A piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphone is provided comprising a substrate including walls defining a cavity and at least one of the walls defining an anchor region, a piezoelectric film layer supported by the substrate at the anchor region such that the piezoelectric film layer is cantilevered, the piezoelectric film layer being formed to introduce differential stress between a front surface of the piezoelectric film layer oriented away from the cavity and a back surface of the piezoelectric film layer oriented towards the cavity such that the piezoelectric film layer is bent into the cavity, and an electrode disposed over the piezoelectric film layer and adjacent the anchor region. A method of manufacturing such a MEMS microphone is also provided.

A micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) device includes a substrate and a beam suspended relative to a surface of the substrate. The substrate includes a buried insulator layer and a cavity. The beam includes a first portion and a second portion that are separated by an isolation joint. The cavity separates the surface of the substrate from the beam.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a three-dimensionally structured member which can be made by a simpler process. The method for manufacturing a three-dimensionally structured member includes shaping a flat plate-shaped base member to produce a three-dimensionally structured member having a plurality of sections that are different from one another in thickness. The manufacturing method comprises: a mask formation step for forming a mask over the whole of at least one main surface of the base member; a mask removal step for removing a part of the mask; and an etching step for etching an exposed part of the base member wherein a combination of the mask removal step and the etching step is performed on the mask and the base member that correspond to each of the plurality of sections of the three-dimensionally structured member, in the order from thinnest to the thickest of thicknesses of the three-dimensionally structured members.

A method of fabricating and packaging an ohmic micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) switch device may comprise constructing the switch device on an insulating substrate. The switch device may have contacts that consist of a platinum-group metal. The method may further comprise forming an oxidized layer of the platinum-group metal on an outer surface of each of the one or more contacts. The method may further comprise bonding an insulating cap to the insulating substrate, to hermetically seal the switch device. The bonding may occur in an atmosphere that has a proportion of oxygen within a range of 0.5% to 30%, such that, after the switch device has been hermetically sealed within the sealed cavity, an atmosphere within the sealed cavity has a proportion of oxygen within the range of 0.5% to 30%. The platinum-group metal may be ruthenium, and the oxidized layer of the platinum-group metal may be ruthenium dioxide.

A method of making a piezoelectric sensor includes forming piezoelectric layer(s) to define a beam extending between a proximal portion and a distal end. The method also includes modeling a strain distribution on the beam based on a force applied to the beam, and defining an outer boundary with a shape substantially corresponding to a contour line of the strain distribution on the beam. The method also includes forming an electrode having said outer boundary shape, and attaching the electrode to the beam. The method also includes attaching the beam to a substrate in cantilever form so that the proximal portion of the beam is anchored to the substrate and the distal end of the beam is unsupported.

A method of fabricating and packaging an ohmic micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) switch device may comprise constructing the switch device on an insulating substrate. The switch device may have contacts that consist of a platinum-group metal. The method may further comprise forming an oxidized layer of the platinum-group metal on an outer surface of each of the one or more contacts. The method may further comprise bonding an insulating cap to the insulating substrate, to hermetically seal the switch device. The bonding may occur in an atmosphere that has a proportion of oxygen within a range of 0.5% to 30%, such that, after the switch device has been hermetically sealed within the sealed cavity, an atmosphere within the sealed cavity has a proportion of oxygen within the range of 0.5% to 30%. The platinum-group metal may be ruthenium, and the oxidized layer of the platinum-group metal may be ruthenium dioxide.

A method for fabricating a cantilever having a device surface, a tapered surface, and an end region includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a first side and a second side opposite to the first side and etching a predetermined portion of the second side to form a plurality of recesses in the second side. Each of the plurality of recesses comprises an etch termination surface. The method also includes anisotropically etching the etch termination surface to form the tapered surface of the cantilever and etching a predetermined portion of the device surface to release the end region of the cantilever.

An integrated circuit (IC) device includes: a first substrate; a dielectric layer disposed over the first substrate; and a second substrate disposed over the dielectric layer. The second substrate includes anchor regions comprising silicon extending upwards from the dielectric layer, and a series of interdigitated fingers extend from inner sidewalls of the anchor regions. The interdigitated fingers extend generally in parallel with one another in a first direction and have respective finger lengths that extend generally in the first direction. A plurality of peaks comprising silicon is disposed on the dielectric layer directly below the respective interdigitated fingers. The series of interdigitated fingers are cantilevered over the plurality of peaks. A first peak is disposed below a base of a finger and has a first height, and a second peak is disposed below a tip of the finger and has a second height less than the first height.

A piezoelectric MEMS microphone comprising a multi-layer sensor that includes at least one piezoelectric layer between two electrode layers, with the sensor being dimensioned such that it provides a near maximized ratio of output energy to sensor area, as determined by an optimization parameter that accounts for input pressure, bandwidth, and characteristics of the piezoelectric and electrode materials. The sensor can be formed from single or stacked cantilevered beams separated from each other by a small gap, or can be a stress-relieved diaphragm that is formed by deposition onto a silicon substrate, with the diaphragm then being stress relieved by substantial detachment of the diaphragm from the substrate, and then followed by reattachment of the now stress relieved diaphragm.

The present disclosure relates to a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) package featuring a flat plate having a raised edge around its perimeter serving as an anti-stiction device, and an associated method of formation. A CMOS IC is provided having a dielectric structure surrounding a plurality of conductive interconnect layers disposed over a CMOS substrate. A MEMS IC is bonded to the dielectric structure such that it forms a cavity with a lowered central portion the dielectric structure, and the MEMS IC includes a movable mass that is arranged within the cavity. The CMOS IC includes an anti-stiction plate disposed under the movable mass. The anti-stiction plate is made of a conductive material and has a raised edge surrounding at least a part of a perimeter of a substantially planar upper surface.