A substrate assembly includes a first substrate, a second substrate and a bonding member. The first substrate includes a first surface-modified region having a functionality different from that of a remainder region of the first substrate. The second substrate includes a second surface-modified region connected to the first surface-modified region through a physical interaction and having a functionality different from that of a remainder region of the second substrate. The first and second substrates cooperatively define a space therebetween. The bonding member is disposed within said space to bond said first and second substrates together. A method for bonding substrates is also disclosed.

Gas sensor, comprising: a substrate of semiconductor material; a first working electrode on the substrate; a second working electrode on the substrate, at a distance from the first working electrode; an interconnection layer extending in electrical contact with the first and the second working electrode, configured to change its conductivity when reacting with gas species to be detected. The interconnection layer is of titanium oxide, has a porosity between 40% and 60% in volume and is formed by a plurality of meso-pores having at least one dimension in the range 6-30 nm connected to nano-pores having at least one respective dimension in the range 1-5 nm.

Described herein are nanopore devices as well as methods for assembling a nanopore device including one or more nanopores that can be used to detect molecules such as nucleic acids, amino acids (proteins), and the like. Specifically, a nanopore device includes an insulating layer that reduces electrical noise and thereby improves the sensing resolution of the one or more nanopores integrated within the nanopore device.

The present application teaches microphones and manufacturing methods therefor and relates to the field of semiconductor technologies. In some implementations, a method may include: providing a substrate structure, the substrate structure including a substrate and a first insulating layer covering a first part of the substrate; forming a first electrode plate layer, the first electrode plate layer covering a part of the first insulating layer; and forming a second insulating layer, the second insulating layer covering a part of a region of the first insulating layer which is not covered by the first electrode plate layer and a part of the first electrode plate layer, where when seen from the top, the first electrode plate layer and the second insulating layer form an angle, the angle exposes a second part of the substrate, and a degree of the angle is larger than or equal to 90 and is smaller than or equal to 180. The present application can improve a problem of unexpected holes formed in the microphone.

According to one embodiment, a sensor includes a film portion, and a first sensor portion. The film portion includes a first film including a plurality of holes. The film portion is deformable. The first sensor portion is fixed to a portion of the film portion. The first sensor portion includes a first magnetic layer, a second magnetic layer, and a first intermediate layer. The second magnetic layer is provided between the first film and the first magnetic layer. The first intermediate layer is provided between the first magnetic layer and the second magnetic layer. A direction from at least a portion of the plurality of holes toward the first sensor portion is aligned with a first direction. The first direction is from the first film toward the first sensor portion.

A method of manufacturing a plurality of through-holes in a layer of first material by subjecting part of the layer of said first material to ion beam milling. For batch-wise production, the method comprises after a step of providing the layer of first material and before the step of ion beam milling, providing a second layer of a second material on the layer of first material, providing the second layer of the second material with a plurality of holes, the holes being provided at central locations of pits in the first layer, and subjecting the second layer of the second material to said step of ion beam milling at an angle using said second layer of the second material as a shadow mask.

A system and method for manipulating the structural characteristics of a MEMS device include etching a plurality of holes into the surface of a MEMS device, wherein the plurality of holes comprise one or more geometric shapes determined to provide specific structural characteristics desired in the MEMS device.

A method of manufacturing a nano membrane structure includes preparing a temporary structure having a substrate in which a through-hole is formed in a central portion, and a nano membrane including silicon nitride (SiN), that covers the through-hole on the substrate, and including a central area formed on the through-hole, and a peripheral area formed on the substrate. The method includes preparing an insulating support member including at least one of silicon and a compound containing silicon, and in which a micropore is formed in a central portion, forming a complex structure by performing a hydrophilic surface processing of a surface of the nano membrane and one surface of the insulating support member and by bonding the temporary structure and the insulating support member so that at least a portion of the central area of the nano membrane and the micropore face, and removing the substrate from the complex structure.

A method of manufacturing a membrane device comprises: a first step of forming a pillar structure on a part of a Si substrate by etching; a second step of forming a first insulation layer on the Si substrate so as to expose a Si surface of an upper part of the pillar structure; a third step of forming a second insulation layer on the pillar structure and the first insulation layer; and a fourth step of etching the Si substrate from an opposite side of the second insulation layer and etching the pillar structure with the first insulation layer being a mask, to thereby form a membrane, which is a region free of the pillar structure in the second insulation layer.

An optical scanning apparatus includes a mirror, a detection section, and a dummy capacitance section. The detection section generates capacitance between movable and fixed electrodes. The dummy capacitance section generates dummy capacitance between first and second electrodes. The four electrodes are provided on the same active layer and are separated. The active layer is arranged to face a support layer with an insulating layer in between. A first parasitic capacitance generated between the active layer including the fixed electrode and the support layer is equivalent to a second parasitic capacitance generated between the active layer including the first electrode and the support layer. The capacitance of the detection section and the first parasitic capacitance are connected in series, and the dummy capacitance and the second parasitic capacitance are connected in series.