Representative methods for sealing MEMS devices include depositing insulating material over a substrate, forming conductive vias in a first set of layers of the insulating material, and forming metal structures in a second set of layers of the insulating material. The first and second sets of layers are interleaved in alternation. A dummy insulating layer is provided as an upper-most layer of the first set of layers. Portions of the first and second set of layers are etched to form void regions in the insulating material. A conductive pad is formed on and in a top surface of the insulating material. The void regions are sealed with an encapsulating structure. At least a portion of the encapsulating structure is laterally adjacent the dummy insulating layer, and above a top surface of the conductive pad. An etch is performed to remove at least a portion of the dummy insulating layer.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor substrate according to an embodiment includes a first step of forming a groove having a bottom surface and a side surface on which scallops are formed by performing a process including isotropic etching on a main surface of a substrate, a second step of performing at least one of a hydrophilic treatment on the side surface of the groove and a degassing treatment on the groove, and a third step of removing the scallops formed on the side surface of the groove and planarizing the side surface by performing anisotropic wet etching in a state where the bottom surface of the recess is present.

A highly-ordered nano-structure array, formed on a substrate, mainly comprises a plurality of highly-ordered nano-structure units. Each of the highly-ordered nano-structure units forms a receiving compartment. One end of the receiving compartment opposite to the substrate has an opening. Each of the highly-ordered nano-structure units comprises at least one thin film layer. A periphery and a bottom of the receiving compartment are defined by an inner surface of a surrounding portion of the at least one thin film layer and a top surface of a bottom portion of the at least one thin film layer, respectively. The at least one thin film layer is made of at least one material selected from the group consisting of: metal, alloy, oxide, nitride, and sulfide.

According to at least one embodiment, a method of fabricating a micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) structure is disclosed. The method involves causing an etchant to remove a portion of a sacrificial layer of the MEMS structure, the sacrificial layer between a structural layer of the MEMS structure and a substrate of the MEMS structure. In this embodiment, causing the etchant to remove the portion of the sacrificial layer involves causing a target portion of the substrate to be released from the MEMS structure. According to another embodiment, another method of fabricating a MEMS structure is disclosed. The method involves causing an etchant including water to remove a portion of a sacrificial layer of the MEMS structure, the sacrificial layer between a structural layer of the MEMS structure and a substrate of the MEMS structure. In this embodiment, the sacrificial layer and the substrate are hydrophobic.

The damascene wiring structure includes a base including a main surface provided with a groove, an insulating layer including a first portion provided on an inner surface of the groove and a second portion provided on the main surface, a metal layer provided on the first portion, a wiring portion embedded in the groove, and a cap layer provided to cover the second portion, an end portion of the metal layer, and the wiring portion. A surface of a boundary part between the first portion and the second portion includes an inclined surface inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to the main surface. The end portion of the metal layer enters between the cap layer and the inclined surface, and in the end portion, a first surface along the cap layer and a second surface along the inclined surface form an acute angle.

A through-glass via (TGV) formed in a glass substrate may comprise a metal plating layer formed in the TGV. The TGV may have a three-dimensional (3D) topology through the glass substrate and the metal plating layer conformally covering the 3D topology. The TGV may further comprise a barrier layer disposed over the metal plating layer, and a metallization layer disposed over the barrier layer. The metallization layer may be electrically coupled to the metal plating layer through the barrier layer. The barrier layer may comprise a metal-nitride film disposed on the metal plating layer that is electrically coupled to the metallization layer. The barrier layer may comprise a metal film disposed over the metal plating layer and over a portion of glass surrounding the TGV, and an electrically-insulating film disposed upon the metal film, the electrically-insulating film completely overlapping the metal plating layer and partially overlapping the metal film.

Provided is an atomic-smooth device with a microstructure. The device includes, from the bottom to top, a substrate, a bonding material, a second dielectric layer on the substrate, the microstructure, and a first dielectric layer, where a surface of the first dielectric layer is an atomic-smooth surface. Further provided is a method for preparing an atomic-smooth device with a microstructure to effectively avoid pits or burrs generated when the existing microstructure is machined.

Provided is a gas sensor including a substrate, a first membrane disposed on the substrate, a heating structure disposed on the first membrane, a second membrane disposed on the heating structure, a sensing electrode disposed on the second membrane, and a sensing material structure disposed on the sensing electrode. Here, the substrate provides an isolation space defined by a recessed surface obtained as a portion of a top surface of the substrate is spaced downward from a bottom surface of the first membrane, and the first membrane provides a first membrane etching hole that vertically extends to connect a top surface and the bottom surface of the first membrane and is connected with the isolation space. Also, the first membrane etching hole has a diameter of about 3 μm to about 20 μm.

Preferably, the invention relates to a MEMS package having at least one layer for protecting a MEMS element, wherein the MEMS element has at least one MEMS interaction region on a substrate and a surface conformal coating of the MEMS element is applied with a dielectric layer. Particularly preferably, the invention relates to a MEMS transducer package in which a MEMS element, for example with a MEMS membrane and processor, preferably an integrated circuit, are present on a substrate. For protection, a surface conformal coating of a dielectric is preferably first applied to the MEMS element, for example by spray coating, mist coating, and/or vapor coating. Then, preferably, an electrically conductive layer is applied. Depending on the configuration, the layers may be removed in some regions above a MEMS interaction region of the MEMS element, for example for a sound port of a MEMS membrane.

A micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) device includes a supporting substrate, a cavity disposed in the supporting substrate, a stopper, and a MEMS structure. The stopper is disposed between the supporting substrate and the cavity, and an inner sidewall of the stopper is in contact with the cavity. The stopper includes a filling material surrounding a periphery of the cavity, and a liner wrapping around the filling material. The MEMS structure is disposed over the cavity and attached on the stopper and the supporting substrate.