• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    The present invention relates to an electromechanical component (CE), in particular usable as an actuator or electrostatic generator, comprising at least a first electrode (E1) and a second electrode (E2), in which the first electrode (E1) and the second electrode ( E2) are made of a first material and interconnected by an intermediate layer (C1) of a second material so that the electromechanical component (CE) is a one-piece structure. Similarly, the present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing such an electromechanical component.
    公开号:CH710600A1
    申请号:CH00021/15
    申请日:2015-01-08
    公开日:2016-07-15
    发明作者:Glassey Marc-André
    申请人:Sigatec Sa；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    Technical field of the invention
    The present invention relates to an electromechanical component, in particular a component used in the context of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems; according to the English name "Microelectromechanical Systems"). More particularly, the present invention relates to an electromechanical component used in the field of electrostatic systems capable of generating movement when subjected to an electric voltage and, by reverse use, also of generating electric energy when it is mechanically. deformed.
    [0002] A concrete application of electromechanical components within the meaning of the present invention are actuators (also called actuators) and / or electrostatic generators. Actuators are generally organs capable of transforming the energy supplied to them into a physical phenomenon, eg into motion. At the same time, generators are organs inverse to actuators, therefore organs which are capable of generating energy using a physical phenomenon. Therefore, electrostatic actuators use electrical energy and electrostatic forces to generate displacement. On the other hand, an electrostatic generator uses displacement to generate electrical energy through electrostatic forces.
    [0003] Another concrete application of electromechanical components within the meaning of the present invention are oscillators whose oscillation frequency serves as the time base for the operation of a microprocessor or of a quartz watch. Indeed, it is possible to produce such an oscillator by alternating the actuator state and the generator state of a component using any active electronic component.
    [0004] However, other concrete applications of quite viable electromechanical components are also possible.
    Description of the state of the art
    [0005] Actuators and conventional electrostatic generators can in principle be designed with one of the following two designs: 1. A first design called “parallel planes” (and illustrated in Fig. 1) where two flat electrodes are located opposite each other. One of the two electrodes is fixed, while the other is removable and normally attached to a spring. By applying a different voltage to each of the two electrodes, the removable plate can be linearly moved closer to the fixed plate. When the current stops flowing, the removable electrode is returned to its initial position by the spring. 2. A second design with the electrodes manufactured in the shape of a comb (the actuators or generators which are designed with this second design are normally called "comb drive" according to the English name of this technology). This design optimizes the capacitance between the electrodes and offers greater flexibility. Indeed, the operating principle is identical to the principle of actuators with flat electrodes. One comb is fixed and the other is removable and these two combs fit into each other. If the two combs remain parallel to each other, the lateral attraction forces cancel each other out and the electrodes move linearly.
    [0006] There are also electrostatic actuators / generators capable of generating or using a rotary displacement.
    [0007] However, in all designs of conventional electrostatic actuators / generators, the electrodes are separated by air (so they are generally not mechanically bonded to each other), which implies that it is absolutely necessary to provide a spring (or some other mechanism) to keep them facing each other. This additional mechanism makes the structure more complicated and more expensive. In addition, conventional designs offer components capable of performing only linear or rotary motion.
    Summary description of the invention
    [0008] The object of the present invention is therefore to provide an electromechanical component which does not have these disadvantages. Specifically, the object of the present invention is to provide an electromechanical component that can be used as an actuator or an electrostatic generator which makes it possible to obtain a movement path that is much more elaborate than a linear or rotary movement and whose movements and the forces are essentially insensitive to temperature.
    [0009] To this end, the invention relates according to a first aspect to an electromechanical component, in particular usable as an actuator or electrostatic generator, comprising at least a first electrode and a second electrode, in which the first electrode and the second electrode are made of a first material, and in which the first electrode and the second electrode are interconnected by an intermediate layer made of a second material so that the electromechanical component is a single-piece structure.
    [0010] At this point, we would like to mention that the present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing an electromechanical component, this method comprising the following steps:etching fine trenches in a plate of a first material;filling its trenches with a second material; andrelease of the electromechanical component from the plate in the first material.
    [0011] The advantage of the present invention lies particularly in the fact that an electromechanical component according to the present invention makes it possible to make actuators, generators and electrostatic oscillators more flexible, less complex and less expensive than conventional components.
    Brief description of the drawings
    [0012] The invention will be clearly understood on reading the following description given by way of non-limiting example, looking at the accompanying drawings which represent schematically: FIG. 1 a schematic perspective view of a conventional electrostatic actuator / generator; fig. 2a is a schematic sectional view of an electromechanical component according to an embodiment of the present invention; fig. 2b a schematic sectional view of the component of FIG. 2b showing its distortion (intentionally exaggerated for illustration purposes) when subjected to tension; fig. 3a and 3b are schematic sectional views of an electronic component according to two variants of the embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 2a; fig. 4 a schematic sectional view of an electromechanical component according to a second embodiment of the present invention, having three electrodes and two intermediate layers; and fig. 5 a schematic sectional view of an electromechanical component according to a third embodiment of the present invention, with an intermediate layer of varied structure along the component in order to obtain preprogrammed deformations; and fig. 6 is a schematic sectional view of an electromechanical component according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, with a non-parallel and non-straight shape.
    Detailed description of the invention
    As already mentioned, an actuator / electrostatic generator is shown in FIG. 1.
    [0014] FIG. 2a shows an electrostatic component according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This component can in particular be used as an actuator, a generator or an oscillator, obtained by alternating the actuator and generator states.
    In this first embodiment of the present invention, the simplest, the electromechanical component CE is composed of a first electrode E1 and a second electrode E2 (in the form of blades) made of a first material, interconnected by an intermediate layer C1 of a second material. In fig. 2a, it can be seen that this intermediate layer C1 made of the second material forms an eccentric notch relative to the center of the component CE.
    [0016] The electrodes E1, E2 have electrostatic properties and the material of the intermediate layer C1 which binds them together have properties of a dielectric. The preferred execution of the two materials is silicon for the first material of the electrodes E1, E2 and silicon oxide for the second material of the intermediate layer C1. Of course, other materials with similar properties can also be used. . Also, the materials of the electrodes E1, E2 can be different, for example silicon for the first electrode E1 and polysilicon for the second electrode E2.
    [0017] If this structure is subjected to an electrical voltage (so if the electromechanical component CE is used in "actuator" mode), the first electrode E1 and the second electrode E2 will tend to approach each other. Indeed, the force which pushes the electrodes E1, E2 towards each other corresponds to the formula:
    The intermediate layer Cl in FIG. 2a comprises the parts parallel to the external faces of the electrodes E1, E2 and the parts perpendicular to these external faces. If we observe the detail of this intermediate layer Cl during the application of a voltage on the electrodes E1, E2, we can see that each horizontal part of the intermediate layer C1 will cause a pressure (therefore an applied force on a certain surface) on this layer. As each horizontal part is concerned and that the intermediate layer C1 is positioned off-center with respect to the external faces of the electrodes E1, E2 (and therefore the external faces of the component CE), this will result in a deformation of the component CE as shown in fig. 2b.
    By analogy if this structure is not subjected to an electrical voltage but is subjected to a force which will deform it in the direction shown in FIG. 2b, this force will cause a contraction of the dielectric in the intermediate layer C1 and therefore a variation in the capacitance of the component CE. This variation in capacitance will give the structure the property of generating electrical energy.
    Several non-exhaustive variants can be proposed with respect to this first embodiment of the present invention, for example:
    The intermediate layer C1 separating the first electrode E1 from the second electrode E2 can be made in various shapes, eg in the form of triangles, waves, etc., as shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b. Likewise, this intermediate layer C1 can also be of variable section to optimize the deformation of the component CE or the filling of the second material.
    Also, several electrodes E1, E2, E3, ... may appear on the electrical component CE according to the present invention. Fig. 4 illustrates a variant having three electrodes E1, E2, E3 and two intermediate layers CM, CI2 with the dielectric. When this structure twists, the dielectrics will deform in the opposite direction. If the upper dielectrics compress, the lower dielectrics pull apart.
    The decentering of the intermediate layer C1 can vary to have deformations in predefined shapes. Fig. 5 shows a structure for obtaining a deformation in the shape of the letter "S".
    The exterior of the electromechanical component CE according to the present invention can take various forms aimed at facilitating or controlling its deformation. It may also have an original non-straight shape, eg as shown in fig. 6.
    Masses can ballast the electromechanical component CE according to the present invention in order to easily vary its natural frequencies.
    In the case where the first material (electrostatic) and the second material (dielectric) are chosen to have opposite thermoelastic coefficients, it is also possible to adjust the proportions of the two materials to obtain a whole (therefore the electromechanical component CE) with little or no thermoelastic resultant. Thus we will have forces and displacements insensitive to temperature. The oscillators will also be unresponsive.
    To manufacture an electromechanical component CE according to the present invention, one can use for example the following method:Opening in the first material of the spaces (trenches) intended to receive the second material: The spaces intended to receive the second material are therefore engraved in a plate in the first material by means of DRIE (Deep Reactive Ion et-ching) technology. . A preferred solution consists of using an SOI (silicon-silicon oxide assembly) wafer and etching the upper part in silicon (what is called a "device layer"). In this way, the thickness of the component will correspond to the thickness of this "device layer".Filling with the second material: Preferably, the etched spaces will be filled with thermal oxide. This oxide is formed automatically from silicon in a humid atmosphere furnace. After a while in the oven the oxide will completely fill the cavities. Vapor deposition techniques can also allow filling.Trimming the periphery of the component: A new DRIE etching, after the photolithography steps, will make it possible to completely crop the component in the plane. Preferably, the component will be completely cut out with the possible exception of a fastener which makes it integral with the wafer and which will be broken at the end of the process. This step can be done for some executions at the same time as step 1.Component release: In this step we will remove the rear face of the SOI wafer. This removal can be done either only under the components or under the whole wafer.Post-treatments: Post-treatments (e.g. additional deposits or surface treatments) can then be carried out in order to increase the resistance of the component to impacts, to increase the electrical conductivity, to adjust or change the component's modulus of elasticity, etc.
    [0028] In the above, the invention has been described first in general terms and then in the form of an explanation of practical embodiments. Of course, the invention is not limited to the description of these embodiments; it goes without saying that many variations and modifications can be made without leaving the scope of the invention which is defined by the contents of the claims.
    权利要求:
    Claims (14)
    [1]
    An electromechanical component (CE), in particular usable as an electrostatic actuator or generator, comprising at least a first electrode (E1) and a second electrode (E2),characterized in that the first electrode (E1) and the second electrode (E2) are made of a first material and in that the first electrode (E1) and the second electrode (E2) are interconnected by an intermediate layer (Cl ) into a second material so that the electromechanical component (CE) is a one-piece structure.
    [2]
    2. Electromechanical component (EC) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first material is an electrostatic material and the second material is a dielectric material.
    [3]
    3. Electromechanical component (EC) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the material of the first electrode (E1) is different from the material of the second electrode (E2).
    [4]
    4. Electromechanical component (EC) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the intermediate layer (Cl) is eccentric with respect to the center of the electromechanical component (CE).
    [5]
    5. Electromechanical component (EC) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the intermediate layer (Cl) comprises at least two different orientations relative to the outer faces of the electromechanical component (CE).
    [6]
    Electromechanical component (EC) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when a potential difference is applied between the first electrode (E1) and the second electrode (E2), the intermediate layer (Cl) is compressed so that a deformation of the electromechanical component (EC) results.
    [7]
    7. Electromechanical component (EC) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when a deformation is imparted to the electromechanical component (CE), the thickness of the intermediate layer (Cl) is modified so that This results in a variation of the capacity of the electromechanical component (EC).
    [8]
    8. Electromechanical component (EC) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first material and the second material have thermoelastic coefficients opposite to each other, and in that the proportion thereof is chosen so as to optimize the thermoelastic coefficient of the electromechanical component (EC) as a whole.
    [9]
    9. Electromechanical component (EC) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is connected to a mass for easily varying its natural frequency.
    [10]
    10. Electromechanical component (EC) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is connected to an electronic circuit responsible for maintaining oscillations at its natural frequency.
    [11]
    11. Electromechanical component (EC) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thickness of the intermediate layer (Cl) is less than 10 p.
    [12]
    12. Electromechanical component (EC) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first material is silicon and / or polysilicon and / or in that the second material is silicon oxide.
    [13]
    13. Electromechanical component (EC) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is coated on its periphery with a layer of a third material.
    [14]
    A method of manufacturing an electronic component (CE) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the following manufacturing steps:Etching of thin trenches in a plate made of a first material;Filling of its trenches with a second material; and- Release of the electromechanical component of the plate in the first material.
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    同族专利:
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    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    US20060006484A1|2004-07-06|2006-01-12|Dilan Seneviratne|Functional material for micro-mechanical systems|
    法律状态:
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    CH00021/15A|CH710600B1|2015-01-08|2015-01-08|Electromechanical component and its manufacturing process.|CH00021/15A| CH710600B1|2015-01-08|2015-01-08|Electromechanical component and its manufacturing process.|
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