Claims
- 1. A method for making a module, the method comprising:
a) providing a device including a first substrate, a microplatform, at least one bonding site on the microplatform, a structure fabricated and supported on the microplatform and a support structure to suspend the microplatform above the first substrate; b) providing a second substrate including at least one circuit bonding site thereon and a circuit; c) aligning the at least one microplatform bonding site with the at least one circuit bonding site; and d) bonding the at least one microplatform bonding site to the at least one circuit bonding site so that the microplatform is bonded to the second substrate at the at least one bond.
- 2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the structure is a micromechanical structure and the circuit is an electronic circuit.
- 3. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the device has a plurality of microplatform bonding sites and the second substrate has a plurality of circuit bonding sites so that the microplatform is bonded to the second substrate at bonds and wherein the micromechanical structure is electrically coupled to the electronic circuit by at least one of the bonds.
- 4. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising forcing the first and second substrates apart to break the support structure and separate the first substrate from the second substrate.
- 5. The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the device includes a plurality of microplatforms and wherein steps c) and d) are repeated with the second substrate or at least one other substrate.
- 6. The method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising forming bond pads and solder bumps on the second substrate wherein the bond pads serve as the circuit bonding sites.
- 7. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein one of the microplatform bonding sites completely encases the structure so as to allow hermetic or vacuum encapsulation of the structure within.
- 8. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the micromechanical structure includes at least one micromechanical resonator.
- 9. The method as claimed in claim 8 wherein the micromechanical structure is a micromechanical filter.
- 10. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the microplatform is defined by a layer of a wafer.
- 11. The method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the microplatform is defined by a silicon device layer of an SOI wafer.
- 12. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the support structure includes a plurality of tethers for suspending the microplatform above the first substrate.
- 13. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second substrate is a wafer.
- 14. The method as claimed in claim 13 wherein the at least one electronic circuit is a transistor circuit.
- 15. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the step of bonding includes the step of compression bonding and wherein the bonds are compression bonds.
- 16. The method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising selectively heating the bonds in a vacuum to vacuum encapsulate the micromechanical structure.
- 17. The method as claimed in claim 16 wherein the step of selectively heating includes the step of illuminating material comprising the bonds.
- 18. A module comprising:
a device including a microplatform, at least one microplatform bonding site on the microplatform, and a structure fabricated and supported on the microplatform; and a second substrate including at least one bonding site thereon and a circuit, wherein the microplatform is coupled to the second substrate at the respective microplatform and circuit bonding sites such that the microplatform is in opposed and spaced relation to the second substrate.
- 19. The module as claimed in claim 18 wherein the structure is a micromechanical structure and the circuit is an electronic circuit.
- 20. The module as claimed in claim 19 wherein the device has a plurality of microplatform bonding sites and the second substrate has a plurality of circuit bonding sites so that the microplatform is bonded to the second substrate at bonds.
- 21. The module as claimed in claim 20 wherein the micromechanical structure is electrically coupled to the electronic circuit by at least one of the bonds.
- 22. The module as claimed in claim 20 further comprising bond pads and solder bumps formed on the second substrate wherein the bond pads serve as the circuit bonding sites.
- 23. The module as claimed in claim 20 wherein one of the microplatform bonding sites completely encases the structure allowing hermetic or vacuum encapsulation of the structure within.
- 24. The module as claimed in claim 19 wherein the micromechanical structure includes at least one micromechanical resonator.
- 25. The module as claimed in claim 24 wherein the micromechanical structure is a micromechanical filter.
- 26. The module as claimed in claim 24 wherein the micromechanical structure is a mixer-filter.
- 27. The module as claimed in claim 18 wherein the microplatform is defined by a layer of a wafer.
- 28. The module as claimed in claim 27 wherein the microplatform is defined by a silicon device layer of an SOI wafer.
- 29. The module as claimed in claim 18 wherein the second substrate is a wafer.
- 30. The module as claimed in claim 29 wherein the at least one electronic circuit is a transistor circuit.
- 31. The module as claimed in claim 19 wherein the micromechanical structure is vacuum-encapsulated within a cavity defined by the microplatform, the second substrate and an encompassing bonding site.
- 32. The module as claimed in claim 31 further comprising sealing material disposed completely around the bonding site to seal the bonding site.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/227,506, filed Aug. 24, 2000 and entitled “Bonded Microplatform Process For Technology Merging.”
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] This invention was made with government support under Contract No. F30602-97-2-0101 from DARPA. The government has certain rights in the invention.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60227506 |
Aug 2000 |
US |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09938359 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Child |
10413189 |
Apr 2003 |
US |