Method of fabricating a micromachined tube for fluid flow
First Claim
1. A method of fabricating a micromachined tube for fluid flow, comprising the steps of:
- etching a recess in a surface of a first material;
enclosing the recess with a second material to define a tube cavity; and
defining an exterior of the tube by removing at least portions of at least one of the first and second materials, wherein at least one of the first and second materials is a substrate, the tube is on or within the substrate and has a length between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet port, and a section of the tube is free-standing relative to the substrate as a result of the step of defining the exterior of the tube.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Micromachine fluidic apparatus incorporates a free-standing tube section and electrodes to actuate or control the movement of the tube section, or to sense the movement of the tube section, or both. Electronic circuitry, which may be disposed on the same substrate as the fluidic portion of the apparatus, is used in conjunction with the tube and electrodes in conjunction with a variety of different applications, including fluid flow measurement, fluid density measurement, fluid viscosity measurement, fluid transport, separation and/or mixing. According to a particular embodiment, the free-standing section of the tube is resonated for fluid flow and density measurements according to the Coriolis effect. Capacitive/electrostatic actuation techniques are used to control or resonate the free-standing section of the tube, and to detect variations in tube movement. Different methods of fabricating micromachine fluidic apparatus are also disclosed, including the use of fusion bonding of non-conducting substrates, high-aspect ratio etching techniques, and anisotropic etching and refill techniques, preferably utilizing chevron-shaped slit openings to fabricate microtube sections.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating a micromachined tube for fluid flow, comprising the steps of:
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etching a recess in a surface of a first material;
enclosing the recess with a second material to define a tube cavity; and
defining an exterior of the tube by removing at least portions of at least one of the first and second materials, wherein at least one of the first and second materials is a substrate, the tube is on or within the substrate and has a length between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet port, and a section of the tube is free-standing relative to the substrate as a result of the step of defining the exterior of the tube. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of fabricating a micromachined free-standing tube, comprising the steps of:
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defining a plurality of closely spaced slit openings in a first material;
undercutting a plurality of the slit openings to form a continuous channel beneath and connected to the openings; and
enclosing the channel by sealing the slit openings with a second material to form a tube with a continuous tube cavity beneath the first and second materials. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of fabricating a micromachined tube for fluid flow, the method comprising the steps of:
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etching a recess in a surface of a first material;
enclosing the recess with a second material to define a tube cavity; and
defining an exterior of the tube by removing at least portions of at least one of the first and second materials;
wherein the first material is a layer on a silicon-on-insulator substrate and the recess is etched in the layer; and
wherein the second material comprises a doped region and an undoped region, end the recess is enclosed by bonding the doped region of the second material to the layer of the first material. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification