Micromechanical Component and Method for Manufacturing

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The patent relates to a micromechanical component (MEMS device) and its manufacturing method that enables the creation of microstructures with different local thicknesses and gap (spacer) widths in a single device. The design allows regions with very narrow and shallow gaps (for high sensitivity capacitive elements) and regions with wider, deeper gaps (for springs or other functional structures) to be formed efficiently, exploiting aspect ratio dependent etching effects. The process ensures high structural precision and enables simultaneous etching of different regions, improving both performance and production efficiency.

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• MEMS-based accelerometers and gyroscopes for motion sensing in mobile phones and wearable devices
• Miniaturized pressure, vibration, or acoustic sensors for industrial and automotive applications
• Micro-actuators for medical devices and micro-robotics
• High-precision inertial sensors for aerospace and navigation systems
• Capacitive MEMS sensors in Internet of Things (IoT) devices
• Micro-structured platforms for advanced scientific instruments

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Enhanced sensitivity for capacitive sensing elements by allowing extremely small gaps with high aspect ratio, improving sensor performance
• Reduced manufacturing cost and time by enabling simultaneous etching of different regions with varied gap widths and depths in a single process
• Greater design flexibility for MEMS devices, supporting optimal structures for both sensitivity and mechanical robustness
• Improved noise performance and signal-to-noise ratio by enabling heavier masses and higher structural efficiency
• Potential for better integration and miniaturization of complex multi-functional MEMS devices
• Precision structural definition due to single-mask, single-step etching process, minimizing alignment errors

Technical Classifications (CPCs)

Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a component (16) for a micromechanical system and to a method for producing same. The component has an upper face and a lower face on opposite sides and comprises at least one first patterned element which is located in a first region (21) of the component (16) and is delimited by at least one first gap (19), and at least one second patterned element which is located in a second region (22), different from the first region (21) of the component (16), and is delimited by at least one second gap (20). The first region (21) is defined by a first cavity (6) in the lower face of the component (16), wherein a first thickness (C) of the component (16) is reduced in the first region (21) in relation to a second thickness (B) of the component (16) in the second region (22). A minimum second gap width of the at least one second gap (20) is greater than a minimum first gap width of the at least one first gap (19).