Method of forming a cooling device for an integrated circuit
AssigneeSTMicroelectronics S.r.l.
InventorGuillaume Bouche
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pump having: a cavity formed inside an insulating substrate, the upper part of the substrate being situated near the cavity having an edge; a conductive layer covering the inside of the cavity up to the edge and optionally covering the edge itself; a flexible membrane made of a conductive material placed above the cavity and resting against the edge; a dielectric layer covering the conductive layer or the membrane whereby insulating the portions of the conductive layer and of the membrane that are near one another; at least one aeration line formed in the insulating substrate that opens into the cavity via an opening in the conductive layer, and; terminals for applying a voltage between the conductive layer and the membrane.
Claims12
A method for forming a pump in an integrated circuit, the method comprising:
- forming a cavity in a first insulating layer, the upper portion of the first insulating layer located in the vicinity of the cavity forming a border;
- covering the inside of the cavity all the way to the border and possibly the border with a first conductive layer;
- forming a first opening of the first conductive layer emerging into a ventilating duct previously formed in the first insulating layer;
- filling the cavity with a sacrificial portion;
- covering the sacrificial portion and the portion of the first conductive layer placed above the border with a second insulating layer and with a second conductive layer;
- forming a small second opening in the second conductive layer and in the second insulating layer;
- removing the sacrificial portion;
- and
- covering the second conductive layer with a third insulating layer to close back the small second opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.