Pre-oxidization of deformable elements of microstructures
First Claim
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1. A method for processing a deformable element of a microstructure, comprising:
- deflecting the deformable element with an electrostatic field; and
oxidizing the deformable element in an oxygen-containing gas other than air while the deformable element is in the deflected state.
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Abstract
The present invention discloses a method for processing a deformable element of a microstructure for reducing the plastic deformation by oxidizing the deformable element. The method of the present invention can be performed at a variety of stages of the fabrication and packaging processes.
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Citations
117 Claims
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1. A method for processing a deformable element of a microstructure, comprising:
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deflecting the deformable element with an electrostatic field; and oxidizing the deformable element in an oxygen-containing gas other than air while the deformable element is in the deflected state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of processing a deflectable element of a microelectromechanical device, the method comprising:
oxidizing an amount of a material of the deflectable element equivalent to at least 20 percent of the volume of the deflectable element by exposing the deflectable element in an oxygen-containing gas other than air. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A method of making a micromirror device, comprising:
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providing a substrate; forming a mirror plate and hinge on a sacrificial material on the substrate such that the mirror plate is attached to the substrate via the hinge, further comprising; depositing a first sacrificial layer on the substrate; forming a hinge on the first sacrificial layer; depositing a second sacrificial layer; and forming a mirror plate on the second sacrificial layer; removing the sacrificial material using a vapor phase etchant; and oxidizing the hinge in an oxygen-containing gas other than air. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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68. A method of making a micromirror device, comprising:
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providing a substrate; forming a mirror plate and hinge on a sacrificial material on the substrate such that the mirror plate is attached to the substrate via hinge; removing a portion of the sacrificial material using a vapor phase etchant such that at least a portion of the hinge is exposed; deflecting the hinge to a deflected state with an electrostatic field; oxidizing the exposed hinge in an oxygen-containing gas other than air at the deflected state; and removing the remaining sacrificial material. - View Dependent Claims (69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87)
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88. A method of making a micromirror device, comprising:
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providing a substrate; depositing a hinge layer and a mirror plate layer on a sacrificial material on the substrate; oxidizing and patterning the hinge layer to form an oxidized hinge; and removing the sacrificial layer after the step of oxidizing. - View Dependent Claims (89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104)
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105. A method of making a micromirror device, comprising:
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providing a substrate; forming a mirror plate and hinge on a sacrificial layer on the substrate such that the mirror plate is attached to the substrate via the hinge; removing the sacrificial layer; and cleaning and oxidizing the micromirror device, further comprising; providing a gas that is an oxygen-containing gas other than air, the oxygen-containing gas cleaning the micromirror and oxidizing an amount of the material of the hinge equivalent to at least 25% in volume of the hinge. - View Dependent Claims (106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115)
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116. A method for processing a deformable element of a microstructure, comprising:
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deflecting the deformable element; and oxidizing the deformable element in an oxygen-containing gas other than air while the deformable element is in the deflected state, further comprising; oxidizing an amount of the material equivalent to 20% or more of the volume of the deformable element.
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117. A method for processing a deformable element of a microstructure, comprising:
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deflecting the deformable element; and oxidizing the deformable element in an oxygen-containing gas other than air while the deformable element is in the deflected state, further comprising; oxidizing the element such that the electrical resistance of the element after oxidization is two times or more of the electrical resistance before oxidization.
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Specification