A method for manufacturing a substrate including a region, which is mechanically decoupled from a support and has at least one component situated on the region; at least one recess being introduced on a front side of the substrate; an etching pattern being prepared on a back side of the substrate and etched anisotropically in such a manner, that vertical channels are produced on the back side of the substrate; and subsequently, a cavity being introduced at the back side of the substrate; the at least one recess on the front side of the substrate being connected to the cavity on the back side of the substrate; and in at least one region between the front side of the substrate and the cavity, at least two recesses or at least two segments of a recess being interconnected by at least one channel.

A pressure sensing element, including a substrate, a device layer coupled to the substrate, a diaphragm being part of the device layer, and a plurality of piezoresistors coupled to the diaphragm. A plurality of bond pads is disposed on the device layer, and an electrical field shield is bonded to the top of device layer and at least one of the bond pads. At least one stress adjustor is part of the electrical field shield, where the stress adjustor is a cut-out constructed and arranged to reduce thermal hysteresis of the pressure sensing element caused by stress relaxation of the electrical field shield during a cooling and heating cycle. The stress adjustor may be a thin film deposited on top of the electrical field shield, which may apply residual stress to the piezoresistors. The pressure sensing element may include a cavity integrally formed as part of the substrate.

A microelectromechanical system device includes a substrate, a dielectric layer, an electrode, a surface modification layer and a membrane. The dielectric layer is formed on the substrate, and is formed with a cavity that is defined by a cavity-defining wall. The electrode is formed in the dielectric layer. The surface modification layer covers the cavity-defining wall, and has a plurality of hydrophobic end groups. The membrane is connected to the dielectric layer, and seals the cavity. The membrane is movable toward or away from the electrode. A method for making a microelectromechanical system device is also provided.

According to one embodiment, a sensor includes a base, first and second detection units. The base includes first and second base regions. The first detection unit includes a first detection element including a first resistance member, a first conductive member, and a first insulating member. A part of the first insulating member is between the first resistance member and the first conductive member. A first gap is provided between the first base region and first detection element. The first detection element has a first area. The second detection unit includes a second detection element including a second resistance member, a second conductive member, and a second insulating member. A part of the second insulating member is between the second resistance member and the second conductive member. A second gap is provided between the second base region and second detection element. The second detection element has a second area.

A MEMS switch is actuatable by a fluid, and includes a piezoelectric pressure sensor that detects the movement of a fluid generating a negative pressure. The piezoelectric pressure sensor is formed by a chip of semiconductor material having a through cavity and a sensitive membrane, which extends over the through cavity and has a first and a second surface. The piezoelectric pressure sensor is mounted on a face of a board having a through hole so that the through cavity overlies and is in fluid connection with the through hole. The board has a fixing structure, which enables securing in an opening of a partition wall separating a first and a second space from each other. The board is arranged so that the first surface of the sensitive membrane faces the first space, and the second surface of the sensitive membrane faces the second space.

In an embodiment, a semiconductor package includes a support and a stack of two or more semiconductor dies, the stack including an upper die and further including a lower die attached to the support by adhesive on a backside of the lower die, wherein the adhesive covers only part of the backside of the lower die, and wherein the adhesive has a plurality of non-contiguous regions on the backside of the lower die.

An IR radiator element (1) suitable for use as a miniature infrared emitter (micro-hotplate) in a gas sensor, IR-spectrometer or electron microscope. The micro-hotplate comprises a plate (2) supported by multiple support arms (4). The plate and arms are fabricated as a MEMS device comprising a single contiguous piece of electrically-conducting refractory ceramic such as hafnium carbide (HfC) or tantalum hafnium carbide (TaHfC). Each of the arms (4), in addition to providing structural cantilever support for the plate (2), acts as a heating element for the plate (2). The plate (2) is heated by applying a voltage across the arms (4). The arms (4) may also be shaped to absorb thermomechanical stress which arises during the heating and cooling of the arms and plate. The plate, which may have an area of less than 0.05 mm.sup.2 and a thickness of between 1% and 10% of the largest dimension of the plate (2), for example, can be heated to 4,000 K or more and cooled again with a duty cycle of as little 0.5 ms, thereby permitting pulsed operation at frequencies of up to 2 kHz. Its small size (10-200 μm) and low power consumption (e.g. 10-100 mW) make the micro-hotplate suitable for use in cryogenic applications, in miniaturized devices or in battery-powered devices such as mobile phones.

In an embodiment A package includes a casing having an opening and enclosing a cavity, a die accommodated in the cavity and a membrane attached to the casing, the membrane being air-permeable, covering and sealing the opening, wherein the membrane is configured to allow only a lateral gas flow, and wherein a blocking member is configured to block a vertical gas flow through the membrane into the cavity, the blocking member tightly covering a surface of the membrane at least in an area comprising the opening.

The present disclosure is directed to a method for manufacturing a micro-electro-mechanical device. The method includes the steps of forming, on a substrate, a first protection layer of crystallized aluminum oxide, impermeable to HF; forming, on the first protection layer, a sacrificial layer of silicon oxide removable with HF; forming, on the sacrificial layer, a second protection layer of crystallized aluminum oxide; exposing a sacrificial portion of the sacrificial layer; forming, on the sacrificial portion, a first membrane layer of a porous material, permeable to HF; forming a cavity by removing the sacrificial portion through the first membrane layer; and sealing pores of the first membrane layer by forming a second membrane layer on the first membrane layer.

Method for manufacturing a micro-electro-mechanical system, MEMS, integrating a first MEMS device and a second MEMS device. The first MEMS device is a capacitive pressure sensor and the second MEMS device is an inertial sensor. The steps of manufacturing the first and second MEMS devices are, at least partly, shared with each other, resulting in a high degree of integration on a single die, and allowing to implement a manufacturing process with high yield and controlled costs.