Abstract: An ultrasonic touch sensor includes a housing having a package cavity; an ultrasonic transmitter arranged within the package cavity, and configured to transmit an ultrasonic transmit wave; an ultrasonic receiver arranged within the package cavity, and configured to receive an ultrasonic reflected wave produced by a reflection of the ultrasonic transmit wave and generate a measurement signal representative of the ultrasonic reflected wave; a measurement circuit arranged within the package cavity and coupled to the ultrasonic receiver, and configured to detect a touch or a non-touch based on the measurement signal; a light source configured to produce an activating light; and a coupling medium that fills or at least partially fills the package cavity. The coupling medium includes a luminescent material that is configured to be activated by the activating light to produce a backlight that is emitted from the package cavity.

Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a method producing a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device includes: providing a substrate comprising a first substrate surface and an opposite second substrate surface, wherein the substrate comprises a sacrificial layer arranged at the first substrate surface; depositing a membrane material layer onto the sacrificial layer; the membrane material layer forms a free-standing membrane structure covering the cavity; and creating nanostructures in at least one of a first membrane surface or an opposite second membrane surface of the membrane material layer, wherein the nanostructures protrude from the respective membrane surface of the membrane material layer, and the nanostructures are created by applying a laser structuring process.

Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device including a substrate comprising a vertically extending through hole and a horizontally extending membrane structure covering the through hole, where the membrane structure comprises a plurality of upright nanostructures for providing a liquid repellent membrane surface. In other embodiments, certain methods are used for fabricating MEMS devices.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a micromechanical environmental barrier chip includes providing a substrate having a first surface and an opposite second surface, depositing a material layer having a different etch characteristic than the substrate onto the first surface, creating a microstructured micromechanical environmental barrier structure on top of the material layer by applying a microstructuring process, applying an anisotropic etching process comprising at least one etching step for anisotropically etching from the second surface towards the first surface to create at least a cavity underneath the micromechanical environmental barrier structure, the cavity extending between the second surface and the material layer, and removing the material layer underneath the micromechanical environmental barrier structure to expose the environmental barrier structure.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a MEMS microphone device with a monolithically integrated environmental barrier structure includes providing a substrate structure including a base substrate and an additional substrate material layer deposited on the base substrate, creating a micromechanical environmental barrier structure in the substrate structure by applying a microstructuring process, where the micromechanical environmental barrier structure is configured to let a first amount of air pass through while preventing a second amount of at least one of moisture, liquid, oil or solid environmental particles from passing through, and creating a MEMS sound transducer structure in the additional substrate material of the substrate structure by applying a microstructuring process.

Abstract: An encapsulated MEMS device and a method for manufacturing the MEMS device are provided. The method comprises providing a cavity structure having an inner volume comprising a plurality of MEMS elements, which are relatively displaceable with respect to each other, and having an opening structure to the inner volume, depositing a Self-Assembled Monolayer (SAM) through the opening structure onto exposed surfaces within the inner volume of the cavity structure, and closing the cavity structure by applying a layer structure on the opening structure for providing a hermetically closed cavity.

Abstract: A power semiconductor device is proposed. The power semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate. The power semiconductor device further includes an electrically conducting first layer. At least part of the electrically conducting first layer includes pores. The power semiconductor device further includes an electrically conducting second layer. The electrically conducting second layer is arranged between the semiconductor substrate and the electrically conducting first layer. The pores are at least partially filled with a phase change material.