Patents by Inventor Douglas L. Thompson
Douglas L. Thompson has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 8993311Abstract: A disposable cartridge is described which is equipped with a plurality of microfabricated particle sorting structures. The disposable cartridge may include passageways which connect fluid reservoirs in the cartridge with corresponding microfluidic passageways on the particle sorting structure. A flexible gasket may prevent leakages and allow the fluid to cross the gasket barrier through a plurality of holes in the gasket, allowing fluid to be transferred from the reservoirs to the microfabricated particle sorting structures. The plurality of particle sorting structures may be arranged in the disposable cartridge in order to perform multiple separation operations, such as a sequential or parallel sorting operation.Type: GrantFiled: May 23, 2012Date of Patent: March 31, 2015Assignee: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: John S. Foster, Daryl W. Grummitt, John C. Harley, James P. Linton, Jaquelin K. Spong, Douglas L. Thompson
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Patent number: 8736081Abstract: Systems and methods for forming an encapsulated device include a hermetic seal which seals an insulating environment between two substrates, one of which supports the device. The hermetic seal is formed by an alloy of two metal layers, one deposited on a first substrate and the other deposited on the second substrate. At least one of the substrates may include a raised feature formed under at least one of the metal layers. The two metals may for an alloy of a predefined stoichiometry in at least two locations on either side of the midpoint of the raised feature. This alloy may have advantageous features in terms of density, mechanical, electrical or physical properties that may improve the hermeticity of the seal, for example.Type: GrantFiled: August 30, 2012Date of Patent: May 27, 2014Assignee: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: John S. Foster, Christopher S. Gudeman, Alok Paranjpye, Jaquelin K. Spong, Douglas L. Thompson
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Publication number: 20130199730Abstract: A wafer bonding chamber is disclosed, which maintains two wafers to be bonded together at two substantially different temperatures. A lid wafer may be held at a higher temperature than a device wafer, as the device wafer may have delicate structures formed thereon, which cannot withstand higher temperatures. The lid wafer may have an adhesive bonding material formed thereon, which is melted or cured at the higher temperature. The temperature differential may be maintained by applying at least one of a heating mechanism and a cooling mechanism preferentially to one of the wafers to be bonded in the wafer bonding chamber.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 8, 2012Publication date: August 8, 2013Applicant: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Chris Gudeman, Jeffery F. Summers, Douglas L. Thompson
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Publication number: 20120319303Abstract: Systems and methods for forming an encapsulated device include a hermetic seal which seals an insulating environment between two substrates, one of which supports the device. The hermetic seal is formed by an alloy of two metal layers, one deposited on a first substrate and the other deposited on the second substrate. At least one of the substrates may include a raised feature formed under at least one of the metal layers. The two metals may for an alloy of a predefined stoichiometry in at least two locations on either side of the midpoint of the raised feature. This alloy may have advantageous features in terms of density, mechanical, electrical or physical properties that may improve the hermeticity of the seal, for example.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 30, 2012Publication date: December 20, 2012Applicant: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: John S. Foster, Alok Paranjpye, Douglas L. Thompson, Christopher S. Gudeman, Jaquelin K. Spong
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Patent number: 8288211Abstract: Systems and methods for forming an encapsulated device include a hermetic seal which seals an insulating environment between two substrates, one of which supports the device. The hermetic seal is formed by an alloy of two metal layers, one deposited on a first substrate and the other deposited on the second substrate. At least one of the substrates may include a raised feature formed under at least one of the metal layers. One of the metal layer may have a diffusion barrier layer and a “keeper” layer formed thereover, wherein the keeper layers keeps the metal confined to a particular area. By using such a “keeper” layer, the substrate components may be heated to clean their surfaces, without activating or spending the bonding mechanism.Type: GrantFiled: October 13, 2010Date of Patent: October 16, 2012Assignee: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: John S. Foster, Alok Paranjpye, Douglas L. Thompson
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Publication number: 20120255373Abstract: A disposable cartridge is described which is equipped with a plurality of microfabricated particle sorting structures. The disposable cartridge may include passageways which connect fluid reservoirs in the cartridge with corresponding microfluidic passageways on the particle sorting structure. A flexible gasket may prevent leakages and allow the fluid to cross the gasket barrier through a plurality of holes in the gasket, allowing fluid to be transferred from the reservoirs to the microfabricated particle sorting structures. The plurality of particle sorting structures may be arranged in the disposable cartridge in order to perform multiple separation operations, such as a sequential or parallel sorting operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 23, 2012Publication date: October 11, 2012Applicants: Owl biomedical, Inc, Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: John S. Foster, Daryl W. Grummitt, John C. Harley, James P. Linton, Jaquelin K. Spong, Douglas L. Thompson
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Publication number: 20120164718Abstract: A micromechanical particle sorting system uses a removable/disposable apparatus which may include a compressible device, a filter apparatus and a cell sorter chip assembly. The chip assembly may include a tubing strain relief manifold and a microfabricated cell sorting chip. The chip assembly may be detachable from the filter apparatus in order to mount the MEMS particle sorting chip adjacent to a force-generating apparatus which resides with the particle sorting system. A disturbance device installed in the particle sorting system may interact with a transducer on the removable/disposable apparatus to reduce clogging of the flow through the system. Using this removable/disposable apparatus, when the sample is changed, the entire apparatus can be thrown away with minimal expense and system down time.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 6, 2008Publication date: June 28, 2012Applicant: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Jamie H. Bishop, David M. Erlach, Ian S. Foster, John S. Foster, John C. Harley, Douglas L. Thompson
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Publication number: 20120015456Abstract: A method for providing access to a feature on a device wafer, and located outside an encapsulation region is described. The method includes forming a cavity in the lid wafer, aligning the lid wafer with the device wafer so that the cavity is located substantially above the feature, and removing material substantially uniformly from the bottom surface of the lid wafer, until an aperture is formed at the cavity, over the feature on the device wafer. By removing material from the lid wafer in a substantially uniform manner, difficulties with the prior art procedure of saw cutting, such as alignment and debris generation, are avoided.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 15, 2008Publication date: January 19, 2012Applicant: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Douglas L. Thompson, Gregory A. Carlson, David M. Erlach
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Patent number: 8088651Abstract: A method for providing access to a feature on a device wafer, and located outside an encapsulation region is described. The method includes forming a cavity in the lid wafer, aligning the lid wafer with the device wafer so that the cavity is located substantially above the feature, and removing material substantially uniformly from the bottom surface of the lid wafer, until an aperture is formed at the cavity, over the feature on the device wafer. By removing material from the lid wafer in a substantially uniform manner, difficulties with the prior art procedure of saw cutting, such as alignment and debris generation, are avoided.Type: GrantFiled: September 15, 2008Date of Patent: January 3, 2012Assignee: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Douglas L. Thompson, Gregory A. Carlson, David M. Erlach
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Publication number: 20110024923Abstract: Systems and methods for forming an encapsulated device include a hermetic seal which seals an insulating environment between two substrates, one of which supports the device. The hermetic seal is formed by an alloy of two metal layers, one deposited on a first substrate and the other deposited on the second substrate. At least one of the substrates may include a raised feature formed under at least one of the metal layers. One of the metal layer may have a diffusion barrier layer and a “keeper” layer formed thereover, wherein the keeper layers keeps the metal confined to a particular area. By using such a “keeper” layer, the substrate components may be heated to clean their surfaces, without activating or spending the bonding mechanism.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 13, 2010Publication date: February 3, 2011Applicant: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: John S. Foster, Alok Paranjpye, Douglas L. Thompson
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Patent number: 7812703Abstract: A material for forming a conductive structure for a MEMS device is described, which is an alloy containing about 0.01% manganese and the remainder nickel. Data shows that the alloy possesses advantageous mechanical and electrical properties. In particular, the sheet resistance of the alloy is actually lower than the sheet resistance of the pure metal. In addition, the alloy may have superior creep and higher recrystallization temperature than the pure metal. It is hypothesized that these advantageous material properties are a result of the larger grain structure existing in the NiMn alloy film compared to the pure nickel metal film. These properties may make the alloy appropriate for applications such as MEMS thermal electrical switches for telecommunications applications.Type: GrantFiled: March 23, 2006Date of Patent: October 12, 2010Assignee: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Gregory A. Carlson, John S. Foster, Donald C. Liu, Douglas L. Thompson
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Patent number: 7687304Abstract: A material for forming a conductive structure for a micromechanical current-driven device is described, which is an alloy containing about 0.025% manganese and the remainder nickel. Data shows that the alloy possesses advantageous mechanical and electrical properties. In particular, the sheet resistance of the alloy is actually lower and more stable than the sheet resistance of the pure metal. Accordingly, when used for conductive leads in a photonic device, the leads using the NiMn alloy may provide current to heat the photonic device while generating less heat within the leads themselves, and a more stable output.Type: GrantFiled: November 29, 2006Date of Patent: March 30, 2010Assignee: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Gregory A. Carlson, Alok Paranjpye, Jeffery F. Summers, Douglas L. Thompson
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Patent number: 7688167Abstract: A contact electrode for a device is made using an etching process to etch the surface of the contact electrode to form a corrugated contact surface wherein the outer edges of at least one grain is recessed from the outer edges of adjacent grains and is recessed by at least about 0.05 ?m from the contact plane. By having such a corrugated surface, the contact electrode is likely to contact another conductor with at least one pure metal grain. This etching treatment reduces contact resistance and contact resistance variability throughout many cycles of use of the contact electrode.Type: GrantFiled: October 12, 2006Date of Patent: March 30, 2010Assignee: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Alok Paranjpye, Douglas L. Thompson
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Patent number: 7550778Abstract: A method for providing access to a feature on a device wafer, and located outside an encapsulation region is described. The method includes forming a cavity in the lid wafer, aligning the lid wafer with the device wafer so that the cavity is located substantially above the feature, and removing material substantially uniformly from the bottom surface of the lid wafer, until an aperture is formed at the cavity, over the feature on the device wafer. By removing material from the lid wafer in a substantially uniform manner, difficulties with the prior art procedure of saw cutting, such as alignment and debris generation, are avoided.Type: GrantFiled: May 17, 2006Date of Patent: June 23, 2009Assignee: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Douglas L. Thompson, Gregory A. Carlson, David M. Erlach
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Publication number: 20080318349Abstract: Systems and methods for forming an encapsulated MEMS device include a hermetic seal which seals an insulating gas between two substrates, one of which supports the MEMS device. The hermetic seal may be formed by heating at least two metal materials, in order to melt at least one of the metal materials. The first melted metal material flows into and forms an alloy with a second metal material, forming a hermetic seal which encapsulates the MEMS device.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 18, 2008Publication date: December 25, 2008Applicant: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: David M. Erlach, Jeffery F. Summers, Douglas L. Thompson
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Publication number: 20080250785Abstract: A MEMS switch device is made using a gold alloy as the switch contact material. The increased mechanical hardness of the alloy compared to the pure gold prevents the contacts of the switch from welding together. A scrubbing action which occurs when the switch closes may allow the contact surfaces to come to rest where their surfaces are complementary, thus resulting in higher contact area and low contact resistance, despite the higher sheet resistance of the gold alloy material relative to the pure gold material.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 16, 2007Publication date: October 16, 2008Applicant: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Gregory A. Carlson, Patrick E. Feierabend, John S. Foster, Daryl W. Grummit, Alok Paranjpye, Paul J. Rubel, Jeffery F. Summers, Douglas L. Thompson
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Publication number: 20080169521Abstract: A MEMS device is encapsulated in a carbon dioxide environment, which effectively insulates the MEMS device against arcing in high voltage applications. The carbon dioxide environment may have a pressure of between about 0.2 atm and about 4 atm. Carbon dioxide is shown to be more effective than other insulating gases such as sulfur hexafluoride in preventing arcing for applications having dimensions on the order of microns.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 12, 2007Publication date: July 17, 2008Applicant: Innovative Micro TechonologyInventors: John S. Foster, Alok Paranjpye, Jeffery F. Summers, Douglas L. Thompson
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Publication number: 20080124565Abstract: A material for forming a conductive structure for a micromechanical current-driven device is described, which is an alloy containing about 0.025% manganese and the remainder nickel. Data shows that the alloy possesses advantageous mechanical and electrical properties. In particular, the sheet resistance of the alloy is actually lower and more stable than the sheet resistance of the pure metal. Accordingly, when used for conductive leads in a photonic device, the leads using the NiMn alloy may provide current to heat the photonic device while generating less heat within the leads themselves, and a more stable output.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 29, 2006Publication date: May 29, 2008Applicant: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Gregory A. Carlson, Alok Paranjpye, Jeffery F. Summers, Douglas L. Thompson
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Publication number: 20080087530Abstract: A contact electrode for a device is made using an etching process to etch the surface of the contact electrode to form a corrugated contact surface wherein the outer edges of at least one grain is recessed from the outer edges of adjacent grains and is recessed by at least about 0.05 ?m from the contact plane. By having such a corrugated surface, the contact electrode is likely to contact another conductor with at least one pure metal grain. This etching treatment reduces contact resistance and contact resistance variability throughout many cycles of use of the contact electrode.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 12, 2006Publication date: April 17, 2008Applicant: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Alok Paranjpye, Douglas L. Thompson
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Publication number: 20070269934Abstract: A method for providing access to a feature on a device wafer, and located outside an encapsulation region is described. The method includes forming a cavity in the lid wafer, aligning the lid wafer with the device wafer so that the cavity is located substantially above the feature, and removing material substantially uniformly from the bottom surface of the lid wafer, until an aperture is formed at the cavity, over the feature on the device wafer. By removing material from the lid wafer in a substantially uniform manner, difficulties with the prior art procedure of saw cutting, such as alignment and debris generation, are avoided.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 17, 2006Publication date: November 22, 2007Applicant: Innovative Micro TechnologyInventors: Douglas L. Thompson, Gregory A. Carlson, David M. Erlach