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US 5,780,727 AGranted
Electromechanical transducer
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsJames K. Gimzewski, Rato R. Schlittler, Mark E. Welland
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A field effect transistor and a piezoelectric sensor are positioned between layers of silicon and aluminum to function as a bimetallic electromechanical transducer. The transducer can be used in atomic force microscopy or as an actuator, a chemical sensor, or an oscillator.
Claims16
Electromechanical transducer comprising;
- at least one flexible element;
- voltage generating means for responding to deflections of said flexible element;
- and
- an amplifying circuit which with the voltage generating means is incorporated in said electromechanical transducer with said flexible element as a unitary structure, said amplifying circuit means having at least one field-effect transistor with a gate electrode operable by said voltage generating means for measuring deflections of said flexible element and having protection means against breakthrough voltage.
1 more element
An electrical transducer comprising:
- a first silicon flexible member;
- a field effect transistor having gate, source, and drain electrodes formed in layers on said flexible member;
- a piezoelectric material formed on the gate of the field effect transistor to sense flexing of the first flexible member;
- a second aluminum flexible member with a different coefficient of expansion than the first flexible member, said second flexible member covering the piezoelectric material so that field effect transistor and the piezoelectric material are sandwiched between the first and second flexible elements to form an integral unit of the mentioned elements;
- and
- leads extending from the cate, source, and drain electrodes for supplying electrical energy to the field effect transistor and sensing electrical responses of the field effect transistor to the flexing of the metallic elements.
3 more elements
Electromechanical transducer comprising;
- at least one flexible element covered by a chemically active or absorbing layer;
- voltage generating means for responding to deflections of said flexible element;
- an amplifying circuit which with the voltage generating means is incorporated in said electromechanical transducer with said flexible element as a unitary structure, said amplifying circuit means having at least one field-effect transistor with a gate electrode operable by said voltage generating means for measuring deflections of said flexible element;
- and
- at least two metallic layers in said flexible element, said two metallic layers having different thermal expansion coefficients and having the voltage generating means and the amplifying circuit sandwiched therebetween.
2 more elements
An electrical transducer comprising:
- a body of the electrical transducer;
- a first flexible member extending out from the body of the electrical transducer;
- a field effect transistor having gate source, and drain electrodes and an insulating layer between the gate, source, and drain electrodes formed in layers on said flexible member:
- a piezoelectric material formed on the gate of the field effect transistor to sense flexing of the first flexible member, and
- a second flexible member covering the piezoelectric material so that field effect transistor including the gate, drain, and source electrodes and the piezo electric material are sandwiched between the first and second flexible elements to form an integral cantilever unit of the mentioned elements that extends out from said body.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.