This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 105104421, filed on Feb. 16, 2016. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) apparatus and a manufacturing method thereof and more particularly, to a micro sensor and a manufacturing method thereof.
Description of Related Art
A micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technique refers to a design based on a miniaturized electro-mechanical integrated structure. At present, the common MEMS technique is mainly applied in three major fields, i.e., micro sensor, micro actuator and micro structure elements. Among them, the micro sensor can be used to convert external environmental changes (e.g., sounds, pressures, speeds, etc.) into electric signals (e.g., voltages or currents), thereby achieving environmental sensing functions, such as sound sensing, pressure sensing, acceleration sensing and so on. The micro sensor may be manufactured by using a semiconductor fabrication process and integrated with an integrated circuit, thus has preferable competitiveness. Accordingly, the design and manufacture of the micro sensor in fact become the development trend of MEMS.
The invention provides a manufacturing method of a micro sensor by which a micro sensor with environmental sensing capability is manufactured.
The invention provides a micro sensor at least capable of sensing an external pressure change.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a manufacturing method of a micro sensor is provided, which includes steps as follow. A cavity is formed on a surface of a first substrate. The surface of the first substrate with the cavity is bonded to a second substrate to seal the cavity, such that a pressure value in the cavity is a constant value. A sensing structure is formed in the second substrate.
In an embodiment of the invention, before the first substrate is bonded to the second substrate, the manufacturing method of the micro sensor further includes steps as follow. An insulation layer is formed on the first substrate or the second substrate. After the first substrate is bonded to the second substrate, at least part of the insulation layer is located between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the at least part of the insulation layer at least covers the surface with the cavity and the cavity.
In an embodiment of the invention, a method of forming the sensing structure in the second substrate includes steps as follow. A plurality of connection portions are formed in the second substrate. A plurality of pressure sensing elements are formed in the second substrate. Each of the pressure sensing elements is connected with two adjacent connection portions, and orthographic projections of the pressure sensing elements on the first substrate fall within a range covered by the cavity.
In an embodiment of the invention, a method of forming the sensing structure in the second substrate further includes steps as follow. At least one temperature sensing element is formed in the second substrate. The at least one temperature sensing element is connected with the connection portions.
In an embodiment of the invention, a method of forming the connection portions, the pressure sensing elements and the at least one temperature sensing element include ion doping, a doping concentration of each of the pressure sensing elements is less than a doping concentration of each of the connection portions, and the doping concentration of each of the pressure sensing elements is higher than or equal to a doping concentration of the at least one temperature sensing element.
In an embodiment of the invention, after the connection portions, the pressure sensing elements and the at least one temperature sensing element are formed, the manufacturing method of forming the micro sensor further includes steps as follow. A first inter-layer dielectric layer is formed on the second substrate. The connection portions, the pressure sensing elements and the at least one temperature sensing element are located between the first inter-layer dielectric layer and the insulation layer. The first inter-layer dielectric layer has a plurality of first openings. Each of the first openings exposes a portion of one of the connection portions. A plurality of conductive wires are formed on the first inter-layer dielectric layer. The portion of each of the connection portions is connected with one of the conductive wires. A second inter-layer dielectric layer is formed on the first inter-layer dielectric layer and the conductive wires. The second inter-layer dielectric layer has a plurality of second openings. Each of the second openings exposes a portion of one of the conductive wires. A plurality of pads are formed on the second inter-layer dielectric layer. Each of the pads is connected with the portion of the corresponding conductive wire through one of the second openings.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a micro sensor including a first substrate and a second substrate is provided. The first substrate has a surface with a cavity. The second substrate has a sensing structure. The surface of the first substrate with the cavity is bonded to the second substrate to seal the cavity, such that a pressure value in the cavity is a constant value.
In an embodiment of the invention, the micro sensor further includes an insulation layer. The insulation layer is disposed on the first substrate or the second substrate. At least part of the insulation layer is located between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the at least part of the insulation layer at least covers the surface with the cavity and the cavity.
In an embodiment of the invention, the sensing structure includes a plurality of connection portions and a plurality of pressure sensing elements. Each of the pressure sensing elements is connected with two adjacent connection portions, and orthographic projections of the pressure sensing elements on the first substrate fall within a range covered by the cavity.
In an embodiment of the invention, the sensing structure further includes at least one temperature sensing element. The at least one temperature sensing element is connected with the connection portions.
In an embodiment of the invention, the connection portions, the pressure sensing elements and the at least one temperature sensing element are formed by means of ion doping, a doping concentration of each of the pressure sensing elements is less than a doping concentration of each of the connection portions, and the doping concentration of each of the pressure sensing elements is higher than or equal to a doping concentration of the at least one temperature sensing element.
In an embodiment of the invention, the micro sensor further includes a first inter-layer dielectric layer, a plurality of conductive wires, a second inter-layer dielectric layer and a plurality of pads. The first inter-layer dielectric layer is disposed on the second substrate. The connection portions, the pressure sensing elements and the at least one temperature sensing element are located between the first inter-layer dielectric layer and the insulation layer. The first inter-layer dielectric layer has a plurality of first openings. Each of the first openings exposes a portion of one of the connection portions. The conductive wires are disposed on the first inter-layer dielectric layer. The portion of each of the connection portions is connected with one of the conductive wires. The second inter-layer dielectric layer is disposed on the first inter-layer dielectric layer and the conductive wires, and the second inter-layer dielectric layer has a plurality of second openings. Each of the second openings exposes a portion of one of the conductive wires. The pads are disposed on the second inter-layer dielectric layer. Each of the pads is connected with the portion of the corresponding conductive wire through one of the second openings.
To sum up, in the embodiments of the invention, the sealed cavity is formed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the second substrate having the sensing structure is disposed on the cavity. When an external pressure change occurs, the second substrate having the sensing structure is deformed due to a difference between inner and external pressures occurring to the cavity, such that the sensing structure can measure different physical quantities. Therefore, the micro sensor of the invention is capable of sensing the external pressure change. The invention also provides a manufacturing method of the micro sensor.
To make the above features and advantages of the invention more comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with drawings are described in detail below.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Referring to
In the present embodiment, the sensing structure 122 is used to, for example, sense an external pressure change, and the sensing structure 122 may include a plurality of connection portions SS1 and a plurality of pressure sensing elements SS2. Each of the pressure sensing elements SS2 is connected with two adjacent connection portions SS1, and orthographic projections of the pressure sensing elements SS2 on the first substrate 110 fall within a range (e.g., a range presented in dashed lines in
Specifically, the pressure sensing elements SS2 are, for example, piezoresistive pressure sensing elements, and the pressure sensing elements SS2 are disposed at four sides of the second substrate 120. The pressure sensing elements SS2 located at opposite sides are disposed in a mirror image manner. In the present embodiment, each side of the second substrate 120 has a sensing unit U composed of two pressure sensing elements SS2 and three connection portions SS1. However, the numbers and the disposition relation of the pressure sensing elements SS2 and the connection portions SS1 of each sensing unit U may vary with demands and are not limited to those illustrated in
Based on different design demands, the sensing structure 122 or the micro sensor 100 may further include other film layers or elements. For example, the micro sensor 100 may further include an insulation layer 130. The insulation layer 130 may be disposed on the first substrate 110 or the second substrate 120. At least part of the insulation layer 130 is located between the first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120, and the at least part of the insulation layer 130 at least covers the surface S with the cavity C and the cavity C. The insulation layer 130 of the present embodiment is disposed, for example, on a surface of the first substrate 110 facing the second substrate 120 and entirely covers the surface, wherein the entire insulation layer 130 is located between the first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120, but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the insulation layer 130 may also be disposed on a surface of the second substrate 120 facing the first substrate 110.
Additionally, the micro sensor 100 may further includes a first inter-layer dielectric layer 140, a plurality of conductive wires 150, a second inter-layer dielectric layer 160 and a plurality of pads 170. The first inter-layer dielectric layer 140 is disposed on the second substrate 120. The connection portions SS1 and the pressure sensing elements SS2 are located between the first inter-layer dielectric layer 140 and the insulation layer 130. The first inter-layer dielectric layer 140 has a plurality of first openings O1. Each of the first openings O1 exposes a portion of one of the connection portions SS1. The conductive wires 150 are disposed on the first inter-layer dielectric layer 140. A portion of each of the connection portions SS1 is connected with one of the conductive wires 150. The second inter-layer dielectric layer 160 is disposed on the first inter-layer dielectric layer 140 and the conductive wires 150, and the second inter-layer dielectric layer 160 has a plurality of second openings O2. Each of the second openings O2 exposes a portion of one of the conductive wires 150. The pads 170 are disposed on the second inter-layer dielectric layer 160. Each of the pads 170 is connected with the portion of the corresponding conductive wire 150 through one of the second openings O2.
In the present embodiment, a portion of the conductive wires 150 (e.g., conductive wires 152) are connected with two adjacent sensing units U to form a Wheatstone bridge. In addition, another portion of the conductive wires 150 (e.g., conductive wires 154) are respectively connected with one of the conductive wires 152 and the corresponding pad 170. When an external pressure change occurs, the second substrate 120 having the sensing structure 122 is deformed due to a difference between inner and external pressures occurring to the cavity C. In this case, the pressure sensing elements SS2 of the sensing units U at one pair of opposite sides receive an axial compressive stress along a longitudinal axis thereof, while the pressure sensing elements SS2 of the sensing units U at another pair of opposite sides receive an axial tensile stress along a longitudinal axis thereof. Namely, a resistance of the pressure sensing elements SS2 of the sensing units U at one pair of opposite sides is increased, and a resistance of the pressure sensing elements SS2 of the sensing units U at another pair of opposite sides is decreased. By means of the conductive wire 154 outputting an electrical signal varied with the resistance change, the micro sensor 100 may determine the external pressure change by utilizing a signal difference among four sensing units U.
One manufacturing method of the micro sensor 100 will be described with reference to
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The first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120 are heated and bonded together by means of a heating process, for example. The pressure value in the cavity C is determined based on a pressure during the process. The second substrate 120 is, for example, a semiconductor substrate, such as a silicon substrate, but the invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the second substrate 120 may also be a thinned semiconductor substrate. Alternatively, a thickness H120 of the second substrate 120 may be reduced by means of a thinning process after the first substrate 110 is bonded to the second substrate 120.
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Then, the sensing structure 122 illustrated in
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In the present embodiment, the insulation layer 130 is formed on the first substrate 110 before the second substrate 120 is bonded to the first substrate 110, while the sensing structure 122 is formed in the second substrate 120 after the second substrate 120 is bonded to the first substrate 110, and the first inter-layer dielectric layer 140, the conductive wires 150, the second inter-layer dielectric layer 160 and the pads 170 are formed on the second substrate 120 after the second substrate 120 is bonded to the first substrate 110, but the invention is not limited thereto. A person ordinarily skilled in the art may change the sequence of the manufacturing process or additionally dispose other elements or film layers, or change shapes of the elements or relative disposition relations, without departing the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, the insulation layer 130 may also be formed on the second substrate 120 before the second substrate 120 is bonded to the first substrate 110. In addition, the sensing structure 122 may be formed on the second substrate 120 before the second substrate 120 is bonded to the first substrate 110. Moreover, the first inter-layer dielectric layer 140, the conductive wires 150, the second inter-layer dielectric layer 160 and the pads 170 may be formed on the second substrate 120 before the second substrate 120 is bonded to the first substrate 110.
Referring to
When an external temperature change occurs, a resistance of the temperature sensing element SS3 is correspondingly changed. By means of the conductive wires 156 outputting an electrical signal varied with the resistance change, the micro sensor 200 may determine the external temperature change, so as to compensate influence caused by the temperature to the pressure sensing by means of downstream signal processing.
A manufacturing method of the micro sensor 200 is substantially the same as that of the micro sensor 100. One of the manufacturing methods of the micro sensor 200 will be described with reference to
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The steps illustrated in
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Based on the above, in the embodiments of the invention, the sealed cavity is formed between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the second substrate having the sensing structure is disposed on the cavity. When an external pressure changes, the second substrate having the sensing structure is deformed due to a difference between inner and external pressures occurring to the cavity, such that the sensing structure can measure different physical quantities. Therefore, micro sensors capable of sensing external pressure changes can be manufactured by the manufacturing method of the micro sensor of the invention, and the micro sensor of the invention is capable of sensing the external pressure changes. In an embodiment, the sensing structure of the micro sensor may further include at least one temperature sensing element in favor of determining external temperature changes, so as to compensate the influence caused by the temperature to the pressure sensing by means of downstream signal processing.
Although the invention has been disclosed by the above embodiments, they are not intended to limit the invention. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that modifications and variations to the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention will be defined by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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105104421 | Feb 2016 | TW | national |