A MEMS device includes a movable mass having a central region overlying a sense electrode and an opening in which a suspension structure and spring system are located. The suspension structure includes an anchor coupled to a substrate and rigid links extending from opposing sides of the anchor. The spring system includes a first and second spring heads coupled to each of the rigid links. A first drive spring is coupled to the first spring head and to the movable mass, and a second drive spring is coupled to the second spring head and to the movable mass. The movable mass is resiliently suspended above the surface of the substrate via the suspension structure and the spring system. The spring system enables drive motion of the movable mass in the drive direction and sense motion of the movable mass in a sense direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate.

A microelectromechanical device is provided that includes a mobile rotor and a fixed stator in a device plane. Moreover, a fixed wall defines a wall plane that is adjacent to the device plane and a motion limiter is provided to prevent the rotor from coming into direct physical contact with the fixed wall. The motion limiter includes a shock absorber that extends from the rotor to the stator and a fixed stopper structure that protrudes from the fixed wall toward the shock absorber.

A dual-shell architecture and methods of fabrication of fused quartz resonators is disclosed. The architecture may include two encapsulated and concentric cavities using plasma-activated wafer bonding followed by the high-temperature glassblowing. The dual-shell architecture can provide a protective shield as well as a “fixed-fixed” anchor for the sensing element of the resonators. Structures can be instrumented to operate as a resonator, a gyroscope, or other vibratory sensor and for precision operation in a harsh environment. Methods for fabricating a dual-shell resonator structure can include pre-etching cavities on a cap wafer, pre-etching cavities on a device wafer, bonding the device wafer to a substrate wafer to form a substrate pair and aligning and bonding the cap wafer to the substrate pair to form a wafer stack with aligned cavities including a cap cavity and a device cavity. The wafer stack may be glassblown to form a dual-shell structure.

A microelectromechanical device having a mobile rotor and a fixed stator in a device plane, and a motion limiter that prevents the mobile rotor from contacting a fixed wall in a vertical direction that is perpendicular to the device plane. Moreover, the motion limiter extends between the rotor and the stator and includes a stopper lever that is configured to rotate out of the device plane.

A robust MEMS transducer includes a kinetic energy diverter disposed within its frontside cavity. The kinetic energy diverter blunts or diverts kinetic energy in a mass of air moving through the frontside cavity, before that kinetic energy reaches a diaphragm of the MEMS transducer. The kinetic energy diverter renders the MEMS transducer more robust and resistant to damage from such a moving mass of air.

In an inertial sensor, a first movable body configured to swing around a first rotation axisrotation axis along a first direction has an opening; the opening includes a second movable body configured to swing around a second rotation axisrotation axis along a second direction, a second support beam supporting the second movable body as the second rotation axisrotation axis, a third movable body configured to swing around a third rotation axisrotation axis along the second direction, and a third support beam supporting the third movable body as the third rotation axisrotation axis; and a protrusion is provided at a surface facing the second movable body and the third movable body, or at the second movable body and the third movable body, the protrusion protruding toward the second movable body and the third movable body or the surface.

A micromechanical arm is provided. The micromechanical arm includes: a bottom metal piece having a plurality of trenches extending downwardly from a top surface of the bottom metal piece; an intermediate layer on the bottom metal piece and filling at least a portion of each of the plurality of trenches; and a top metal piece on the intermediate layer. The intermediate layer is made of a material that has a stiffness smaller than the bottom metal piece and the top metal piece.

A method for producing a micromechanical device having a damper structure. The method includes: (A) providing a micromechanical wafer having a rear side; (B) applying a liquid damper material onto the rear side; (C) pressing a matrix against the rear side in order to form at least one damper structure in the damper material; (D) curing the damper material; and (E) removing the matrix.

A semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The semiconductor device includes a substrate having a first surface and a second surface arranged opposite to the first surface; a stress-sensitive sensor disposed at the first surface of the substrate, where the stress-sensitive sensor is sensitive to mechanical stress; a stress-decoupling trench that has a vertical extension that extends from the first surface into the substrate, where the stress-decoupling trench vertically extends partially into the substrate towards the second surface although not completely to the second surface; and a plurality of particle filter trenches that vertically extend from the second surface into the substrate, wherein each of the plurality of particle filter trenches have a longitudinal extension that extends orthogonal to the vertical extension of the stress-decoupling trench.

A semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the device that includes a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT). The CMUT includes an integrated circuit substrate, and a sensing electrode positioned on the integrated substrate. The sensing electrode includes a sidewall that forms a wall of an isolation trench adjacent to the sensing electrode, and is patterned before covering dielectric layers are deposited. After patterning of the sensing electrode, one or more dielectric layers are patterned, with one dielectric layer patterned on the sensing electrode and sidewall, and which has a thickness corresponding to the surface roughness of the sensing electrode. The CMUT further includes a membrane positioned above the sensing electrode forming a cavity therein.