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Process for sealing devices incorporating microstructures
| Details |
Inventors: Sassolini, Simone; Del Sarto, Marco; Frezza, Giovanni; Baldo, Lorenzo;
Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l. (Agrate Brianza, IT)
Primary Examiner: Smith; Matthew
Assistant Examiner: Yevsikov; Victor V.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Jorgenson; Lisa K., Bennett, II; Harold H., Seed IP Law Group PLLC
A process for the fabrication of devices that integrate protected microstructures, comprising the following steps: forming, in a body of semiconductor material, at least one microstructure having at least one first portion and one second portion which are relatively mobile with respect to one another and are separated from one another by at least one gap region, which is accessible through a face of the body; and sealing the gap. The sealing step includes depositing on the face of the body a layer of protective material, in such a way as to close the gap region, the protective layer being such as to enable relative motion between the first portion and the second portion of the microstructure. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the embodiments described hereinafter, the invention is used for protecting a microactuator for fine positioning of read/write heads of magnetic disks.
This must not, however, be considered in any way limiting, and the invention can be exploited for protecting any type of device incorporating a microstructure.
With reference to FIGS.
1 and 2, in a wafer 1 of semiconductor material, for example silicon, known fabrication steps for the fabrication of microstructures, in particular microactuators 2 (only one of which is here illustrated in a simplified way for reasons of convenience), are initially carried out.
The microactuator 2 comprises a rotor 3, a stator 4, and a plurality of electrical connection pads 5.
In greater detail, the rotor 3 comprises a suspended mass 7 and a plurality of rotor arms 10; the suspended mass 7 has a circular shape, is connected to the stator 4 and is angularly movable with respect to the latter through elastic elements 8; the plurality of rotor arms 10 extend from the suspended mass 7 radially outwards.
In addition, a supporting ring 11, which is designed to be bonded to an R/W head (here not illustrated) in a subsequent fabrication step, is carried above the suspended mass 7 of the rotor 3.
The stator 4, which basically has an annular shape and is concentric with the suspended mass 7, is externally delimited by a trench 12 filled with dielectric material, such as silicon dioxide, and comprises a plurality of stator arms 13 which extend radially inwards.
In particular, the rotor arms 10 and stator arms 11 are comb-fingered and coupled together in a capacitive way.
Furthermore, the rotor 3 and stator 4 are separated from one another by a gap region 14, which is initially empty and is accessible from outside through a face 6 of the wafer 1.
As shown in FIG.
3, a sealing layer 15 of a protective material is subsequently deposited on the face 6, so as to coat the wafer 1 entirely and close the gap region 14.
In particular, the protective material is deposited in direct contact with the microactuator 2
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MEMS 
