Title: Solid state force transducer, support and method of making same

Abstract: Solid state folded leaf spring force transducers are fabricated by batch photolithographic and etching techniques from a monocrystalline material, such as silicon. The folded leaf spring structure includes elongated gaps separating adjacent leaf spring leg portions, such elongated gaps being oriented parallel to a crystallographic axis of the monocrystalline material. In a preferred embodiment the monocrystalline material is of diamond cubic type and the leaf spring gaps extend in mutually orthogonal directions parallel to the <011> and <011> crystallographic axes, respectively. In a preferred method of fabricating the spring structure, the structure is etched from a monocrystalline wafer by means of an anisotropic etchant so as to more precisely define angles and dimensions of the resultant spring structure. In one embodiment, the gaps between adjacent leg portions of the spring structure are sealed in a fluid tight manner by means of oxide membranes left intact upon etching of the spring structure. In an accelerometer embodiment, sensing masses of equal weight are affixed to opposite sides of the spring structure for dynamically balancing same.

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Inventors: Youmans, Albert P. (Cupertino, CA, US)

Application Number: 656636
Filing Date: 1976-02-09
Publication_date: 1977-09-20
Assignee: Signetics Corporation (Sunnyvale, CA)
Primary Class(es): 338/47 73/514.33, 73/781, 257/417, 257/628, 338/5
Other Classes:
US Patent Ref:

3757414	Sep, 1973	Keller	29/580.
3853650	Dec, 1974	Hartlaub	29/580.
3858150	Dec, 1974	Gurtler et al.	29/580.
3924322	Dec, 1975	Kurtz et al.	29/580.
3938175	Feb, 1976	Jaffe et al.	29/610.
3968466	Jul, 1976	Nakamura et al.	338/4.

Other Refs:
Primary Examiner: Albritton, C. L.
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney: Pfeiffer; C. Richard, Dana; William H.