Microbridge structure for emitting or detecting radiations and method for forming such microbridge structure
First Claim
1. A microbridge structure for emitting or detecting radiations, comprising:
- a substrate layer provided with two first electrical contacts;
a microstructure provided with two second electrical contacts and having;
an underside,a top side opposite to the underside, through which radiations are emitted or received,at least one radiation active layer lying between the underside and the top side, the radiation active layer having two distal points connected respectively to the two second electrical contacts of the microstructure, anda radiation reflective layer lying between the underside and the radiation active layer; and
a micro support for suspending the microstructure over and at a predetermined distance from the substrate layer with the underside of the microstructure facing the substrate layer, the micro support being provided with at least two electrically conductive paths for connecting respectively the two first electrical contacts to the two second electrical contacts.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The microbridge structure is for emitting or detecting radiations. According to one embodiment, it comprises a substrate layer provided with two first electrical contacts, and a microstructure provided with two second electrical contacts and having an underside, a top side opposite to the underside, through which radiations are emitted or received, at least one radiation active layer lying between the underside and the top side, the radiation active layer having two distal points connected respectively to the two second electrical contacts of the microstructure, and a radiation reflective layer lying between the underside and the radiation active layer. It also comprises a micro support for suspending the microstructure over and at a predetermined distance from the substrate layer with the underside of the microstructure facing the substrate layer. The micro support is provided with at least two electrically conductive paths for connecting respectively the two first electrical contacts to two second electrical contacts. The present invention is also concerned with methods for forming microbridge structures.
47 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A microbridge structure for emitting or detecting radiations, comprising:
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a substrate layer provided with two first electrical contacts; a microstructure provided with two second electrical contacts and having; an underside, a top side opposite to the underside, through which radiations are emitted or received, at least one radiation active layer lying between the underside and the top side, the radiation active layer having two distal points connected respectively to the two second electrical contacts of the microstructure, and a radiation reflective layer lying between the underside and the radiation active layer; and a micro support for suspending the microstructure over and at a predetermined distance from the substrate layer with the underside of the microstructure facing the substrate layer, the micro support being provided with at least two electrically conductive paths for connecting respectively the two first electrical contacts to the two second electrical contacts. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for forming a microbridge structure comprising a microstructure and a micro support for suspending the microstructure, the microstructure being for emitting or detecting radiations, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a substrate layer with electrical contacts; (b) covering the substrate layer with a temporary layer, and patterning and etching cavities in the temporary layer to provide accesses to the electrical contacts of the substrate layer, the cavities being also for containing legs of the micro support, each of the cavities extending along a vertical axis, each of the cavities having a lower end opened out onto the electrical contacts of the substrate layer; (c) covering the layers of previous steps (a) and (b) with a radiation reflective layer; (d) patterning and etching the radiation reflective layer; (e) covering the layers of previous steps (a) to (d) with a first dielectric layer; (f) patterning and etching the first dielectric layer to provide accesses to the electrical contacts of the substrate layer; (g) covering the layers of previous steps (a) to (f) with a first electrically conductive layer; (h) patterning and etching the electrically conductive layer so that the electrically conductive layer forms a part of the micro support and provides an electrical path to the electrical contacts of the substrate layer; (i) covering the layers of previous steps (a) to (h) with a radiation active layer; (j) patterning and etching the radiation active layer to define an active area for emitting or detecting radiations; (k) covering the layers of previous steps (a) to (j) with a second electrically conductive layer, and patterning and etching the second electrically conductive layer so that said second electrically conductive layer provides two electrical paths from two distal points of the radiation active layer to the electrical contacts of the substrate layer through the first electrically conductive layer; (l) patterning and etching the first dielectric layer down to the temporary layer; (m) removing the temporary layer to reveal the microstructure which comprises a radiation reflective layer and the radiation active layer, and which is suspended by means of the micro support. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A method for forming a microbridge structure comprising a microstructure and a micro support for suspending the microstructure, the microstructure being for emitting or detecting radiations, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a substrate layer provided with electrical contacts; (b) covering the substrate layer with a first dielectric layer; (c) covering the layers of previous steps (a) and (b) with a radiation reflective layer; (d) patterning and etching the radiation reflective layer; (e) covering the layers of previous steps (a) to (d) with a second dielectric layer to embed the radiation reflective layer within the first and second dielectric layers; (f) covering the layers of previous steps (a) to (e) with a radiation active layer; (g) patterning and etching the radiation active layer to define an active area for emitting or detecting radiations; (h) covering the layers of previous steps (a) to (g) with a first electrically conductive layer; (i) patterning and etching the first electrically conductive layer so that said first electrically conductive layer provides two electrical paths from two distal points of the radiation active layer; (j) patterning and etching of the first and the second dielectric layers down to the electrical contacts of the substrate layer; (k) covering the layers of previous steps (a) to (j) with a second electrically conductive layer, and patterning and etching the second electrically conductive layer so that said second electrically conductive layer provides electrical paths from the electrical contacts of the substrate layer to the radiation active layer through the two electrical paths provided in the step (i); (l) patterning and etching the first and second dielectric layers down to the substrate layer; and (m) etching the substrate layer to reveal the microstructure which comprises the radiation active layer and the radiation reflective layer and which is suspended by means of the micro support. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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Specification