An inertial sensor comprising a frame to which at least two seismic bodies are connected by resilient means so as to be movable in a suspension plane, and transducers to keep the seismic bodies vibrating and to determine a relative movement of the seismic bodies relative to one another, characterized in that the seismic bodies have a single shape and a single mass, and in that the seismic bodies comprise interlocking parts such that the seismic bodies are nested inside one another while being movable in the suspension plane relative to the other of the seismic bodies, with the seismic bodies having centers of gravity that coincide with one another. A method for manufacturing such a sensor.

Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a device (1) comprising a plurality of micro-machined ultrasonic transducer cells (100) in a first region (10) on a substrate (30) and a plurality of interconnects (200) in a second region (20) on said substrate, each of said cells comprising a first electrode (100) separated by a cavity (130) from a second electrode (120) supported by a membrane (140), the method comprising forming a dielectric layer stack (11, 13, 15, 17) over the substrate, said dielectric layer stack defining the respective membranes of the micro-machined ultrasonic transducers in the first region; reducing the thickness of the dielectric layer stack in the second region by partially etching away the dielectric layer stack in the second region; etching a plurality of trenches (22) in the reduced thickness portion of the dielectric layer stack, each of said trenches exposing a conductive contact (210) in the second region; and filling said trenches with a conductive material. A device manufactured in accordance with this method and an apparatus including the device are also disclosed.

A method for manufacturing a micromechanical timepiece part starting from a silicon-based substrate, including, forming pores on the surface of at least one part of a surface of said silicon-based substrate of a determined depth, entirely filling the pores with a material chosen from diamond, diamond-like carbon, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, ceramics, polymers and mixtures thereof, in order to form, in the pores, a layer of the material of a thickness at least equal to the depth of the pores. A micromechanical timepiece part including a silicon-based substrate which has, on the surface of at least one part of a surface of the silicon-based substrate, pores of a determined depth, the pores being filled entirely with a layer of a material chosen from diamond, diamond-like carbon, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, ceramics, polymers and mixtures thereof, of a thickness at least equal to the depth of the pores.

Stress relief structures and methods that can be applied to MEMS sensors requiring a hermetic seal and that can be simply manufactured are disclosed. The system includes a sensor having a first surface and a second surface, the second surface being disposed away from the first surface, the second surface also being disposed away from a package surface and located between the first surface and the package surface, a number of support members, each support member extending from the second surface to the package surface, the support members being disposed on and operatively connected to only a portion of the second surface. The support member are configured to reduce stress produced by package-sensor interaction.