflectable mass supported by the beam, which is deformable upon deflection of the mass, wherein the improvement comprises:
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the beam being constituted of one or a mixture of two or more electrically conductive aluminum compounds which (a) exhibit fewer primary slip systems than FCC crystalline structures, (b) are etchable by the same or similar etchants and procedures used to etch aluminum and aluminum alloy, (b) being depositable by sputtering, and (c) being stronger and experiencing less relaxation than aluminum or aluminum alloys.
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Specification