Many thanks for this! There have been geniuses at Audiopixels at work on this, and they have clearly had a lot of opportunity to explore their subject!
I remember when I was given my first LEGO set as a kid. It only had bricks of 2, 4 , 6 and 8 peg lengths, and only in 2 colours. What you could make was severely limited. Still I managed to make spaceships out of it. My son, now in his 40's recently made a LEGO car with adjustable steering and suspension, pistons that move in a block, and a hood that opens and latches. Even the seats slide like the real thing! I still drool over both his skill and the LEGO system itself.
This MEMS nanotechnology is showing the same kind of evolution. And this patent shows the ways it is developing and evolving.
And Audiopixels is fully involved and has some key IP patented!!!!This is brilliant stuff. Not only do these techniques indicate that their IP belongs to AP personnel but they are also fundamental to many other applications in producing MEMS architecture.
"... The present disclosure enables facilitating fabrication of a MEMS device with a MEMS structure suspended above a cavity wherein the MEMS structure includes one or more pathways and an etching distance in the device plane between a projection of the one or more pathways on the device plane and at least some points of a projection of the cavity on said device plane is superior to 10 microns. In other words, the present disclosure facilitates manufacturing of devices in which an etchant would need to travel in a plane perpendicular to a main etching direction (i.e. the XY plane) for more than about 10 microns away from any of the one or more pathways.
It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination or as suitable in any other described embodiment of the invention. No feature described in the context of an embodiment is to be considered an essential feature of that embodiment, unless explicitly specified as such.
Although steps of methods according to some embodiments may be described in a specific sequence, methods of the invention may comprise some of the described steps carried out in a different order. A method of the invention may comprise all of the steps described or only a few of the described steps. No particular step in a disclosed method is to be considered an essential step of that method, unless explicitly specified as such.
Although the invention is described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that numerous alternatives, modifications and variations that are apparent to those skilled in the art may exist. Accordingly, the invention so embraces all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims. It is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components and/or methods set forth herein.
Other embodiments may be practiced, and an embodiment may be carried out in various ways. In particular, in the second part of the method of manufacturing a MEMS comprising at least one suspended MEMS structure, the MEMS structure may be configured for the resulting MEMS to function as a transducer, a sensor or an actuator such as a MEMS speaker. It may include VIAs and interconnections between the layers, a second or further plate, etc. Furthermore, it is noted that some embodiments of the present disclosure may be directed to forming a cavity filled with an etching facilitator arrangement within a thickness of a structural material layer instead of in the substrate itself. ..."
Looking forward to seeing where this goes. A patent like this is a HUGE confidence builder.
GLTAH!
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