A method of manufacturing a motion sensor

• Main Author: NORRIS, TIMOTHY S
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 12.10.1994
• Edition: 5
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; INDICATING PRESENCE, ABSENCE, OR DIRECTION, OF MOVEMENT; MEASURING; MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; MEASURING LINEAR OR ANGULAR SPEED, ACCELERATION, DECELERATION,OR SHOCK; NAVIGATION; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY; PHYSICS; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; SURVEYING; TESTING

A method of manufacturing a motion sensor. The method comprises the steps of providing a substrate wafer (10); depositing a first layer of resist (12) upon said substrate wafer (10); removing selected areas of said first resist layer (12), thereby to provide first etch windows; forming first cavities (16) in the substrate wafer (10) by a first etching process through said first windows; bonding a relatively thick membrane wafer (24) to the substrate wafer (10), thereby covering said cavities (16); polishing the surface of the relatively thick membrane wafer (24) thereby to produce a relatively thin membrane (24a); depositing a second layer of resist (33) on said relatively thin membrane (24a); removing selected areas of said second deposited resist layer, thereby to provide second etch windows (40); etching away the relatively thin membrane (24a) in the region of the second etch windows (40) until the first cavities (16) are exposed, thereby to form in said relatively thin membrane (24a) a free standing resonator structure (18) suspended on a plurality of compliant beam mounts (38) extending from a fixed portion (50).