Electrical connection through a substrate to a microelectromechanical device

• US 7,915,696 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2007
• Issued: 03/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Hays, David Cecil, Claydon, Glenn Scott, Keimel, Christopher Fred, Boomhower, Oliver Charles, Aimi, Marco Francesco, Subramanian, Kanakasabapathi
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CUONG QUANG
• Application Number:
  US11/877,786
• Publication Number:
  US 20090107812A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,252 Days
• Field of Search: 257415-420, 257/E29.105
• US Class Current: 257/415
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2207/07 Interconnects
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2207/096 through the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 7/007 Interconnections between the MEMS and external electrical signals
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 1/0036 Switches making use of microelectromechanical systems [MEMS] for electromagnetic relays H01H50/005; for electrostatic relays H01H59/0009

Abstract

An electrical through-connection, or via, that passes through a substrate to a bus on a first surface of the substrate. The via may be configured with an interlock such that the electrically conductive core of the via is constrained to thermally expand towards the second surface, away from the bus, thus preventing damage to the bus. The interlock may be a local constriction or enlargement of the via near the first surface of the substrate. The via may be greater in length along the bus than a unit spacing of beams in a parallel microswitch array actuated in unison along the bus. The via may be narrower in width than in length, and may form a trapezoidal geometry that is larger at the second surface of the substrate than at the first surface.

Claims

1. Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) circuitry including an electrical connection through a substrate, said circuitry comprising:

a substrate comprising first and second mutually opposite surfaces separated by a distance;

an electrical bus disposed on the first surface of the substrate; and

a via arranged to pass through the substrate from the bus to the second surface of the substrate;

wherein the via is at least partly filled with an electrically conductive material, and the via is configured to define an interlock positioned closer to the first surface of the substrate than to the second surface to reduce thermally-induced expansion of the electrically conductive material towards the surface where the electrical bus is disposed, thereby avoiding damage to the bus.

2. The MEMS circuitry of claim 1 wherein the interlock is positioned within 40% of the distance from the first surface to the second surface of the substrate.

3. The MEMS circuitry of claim 2, wherein the interlock comprises a constriction of the via.

4. The MEMS circuitry of claim 2, wherein the interlock comprises an enlargement of the via.

5. The MEMS circuitry of claim 1, wherein said circuitry comprises MEMS switching circuitry, wherein the bus anchors, actuates, or contacts a plurality of microswitch beams along a length of the bus, and the via comprises a longitudinal dimension substantially aligned with the length of the bus and a width dimension substantially aligned with a width of the bus.

6. The MEMS circuitry of claim 5 wherein the longitudinal dimension of the via is greater than a unit spacing of the beams along the length of the bus.

7. The MEMS circuitry of claim 6, wherein the width dimension of the via is less than the longitudinal dimension of the via.

8. The MEMS circuitry of claim 5, wherein the longitudinal dimension of the via is approximately equal to the length of the bus, and the width dimension of the via is approximately equal to the width of the bus.

9. The MEMS circuitry of claim 1, wherein the via has a generally prismatic trapezoidal geometry comprising first and second opposed faces substantially normal to the first surface of the substrate, and comprising third and fourth faces substantially normal to the first and second faces of the via and oblique to the first surface of the substrate.

10. The MEMS circuitry of claim 9, wherein the bus has a length and a width, the trapezoidal via comprises a correspondingly aligned length and width, and the trapezoidal via is greater in length at the second surface of the substrate than at the first surface of the substrate.

11. Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switching circuitry including an electrical connection through a substrate, said switching circuitry comprising:

a substrate comprising a thickness and first and second mutually opposite surfaces;

an electrical bus mounted on the first surface of the substrate; and

a via arranged to pass through the substrate from the bus to the second surface of the substrate, the via comprising a trench through the substrate at least partly filled with an electrical conductor;

wherein the bus anchors, contacts, or actuates a plurality of microswitch beams in unison along a length of the bus, and the via comprises a longitudinal dimension substantially aligned with the length of the bus.

12. The switching circuitry of claim 11 wherein the longitudinal dimension of the via is greater than a unit spacing of the microswitch beams along the length of the bus.

13. The switching circuitry of claim 11, wherein an interlock is positioned to reduce thermally-induced expansion of the electrically conductive material with respect to at least one of the surfaces.

14. The switching circuitry of claim 13 wherein the interlock is positioned within a distance of 40% of the thickness of the substrate from the first surface of the substrate.

15. The switching circuitry of claim 11 wherein the via has a generally prismatic trapezoidal geometry comprising first and second opposed faces substantially normal to the first surface of the substrate, and comprising third and fourth faces substantially normal to the first and second faces of the via and oblique to the first surface of the substrate.

16. The switching circuitry of claim 15, wherein the bus has a width, and the trapezoidal via is greater in length at the second surface of the substrate than at the first surface of the substrate.

17. Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switching circuitry including an electrical connection through a substrate, said switching circuitry comprising:

an electrical bus mounted on a first surface of the substrate; and

a via passing through the substrate from the bus to a second surface of the substrate, the via comprising a trench through the substrate at least partly filled with an electrical conductor, the trench and the conductor therein formed with a geometry that blocks the conductor from expanding toward the bus;

wherein the bus anchors, actuates, or contacts a plurality of microswitch beams along a length of the bus, and the via comprises a longitudinal dimension substantially aligned with the length of the bus, the longitudinal dimension of the via being greater than a unit spacing of the beams along the length of the bus.

18. An electrical connection through a substrate comprising:

a substrate comprising a first surface and a second surface opposed to the first surface; and

a via passing through the substrate from the first surface to the second surface, and configured with an interlock positioned closer to one of the first and second surfaces of the substrate where an electrical bus is disposed such that an electrical conductor disposed within the via is constrained from extruding towards said one of the surfaces where the bus is disposed.

19. The electrical connection of claim 18, further comprising a MEMS device mounted on the first surface of the substrate and electrically connected to the via.