Methods for prevention, reduction, and elimination of outgassing and trapped gases in micromachined devices

A method of fabricating a microdevice, comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate;
• attaching a semiconductor microstructure to the substrate to form a sealed cavity, wherein the sealed cavity is formed within at least a portion of the microstructure;
• providing a getter cavity within at least a portion of the substrate, the getter cavity being in gaseous communication with the sealed cavity;
• providing a material in the getter cavity, the material being operative to perform gettering.

A microdevice, comprising:

• a substrate having a first substrate surface;
• a semiconductor microstructure having a first microstructure surface, wherein the microstructure is attached along the first microstructure surface to the first substrate surface;
• a sealed cavity defined by the first substrate surface and the first microstructure surface;
• a getter cavity formed within at least a portion of the substrate and in gaseous communication with the sealed cavity wherein the getter cavity is ring-shaped;
• and
• a material disposed in the getter cavity, the material being operative to perform gettering.

A microdevice, comprising:

• a unitary substrate having a first substrate surface;
• a microstructure having a first microstructure surface, wherein the microstructure is attached along the first microstructure surface to the first substrate surface;
• a sealed cavity defined by the first substrate surface and the first microstructure surface, wherein the sealed cavity is formed within at least a portion of the microstructure;
• a getter cavity formed within at least a portion of the unitary substrate and in gaseous communication with the sealed cavity;
• and
• a material disposed in the getter cavity, the material being operative to perform gettering.

A method of fabricating a microdevice, comprising steps of:

• providing a unitary substrate;
• attaching a microstructure to the unitary substrate to form a sealed cavity, wherein the sealed cavity is formed within at least a portion of the microstructure;
• providing a getter cavity within at least a portion of the unitary substrate, the getter cavity being in gaseous communication with the sealed cavity;
• providing a material in the getter cavity, the material being operative to perform gettering.