Micromachined gas-filled chambers and method of microfabrication
US6124145A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 23, 1998 |
| Grant date | Sep 26, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 23, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B5/202
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Micromachining, etching and bonding techniques are employed to fabricate hermetically sealed gas-filled chambers from silicon and/or glass wafers. The hermetically sealed gas-filled chambers have precise dimensions and are filled with a preselected concentration of gas, thus rendering exceptional performance for use as an optical gas filter. The first step involves etching one or more cavities or holes in one or more glass or silicon wafers. These wafers eventually become part of a chip assembly having one or more hermetically sealed gas-filled chambers after appropriate bonding procedures. Interfaces between aligned silicon wafers are bonded using fusion bonding techniques whereas interfaces between silicon and glass wafers are bonded using anodic bonding techniques. Bonding is accomplished in an over-pressured gas-filled bonding environment that contains a selected concentration of gas which is maintained at the bonding temperature in order to encapsulate a precise concentration of the gas within the micromachined cavity.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.