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| OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS OF THIS INVENTION Referring now more particularly to the accompanying ... |
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| Photoconductor-on-active-pixel (POAP) sensor utilizing equal-potential pixel electrodes |
| The active pixel sensor of the invention includes, in one embodiment, a solid state radiation ... |
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| Off substrate flip-chip apparatus |
| OF THE INVENTION The latching off-chip arrangement of the present invention enables the prerelease ... |
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| Correlating optical motion detector |
| In accordance with the present invention, an optical motion detector is comprised of a single chip ... |
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| CCD output signal processing circuit for use in an image pick-up device |
| It is an object of the present invention to provide a CCD output signal generating circuit for ... |
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| Semiconductor integrated circuit and method of making the same |
| It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor integrated circuit device in ... |
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| Solid state imaging device |
| An object of the present invention is to provide a solid state imaging device having a conventional ... |
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Design and fabrication of broadband surface-micromachined micro-electro-mechanical switches for microwave and millimeter-wave applications
| Details |
Inventors: Loo, Robert Y.; Schmitz, Adele; Brown, Julia; Lynch, Jonathan; Choudhury, Debabani; Foschaar, James; Hyman, Daniel J.; Warneke, Brett; Lam, Juan; Hsu, Tsung-Yuan; Lee, Jae; Mehregany, Mehran;
Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (El Segundo, CA); Rosemont Aerospace, Inc. (Burnsville, MN)
Primary Examiner: Bettendorf; Justin P.
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Duraiswamy; V. D., Sales; M. W.
Methods for the design and fabrication of micro-electro-mechanical switches are disclosed. Two different switch designs with three different switch fabrication techniques are presented for a total of six switch structures. Each switch has a multiple-layer armature with a suspended biasing electrode and a conducting transmission line affixed to the structural layer of the armature. A conducting dimple is connected to the conducting line to provide a reliable region of contact for the switch. The switch is fabricated using silicon nitride as the armature structural layer and silicon dioxide as the sacrificial layer supporting the armature during fabrication. Hydrofluoric acid is used to remove the silicon dioxide layer with post-processing in a critical point dryer to increase yield. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a method of design and fabrication of a micro-electro-mechanical switch.
Two different fundamental switch structures are discussed and three different fabrication sequences are presented, for a total of six switch designs covered in this work.
Every switch design has a number of important features in common.
Each switch is designed with a bi-layer or tri-layer armature to give the switch superior mechanical qualities.
In addition, the switches have conducting dimples with defined contact areas to improve contact characteristics.
The switch is fabricated using improved materials and processes that prevent the armature from sticking to the substrate during fabrication and also ensure superior mechanical qualities and uniform contact properties of the switch.
One embodiment of the invention is a micro-electro-mechanical switch comprising an input line, an output line, and an armature.
The input line and the output line are located on top of a substrate.
The armature is made of at least one structural layer, a conducting transmission line on top of, below, or between the structural layers, and a suspended armature bias electrode similarly placed.
One end of the structural layer is connected to the substrate, and a substrate bias electrode is located on top of the substrate below the suspended armature bias electrode on the armature.
A first end of the conducting transmission line is connected to the output line, and a second end rests above the input line when the switch is in an open position and contacts the input line when the switch is in a closed position.
The conducting transmission line also contains a conducting dimple such that the distance between the conducting dimple and the input line is less than the distance between the conducting transmission line and the input line so that the conducting dimple contacts the input line when the switch is in the closed position.
The structural layer may be formed below, above, or both above and below the conducting line
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