A LIDAR system or a vehicle may include at least one processor configured to perform a method to detect objects in a field of view. The method may include controlling at least one LIDAR light source in a manner enabling light flux of the at least one LIDAR light source to vary over a plurality of scans of a field of view; receiving, from a group of detectors, a plurality of input signals indicative of reflections of light projected from the field of view; detecting a possible existence of an object in the background area based on first input signals associated with a first scanning cycle; detecting a possible existence of the object based on second input signals associated with a second scanning cycle; and aggregating the first and second input signals to detect an existence of the object at an object-existence-certainty level higher than a threshold.

A method for manufacturing a micromechanical structure and a micromechanical structure. The method includes: forming a first micromechanical functional layer; forming a plurality of trenches in the first micromechanical functional layer, which include an upper widened area at the upper side of the first micromechanical functional layer and a lower area of essentially constant width; depositing a sealing layer on the upper side of the first micromechanical functional layer to seal the plurality of trenches, a sealing point of the plurality of trenches being formed below the upper side of the first micromechanical functional layer and the first trenches being at least partially filled; thinning back the sealing layer by a predefined thickness; and forming a second micromechanical functional layer above the thinned-back sealing layer.

A method for producing a pressure sensor device. The method includes providing a vessel that includes a cavity having side walls, the cavity including a floor and the side walls each including an upper side, which face away from the floor; providing a pressure sensor and situating the pressure sensor in the cavity and on the floor; filling the cavity with an oil so that the oil fills the cavity up to the upper sides of the side walls; applying a membrane onto the surface of the oil that completely covers the oil, and at least in some regions onto the upper sides of the side walls so that the membrane covers, circumferentially around the cavity, those regions of the upper sides of the side walls that lie against the oil, the membrane including a liquid material when applied onto the oil; and curing the liquid material of the membrane.

A production method for a double-membrane MEMS component includes: providing a layer arrangement on a carrier substrate, wherein the layer arrangement comprises a first membrane structure, a sacrificial material layer adjoining the first membrane structure, and a counterelectrode structure in the sacrificial material layer and at a distance from the first membrane structure, wherein at least one through opening is formed in the sacrificial material layer as far as the first membrane structure; forming a filling material structure in the at least one through opening by applying a first filling material layer on the wall region of the at least one through opening; applying a second membrane structure on the layer arrangement with the sacrificial material; and removing the sacrificial material from an intermediate region to expose the filling material structure in the intermediate region.

A MEMS device having a body with a first and a second surface, a first portion and a second portion. The MEMS device further has a cavity extending in the body from the second surface; a deformable portion between the first surface and the cavity; and a piezoelectric actuator arranged on the first surface, on the deformable portion. The deformable portion has a first region with a first thickness and a second region with a second thickness greater than the first thickness. The second region is adjacent to the first region and to the first portion of the body.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a mass flow control apparatus, systems incorporating the same, and methods using the same. In one embodiment, a mass flow control apparatus comprises a flow modulating valve configured to modulate gas flow in a gas flow channel, a sensor device, such as a micro-electromechanical (MEMS) device, configured to generate a signal responsive to a condition of the gas flow, and a processing device operatively coupled to the flow modulating valve and the sensor device to control the flow modulating valve based on a signal received from the sensor device.

A MEMS optical device including: a semiconductor body; a main cavity, which extends within the semiconductor body; a membrane suspended over the main cavity; a piezoelectric actuator, which is mechanically coupled to the membrane and can be electronically controlled so as to deform the membrane; a micro-lens, mechanically coupled to the membrane so as to undergo deformation following the deformation of the membrane; and a rigid optical element, which contacts the micro-lens and is arranged so that the micro-lens is interposed between the rigid optical element and the membrane. The micro-lens and the main cavity are arranged on opposite sides of the membrane.

Disclosed herein are techniques for transferring particles in a pattern. In one implementation, a particle-transferring system includes a first substrate comprising a first surface configured to support a plurality of particles in a non-uniform pattern, and a particle transfer unit configured to remove the plurality of particles from the first surface in response to the plurality of particles being within a first gap. The system also includes a second substrate configured to remove the plurality of particles from the particle transfer unit and secure the plurality of particles to the second surface in response to the plurality of particles being within a second gap. The particle transfer unit is configured to transfer the plurality of particles and maintain the non-uniform pattern regardless of the positions of the plurality of particles, which are not predefined to fit features of the particle transfer unit.

The MEMS gyroscope has a mobile mass carried by a supporting structure to move in a driving direction and in a first sensing direction, perpendicular to each other. A driving structure governs movement of the mobile mass in the driving direction at a driving frequency. A movement sensing structure is coupled to the mobile mass and detects the movement of the mobile mass in the sensing direction. A quadrature-injection structure is coupled to the mobile mass and causes a first and a second movement of the mobile mass in the sensing direction in a first calibration half-period and, respectively, a second calibration half-period. The movement-sensing structure supplies a sensing signal having an amplitude switching between a first and a second value that depend upon the movement of the mobile mass as a result of an external angular velocity and of the first and second quadrature movements. The first and second values of the sensing signal are subtracted from each other and compared with a stored difference value to supply information of variation of the scale factor.

A load lock pressure gauge comprises a housing configured to be coupled to a load lock vacuum chamber. The housing supports an absolute vacuum pressure sensor that provides instantaneous high vacuum pressure signal over a range of high vacuum pressures and a differential diaphragm pressure sensor that provides an instantaneous differential pressure signal between load lock pressure and ambient pressure. The housing further supports an absolute ambient pressure sensor. A low vacuum absolute pressure is computed from the instantaneous differential pressure signal and the instantaneous ambient pressure signal. A controller in the housing is able to recalibrate the differential diaphragm pressure sensor based on measured voltages of the sensor and a measured ambient pressure during normal operation of the pressure gauge with routine cycling of pressure in the load lock.