Patents by Inventor Kensall D. Wise

Kensall D. Wise 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).

  • Patent number: 5059543
    Abstract: A thermopile detector is disclosed consisting of a semiconductor supporting rim which is doped across all of the rim. The rim supports a series of polycrystalline silicon and metal thermocouples. The fully doped semiconductor area serves as an etch stop for a single-sided etch which eliminates the need for front-to-back alignment of the device. The semiconductor doped rim also serves as a good thermal condutor for supporting the cold junctions. The hot junctions of the thermocouples may be supported by a thin dielectric membrane spanning the device and the cold junctions are formed on the doped rim. The thin dielectric window provides thermal isolation between the semiconductor rim and the center of the window where the hot junctions are located. The thermocouple material layers may be stacked to enable greater thermocouple denisty on the device. Refractory metals may be employed as the thermocouple metal, to increase sensitivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 22, 1991
    Assignee: The Board of Regents acting for and on behalf of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Kensall D. Wise, Khalil Najafi
  • Patent number: 5055838
    Abstract: A high-performance single-crystal silicon tactile imaging array organized in a X-Y matrix of capacitor elements. Metallic column lines are formed on a glass support substrate, while the row lines are formed from a contiguous chain of doubly-supported bridge structures, with one such structure for each sensing element. All of the bridge structures are simultaneously fabricated from a single-crystal silicon semiconductor wafer using a two-step boron diffusion process, followed by a silicon-to-glass electrostatic bonding step and subsequent unmasked wafer dissolution. Each bridge structure has a thick center plate for the sense capacitor supported by thinner beams connected to adjacent row single-crystal silicon support rails bonded to the glass substrate. The force sensitivity and maximum operating range of the tactile imager can be selected over a very wide range by appropriately setting the dimensions of these thinner support beams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1991
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Kensall D. Wise, Kenichiro Suzuki
  • Patent number: 5013396
    Abstract: A capacitive pressure sensor suitable for making highly sensitive, low pressure measurements is disclosed. The sensor may be mounted into a 0.5 mm OD catheter suitable for multipoint pressure measurements from within the coronary artery of the heart. The sensor employs a tranducer which consists of a rectangular bulk silicon micro-diaphragm several hundred microns on a side by two microns thick, surrounded by a supporting bulk silicon rim about 12 microns thick. Both the diaphragm and the rim are defined by a double diffusion etch-stop technique. The transducer fabrication process features a batch wafer-to-glass electrostatic seal followed by a silicon etch, which eliminates handling of individual small diaphragm structures until die separation and final packaging. An addressable read-out interface circuit may be used with the sensor to provide a high-level output signal, and allows the sensor to be compatible for use on a multisite catheter having only two electrical leads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1989
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1991
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Kensall D. Wise, Hin-Leung Chau
  • Patent number: 4953387
    Abstract: A device for detecting a gaseous species including (i) a silicon substrate having two major surfaces and comprising a dielectric window region (ii) a heater situated on the dielectric window region on one major surface; and (iii) a conductivity cell electrode thin metal transducing film assembly situated on the dielectric window region on the other major surface is disclosed. The thin transducing film contacts the conductivity cell electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 1989
    Date of Patent: September 4, 1990
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Christy L. Johnson, Johannes Schwank, Kensall D. Wise
  • Patent number: 4881410
    Abstract: A capacitive pressure sensor suitable for making highly sensitive, low pressure measurements is disclosed. The sensor may be mounted into a 0.5 mm OD catheter suitable for multipoint pressure measurements from within the coronary artery of the heart. The sensor employs a transducer which consists of a rectangular bulk silicon micro-diaphragm several hundred microns on a side by two microns thick, surrounded by a supporting bulk silicon rim about 12 microns thick. Both the diaphragm and the rim are defined by a double diffusion etch-stop technique. The transducer fabrication process features a batch wafer-to-glass electrostatic seal followed by a silicon etch, which eliminates handling of individual small diaphragm structures until die separation and final packaging. An addressable read-out interface circuit may be used with the sensor to provide a high-level output signal, and allows the sensor to be compatible for use on a multisite catheter having only two electrical leads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 1988
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1989
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Kensall D. Wise, Hin-Leung Chau
  • Patent number: 4815472
    Abstract: A capacitive pressure sensor suitable for making highly sensitive, low pressure measurements is disclosed. The sensor may be mounted into a 0.5 mm OD catheter suitable for multipoint pressure measurements from within the coronary artery of the heart. The sensor employs a transducer which consists of a rectangular bulk silicon micro-diaphragm several hundred microns on a side by two microns thick, surrounded by a supporting bulk silicon rim about 12 microns thick. Both the diaphragm and the rim are defined by a double diffusion etch-stop technique. The transducer fabrication process features a batch wafer-to-glass electrostatic seal followed by a silicon etch, which eliminates handling of individual small diaphragm structures until die separation and final packaging. An addressable read-out interface circuit may be used with the sensor to provide a high-level output signal, and allows the sensor to be compatible for use on a multisite catheter having only two electrical leads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 28, 1989
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Kensall D. Wise, Hin-Leung Chau
  • Patent number: 4323420
    Abstract: An ICF target comprising a spherical pellet of fusion fuel surrounded by a concentric shell; and a process for manufacturing the same which includes the steps of forming hemispheric shells of a silicon or other substrate material, adhering the shell segments to each other with a fuel pellet contained concentrically therein, then separating the individual targets from the parent substrate. Formation of hemispheric cavities by deposition or coating of a mold substrate is also described. Coatings or membranes may also be applied to the interior of the hemispheric segments prior to joining.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 1978
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1982
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Nino A. Masnari, Walter B. Rensel, Merrill G. Robinson, David E. Solomon, Kensall D. Wise, Gilbert H. Wuttke