IMPROVED MICRO-ELECTRICAL-MECHANICAL VARIABLE CAPACITOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME

摘要

A micro-electro-mechanical variable capacitor device including a first substrate (24) ; a first contact (34) disposed on a first surface of the substrate; a piezoelectric actuator (16) disposed over the first surface of the substrate; a second contact (18) coupled to the actuator and disposed in proximity to the first contact; a gap control mechanism disposed between the substrate and the actuator for limiting movement of the first contact relative to the second contact. In the exemplary embodiment, the gap control mechanism is a gap control stop (37) constructed of dielectric material. In practice, plural stops are used. In the exemplary embodiment, plural thermosonic bonds (25) are used to connect the actuator to the first substrate. A second substrate (14) is disposed over the piezo-electric actuator. The second substrate has wells (15, 17) over the bonds to facilitate application of a bonding tool (19) to the bonds. The gap control mechanism provides consistent height control between a flipped chip and its base substrate without exposing the assembly to high temperatures.