High sensitivity miniature pressure transducer

Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Electrostatic capacitors – Variable

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156628, 156629, 357 26, 2041293, H01G 700, G25F 312, B44C 122, H01L 2984

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active

049966278

ABSTRACT:
A miniature transducer having an ultrathin tensioned silicon diaphragm so as to be responsive to extremely small changes in pressure. A silicon wafer is masked to define diaphragm areas, and etched to form a setback or capacitor gap a predefined depth. The mask is removed, and the entire silicon wafer is etched a second time to achieve the desired diaphragm thickness. The first and second etches are carried out independently, and thus the capacitor gap and diaphragm thickness can be independently formed. Mask and metallizing steps are carried out on glass wafers, and sandwiched around the processed semiconductor wafer, whereupon a large number of the miniature transducers are fabricated simultaneously. Unique patterning, etching and metallizing steps carried out on the sandwich structure allow a number of quadrature unit cells to be formed, thereby maximizing the area of the semiconductor and glass structures. By proper selection of materials, the diaphragm is tensioned during the fabrication of the transducer structures.

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