MEMS in-plane resonators
First Claim
1. A MEMS sensor comprising:
- a substrate wafer;
at least one resonant mass supported by the substrate wafer and configured to resonate substantially in-plane;
at least one transducer coupled to the at least one resonant mass for at least one of driving and sensing in-plane movement of the at least one resonant mass, wherein at least part of one surface of the resonant mass is configured for exposure to an environment external to the MEMS sensor and wherein the at least one transducer is isolated from the external environment, wherein the at least one transducer is at least partially contained within an isolated cavity formed at least in part by the at least one resonant mass and the substrate wafer, wherein the at least one resonant mass is part of a resonator cap attached to the substrate wafer, and wherein the resonator cap and the substrate wafer form an isolated cavity within which the at least one transducer is at least partially contained; and
a hermetic seal at an interface between the resonator cap and the substrate wafer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
MEMS in-plane resonators include a substrate wafer, at least one resonant mass supported by the substrate wafer and configured to resonate substantially in-plane, and at least one transducer coupled to the at least one resonant mass for at least one of driving and sensing in-plane movement of the at least one resonant mass, wherein at least part of one surface of the resonant mass is configured for exposure to an external environment and wherein the at least one transducer is isolated from the external environment. Such MEMS in-plane resonators may be fabricated using conventional surface micromachining techniques and high-volume wafer fabrication processes and may be configured for liquid applications (e.g., viscometry, densitometry, chemical/biological sensing), gas sensing (e.g., where a polymer film is added to the sensor surface, further degrading the damping performance), or other applications.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A MEMS sensor comprising:
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a substrate wafer; at least one resonant mass supported by the substrate wafer and configured to resonate substantially in-plane; at least one transducer coupled to the at least one resonant mass for at least one of driving and sensing in-plane movement of the at least one resonant mass, wherein at least part of one surface of the resonant mass is configured for exposure to an environment external to the MEMS sensor and wherein the at least one transducer is isolated from the external environment, wherein the at least one transducer is at least partially contained within an isolated cavity formed at least in part by the at least one resonant mass and the substrate wafer, wherein the at least one resonant mass is part of a resonator cap attached to the substrate wafer, and wherein the resonator cap and the substrate wafer form an isolated cavity within which the at least one transducer is at least partially contained; and a hermetic seal at an interface between the resonator cap and the substrate wafer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A MEMS sensor comprising:
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a substrate wafer; at least one resonant mass supported by the substrate wafer and configured to resonate substantially in-plane; and at least one transducer coupled to the at least one resonant mass for at least one of driving and sensing in-plane movement of the at least one resonant mass, wherein at least part of one surface of the resonant mass is configured for exposure to an environment external to the MEMS sensor and wherein the at least one transducer is isolated from the external environment, and wherein the resonant mass is movably coupled to the at least one transducer via an elastic material, and wherein portions of the at least one transducer that would otherwise be exposed to the external environment are covered with at least one material to isolate those portions from the external environment. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A MEMS sensor comprising:
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a substrate wafer; at least one resonant mass supported by the substrate wafer and configured to resonate substantially in-plane; and at least one transducer coupled to the at least one resonant mass for at least one of driving and sensing in-plane movement of the at least one resonant mass, wherein at least part of one surface of the resonant mass is configured for exposure to an environment external to the MEMS sensor and wherein the at least one transducer is isolated from the external environment, wherein the surface of at least one resonant mass configured for exposure to the external environment is at least partially covered by a material meant to interact with a specific type of target in the external environment, such interaction changing the moving mass of the resonant mass so as to change the resonance frequency of the resonant mass, the sensor further including circuitry configured to detect a change in resonance frequency resulting from such interaction. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification