MEMS pressure sensor and manufacturing method therefor

• US 9,073,746 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2012
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Memsen Electronics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Memsen Electronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Liu, Lianjun
• Primary Examiner(s): Toledo, Fernando L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bowen, Adam S
• Application Number:
  US14/005,185
• Publication Number:
  US 20140001584A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 257/48, 257/416, 257/419, 257/E21.599, 438/53, 438/51, 438/107, 438/113, 737/18
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2201/0264 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 2207/012 the micromechanical device and the control or processing electronics being separate parts in the same package
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 3/0021 Transducers for transforming electrical into mechanical energy or vice versa dynamo-electric machines H02K99/00; electrostatic machines H02N1/00; piezoelectric devices H10N30/00
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 1/00158 Diaphragms, membranes manufacture process for semi-permeable inorganic membranes B01D67/0039
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 1/00238 Joining a substrate with an electronic processing unit and a substrate with a micromechanical structure
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 2203/0154 Moulding a cap over the MEMS device
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 2203/0792 Forming interconnections between the electronic processing unit and the micromechanical structure
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 9/0042 Constructional details associated with semiconductive diaphragm sensors, e.g. etching, or constructional details of non-semiconductive diaphragms details about the integration or bonding of piezoresistor in or on the diaphragm G01L9/0052 and G01L9/0057 respectively
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 9/0054 integral with a semiconducting diaphragm

Abstract

A Micro Electromechanical System (MEMS) pressure sensor may include a first substrate provided with a sensitive diaphragm of a piezoresistive pressure sensing unit, an electrical connecting diffusion layer and a first bonding layer on a surface of the first substrate; and a second substrate provided with an inter-conductor dielectric layer, a conductor connecting layer in the inter-conductor dielectric layer and/or a second bonding layer on a surface of the second substrate. The second substrate may be arranged opposite to the first substrate, and the second substrate may be fixedly coupled to the first substrate via the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer; the pattern of the first bonding layer is corresponding to the pattern of the second bonding layer, and both the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer may be formed of a conductive material.

Claims

1. A Micro Electromechanical System (MEMS) pressure sensor comprising:

a first substrate provided with a sensitive diaphragm of a piezoresistive pressure sensing unit, an electrical connecting diffusion layer and a first bonding layer on a surface of the first substrate;

a second substrate provided with an inter-conductor dielectric layer, a conductor connecting layer in the inter-conductor dielectric layer and/or a second bonding layer on a surface of the second substrate; and

a reference pressure cavity which is disposed between the sensitive diaphragm and the second substrate, wherein the reference pressure cavity is a single cavity surrounded by a wall, the wall comprising at least one element selected from a group consisting of the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer;

wherein the second substrate is arranged opposite to the first substrate, and the second substrate is fixedly coupled to the first substrate via the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer;

the pattern of the first bonding layer is corresponding to the pattern of the second bonding layer, and both the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer are formed of a conductive material.

2. The MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 1, wherein the second bonding layer is above the conductor connecting layer, or the second bonding layer is the uppermost conductor layer among the conductor connecting layers.

3. The MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises a Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) substrate which sequentially comprises a silicon bulk layer, a buried oxide layer and a SOI layer;

and the piezoresistive pressure sensing unit and the electrical connecting diffusion layer are formed in the SOI layer.

4. The MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 3, wherein a Wheatstone bridge consisting of a plurality of resistors is provided in the sensitive diaphragm, and the back surface of the first substrate is provided with an opening through which the sensitive diaphragm is exposed to the atmosphere.

5. The MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 4, wherein the sensitive diaphragm is provided with a protective dielectric layer.

6. The MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 1, wherein the second substrate comprises a SOI substrate or a monocrystalline silicon substrate, and a signal processing circuit is further provided in the substrate below the inter-conductor dielectric layer.

7. The MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 1, wherein a self-test electrode having a position corresponding to that of the sensitive diaphragm is provided in the second bonding layer, in the conductor connecting layer or on the surface of the second substrate within the reference pressure cavity.

8. The MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 1, wherein the second substrate further comprises a plurality of wire-bonding pads on the periphery of the conductor connecting layer, and a part of the first substrate corresponding to the plurality of wire-bonding pads is removed.

9. The MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 8, further comprising:

a packaging substrate which is disposed below the second substrate and provided with a plurality of wire-bonding pins;

a packaging body which is disposed above the packaging substrate and encloses the first substrate and the second substrate;

an adhesive which is disposed between the second substrate and the packaging substrate; and

a lead which is disposed in the packaging body, two ends of the lead are respectively coupled to the wire-bonding pad and the wire-bonding pin.

10. The MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 9, wherein a stress buffer layer is further provided between the packaging body and the first substrate and the second substrate which are fixedly coupled to each other.

11. A manufacturing method for a MEMS pressure sensor comprising:

providing a first substrate, and forming, in the first substrate, a piezoresistive pressure sensing unit with a sensitive diaphragm, an electrical connecting diffusion layer and a first bonding layer on a surface of the first substrate;

providing a second substrate, and forming, in the second substrate, an inter-conductor dielectric layer, a conductor connecting layer in the inter-conductor dielectric layer and/or a second bonding layer on a surface of the second substrate; and

arranging the first bonding layer to be opposite to the second bonding layer, and bonding the first bonding layer to the second bonding layer according to a pattern correspondence so as to fixedly and electrically couple the first substrate to the second substrate, and to form, between the sensitive diaphragm and the second substrate, a reference pressure cavity, wherein the reference pressure cavity is a single cavity surrounded by a wall, the wall comprises at least one element selected from a group consisting of the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer;

with a sidewall comprising at least one element selected from a group consisting of the first bonding layer and the second bonding layer.

12. The manufacturing method for the MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 11, wherein the first substrate comprises a SOI substrate which comprises a silicon bulk layer, a buried oxide layer and a SOI layer;

and the step of forming, in the first substrate, a piezoresistive pressure sensing unit, an electrical connecting diffusion layer and a first bonding layer on a surface of the first substrate comprises;

manufacturing the piezoresistive pressure sensing unit and the electrical connecting diffusion layer in the SOI layer, and manufacturing a Wheatstone bridge consisting of a plurality of resistors in the sensitive diaphragm;

depositing a first bonding material layer on the surface of the first substrate in which the piezoresistive pressure sensing unit and the electrical connecting diffusion layer are provided; and

etching the first bonding material layer by a photolithography process by using a first mask plate to form the first bonding layer, the part of the first bonding material layer above the sensitive diaphragm being also removed.

13. The manufacturing method for the MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 12, wherein the step of forming, in the second substrate, an inter-conductor dielectric layer, a conductor connecting layer in the inter-conductor dielectric layer and a second bonding layer on a surface of the second substrate comprises:

forming, in the second substrate, an inter-conductor dielectric layer and the conductor connecting layer in the inter-conductor dielectric layer;

depositing a second bonding material layer on the conductor connecting layer, or using the uppermost conductor material layer of the conductor connecting layer as the second bonding material layer; and

etching the second bonding material layer by a photolithography process by using a second mask plate to form the second bonding layer.

14. The manufacturing method for the MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 11, further comprising:

forming a plurality of wire-bonding pads in a wire-bonding pad area on the periphery of the conductor connecting layer while forming the second bonding layer on the second substrate.

15. The manufacturing method for the MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 14, further comprising:

removing the part of the first substrate corresponding to the wire-bonding pad area to expose the plurality of wire-bonding pads in the wire-bonding pad area before or after fixedly and electrically coupling the first substrate to the second substrate, and meanwhile, removing the silicon bulk layer and the buried oxide layer corresponding to the sensitive diaphragm and opposite to the second substrate, keeping only the sensitive diaphragm.

16. The manufacturing method for the MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 14, further comprising:

removing the part of the first substrate corresponding to the wire-bonding pad area to expose the plurality of wire-bonding pads in the wire-bonding pad area before or after fixedly and electrically coupling the first substrate to the second substrate, and meanwhile, removing the silicon bulk layer corresponding to the sensitive diaphragm and opposite to the second substrate, keeping the buried oxide layer and the sensitive diaphragm.

17. The manufacturing method for the MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 12, further comprising:

forming a self-test electrode while forming the second bonding layer in the second substrate, or forming the self-test electrode while forming the conductor connecting layer in the second substrate;

the position of the self-test electrode being corresponding to that of the sensitive diaphragm of the piezoresistive pressure sensing unit in the first substrate.

18. The manufacturing method for the MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 14, further comprising after fixedly and electrically coupled the first substrate to the second substrate:

providing a packaging substrate on which a plurality of wire-bonding pins are provided;

coupling the surface of the second substrate opposite to the first substrate to the packaging substrate;

electrically coupling the wire-bonding pads of the second substrate to the corresponding wire-bonding pins on the packaging substrate via a lead; and

performing a plastic molding process to fill a space above the surface of the packaging substrate, except for the first substrate and the second substrate, with a packaging body.

19. The manufacturing method for the MEMS pressure sensor according to claim 18, further comprising before performing the plastic molding process:

forming a buffer stress layer between the packaging body and the first substrate and the second substrate which are fixedly coupled to each other.