A device includes a substrate comprising a first standoff, a second standoff, a third standoff, a first cavity, a second cavity, and a bonding material covering a portion of the first, the second, and the third standoff. The first cavity is positioned between the first and the second standoffs, and the second cavity is positioned between the second and the third standoffs. The first cavity comprises a first cavity region and a second cavity region separated by a portion of the substrate extruding thereto, and wherein a depth associated with the first cavity region is greater than a depth associated with the second cavity. A surface of the first cavity is covered with a getter material.

A mechanical oscillator endowed with a strip, with the aforesaid strip incorporating a first silicon layer having a crystal lattice extending along a first direction of one plane, a thermal compensation layer composed of a material having a Young's modulus thermal coefficient of opposite sign to that of the silicon, and a second silicon layer having a crystal lattice extending in a second direction of the plane, with the first and direction being offset at an angle of 45° within the plane of the layers, and with the thermal compensation layer extending between the first and second silicon layers.

An apparatus comprising: a thermally-actuated microactuator configured to deflect a component in dependence on an applied stimulus; and an extender having a length configured to increase deflection of the component by the microactuator, wherein the extender comprises one or more voids.

A camera system incorporating a MEMS actuator to achieve focus adjustments to compensate for the thermal expansion of the lens assembly is disclosed. The camera comprises a lens barrel, lens holder, infra-red (IR) filter, board circuit, MEMS actuator, housing package for the actuator, and an image sensor. The image sensor is directly wire bonded to pads on the circuit board such that these pads are movable at the image sensor end and fixed at the circuit board end. When the camera is exposed to temperature variations, the MEMS actuator moves the sensor along the optical axis to maintain the image in focus.

Disclosed is a method of fabricating a MEMS membrane structure. The method comprises: forming a silicon oxide film dam structure on a silicon substrate; depositing an adhesive layer and then forming a sacrificial layer; depositing a surface protective film on the sacrificial layer; etching the surface protective film and the sacrificial layer, thus forming trenches of first to third rows on the silicon oxide film dam structure; depositing a support film inside of the trenches of first to third rows and on the surface protective film of the sacrificial layer, thus forming a membrane; and removing the sacrificial layer disposed inside the support film deposited inside of the trench of first row, thus forming an empty space.

An angular rate sensor includes an annular resonator. The resonator includes an annular base material made of a first material, and an annular first low thermal conductor made of a second material having a lower thermal conductivity than the first material, the first low thermal conductor being sandwiched between an annular first region and an annular second region on an inner side of the first region in the base material over substantially an entire circumference of the resonator.

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 micromechanical sensor. The sensor includes a substrate, a cap element situated on the substrate, at least one seismic mass that is deflectable orthogonal to the cap element, an internal pressure that is lower by a defined amount relative to the surrounding environment prevailing inside a cavity, and a compensating element designed to provide a homogenization of a temperature gradient field in the cavity during operation of the micromechanical sensor.

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.

In an embodiment a sensor device includes a substrate with a first membrane and a first cover layer, the first membrane and the first cover layer being monolithically integrated into the substrate and a first pellistor element including a heater element and a temperature sensor element, the heater element and/or the temperature sensor element being arranged in or on the first membrane, wherein the first cover layer is arranged over or under the first membrane, and wherein the first membrane, the first cover layer and a part of the substrate surround a first cavity.