A micromechanical structure in accordance with various embodiments may include: a substrate; and a functional structure arranged at the substrate; wherein the functional structure includes a functional region which is deflectable with respect to the substrate responsive to a force acting on the functional region; and wherein at least a section of the functional region has an elastic modulus in the range from about 5 GPa to about 70 GPa.

Flexible, insertable, transparent microelectrode arrays that allow integration of electrophysiological recordings with any optical imaging or stimulation technology are disclosed. In some embodiments of the disclosed technology, a microelectrode array includes a flexible substrate layer including a shank member extending in a first direction and a tapered tip at an end of the shank member, and a plurality of electrode wires arranged in the first direction on the flexible substrate layer, wherein the plurality of electrode wires includes adjacent electrode wires having different lengths from each other such that an electrode wire arranged closer to a centerline of the flexible substrate layer is longer than an adjacent electrode arranged further away from the centerline of the flexible substrate.

A method of manufacturing a plurality of through-holes in a layer of first material, for example for the manufacturing of a probe comprising a tip containing a channel. To manufacture the through-holes in a batch process, a layer of first material is deposited on a wafer comprising a plurality of pits a second layer is provided on the layer of first material, and the second layer is provided with a plurality of holes at central locations of the pits; using the second layer as a shadow mask when depositing a third layer at an angle, covering a part of the first material with said third material at the central locations, and etching the exposed parts of the first layer using the third layer as a protective layer.

A method of providing a MEMS device, such as an AFM probe, having a three-sided pyramidal protrusion is made using a multitude of MEMS method steps. To allow the reliable and speedy manufacture of such a MEMS device having a three-sided protrusion on a massive scale, wherein the protrusion has a relatively small half-cone angle and a single apex, a mold is used. The mold includes a sacrificial layer on top of a base substrate. The method of providing the MEMS device includes: providing an area at the first side of the mold which area comprises a pit with a layer of protrusion material, patterning the layer of protrusion material to the desired shape, and isotropically etching the sacrificial layer of the mold with an isotropic etchant capable of etching the sacrificial layer so as to separate the MEMS device from at least the base substrate of the mold.

A method of providing a MEMS device including a through-hole in a layer of structural material using a multitude of MEMS method steps. A versatile method to create a through-hole, in particular a multitude thereof, involves a step of exposing a polymeric layer of positive photoresist in a direction from the outer surface of the positive photoresist to light resulting in an exposed layer of positive photoresist including relatively strongly depolymerized positive photoresist in the top section of a recess while leaving relatively less strongly depolymerized positive photoresist in the bottom section of the recess.

A micromechanical structure in accordance with various embodiments may include: a substrate; and a functional structure arranged at the substrate; wherein the functional structure includes a functional region which is deflectable with respect to the substrate responsive to a force acting on the functional region; and wherein at least a section of the functional region has an elastic modulus in the range from about 5 GPa to about 70 GPa.

A method of providing a MEMS device including a through-hole in a layer of structural material using a multitude of MEMS method steps. A versatile method to create a through-hole, in particular a multitude thereof, involves a step of exposing a polymeric layer of positive photoresist in a direction from the outer surface of the positive photoresist to light resulting in an exposed layer of positive photoresist including relatively strongly depolymerized positive photoresist in the top section of a recess while leaving relatively less strongly depolymerized positive photoresist in the bottom section of the recess.

The present invention relates to a cantilever or membrane comprising a body and an elongated beam attached to the body. The elongated beam includes a first layer comprising a first material, a second layer comprising a second material having an elastic modulus different to that of the first material, a third layer comprising a third material having an elastic modulus different to that of the first material, where the first layer is sandwiched between the second layer and the third layer.

A method of providing a MEMS device, such as an AFM probe, having a three-sided pyramidal protrusion is made using a multitude of MEMS method steps. To allow the reliable and speedy manufacture of such a MEMS device having a three-sided protrusion on a massive scale, wherein the protrusion has a relatively small half-cone angle and a single apex, a mold is used. The mold includes a sacrificial layer on top of a base substrate. The method of providing the MEMS device includes: providing an area at the first side of the mold which area comprises a pit with a layer of protrusion material, patterning the layer of protrusion material to the desired shape, and isotropically etching the sacrificial layer of the mold with an isotropic etchant capable of etching the sacrificial layer so as to separate the MEMS device from at least the base substrate of the mold.

A process for manufacturing an interaction system of a microelectromechanical type for a storage medium, the interaction system provided with a supporting element and an interaction element carried by the supporting element, envisages the steps of: providing a wafer of semiconductor material having a substrate with a first type of conductivity and a top surface; forming a first interaction region having a second type of conductivity, opposite to the first type of conductivity, in a surface portion of the substrate in the proximity of the top surface; and carrying out an electrochemical etch of the substrate starting from the top surface, the etching being selective with respect to the second type of conductivity, so as to remove the surface portion of the substrate and separate the first interaction region from the substrate, thus forming the supporting element.