Method for manufacturing silicon timepiece component
阅读说明:本技术 用于制造硅钟表部件的方法 (Method for manufacturing silicon timepiece component ) 是由 西尔万·让纳雷 于 2019-03-19 设计创作,主要内容包括:根据本发明的方法包括以下步骤:a)提供衬底(1),该衬底(1)包括第一硅层(2)、第二硅层(3)以及在第一硅层(2)和第二硅层(3)之间的中间氧化硅层(4);b)蚀刻第一硅层(2)以在其中形成钟表部件;c)从衬底(1)释放至少由经蚀刻的第一硅层(2)的全部或部分形成的、并包括钟表部件的晶圆;d)对钟表部件进行热氧化然后脱氧;e)在钟表部件上通过热氧化或沉积形成氧化硅层;f)从晶圆(8)中分离钟表部件。(The method according to the invention comprises the following steps: a) providing a substrate (1), the substrate (1) comprising a first silicon layer (2), a second silicon layer (3) and an intermediate silicon oxide layer (4) between the first silicon layer (2) and the second silicon layer (3); b) etching the first silicon layer (2) to form a timepiece component therein; c) releasing from the substrate (1) a wafer formed at least by all or part of the etched first silicon layer (2) and comprising a timepiece component; d) thermally oxidizing and then deoxidizing the timepiece components; e) forming a silicon oxide layer on the timepiece component by thermal oxidation or deposition; f) the timepiece component is separated from the wafer (8).)
1. A method of manufacturing a timepiece component, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a substrate (1), the substrate (1) comprising a first silicon layer (2), a second silicon layer (3) and an intermediate silicon oxide layer (4) between the first silicon layer (2) and the second silicon layer (3),
b) etching the first silicon layer (2) to form the timepiece component therein,
c) Releasing from the substrate (1) a wafer (8) formed at least by all or part of the etched first silicon layer (2) and comprising the timepiece component,
d) the timepiece component is thermally oxidized and then deoxygenated,
e) forming a silicon oxide layer (10) on said timepiece component by thermal oxidation or deposition, and
f) -detaching the timepiece component from the wafer (8).
2. A method of manufacturing a timepiece component, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a substrate (20) comprising silicon layers interleaved with silicon oxide layers,
b) etching a set of layers of the substrate to form the timepiece component therein,
c) releasing from the substrate a wafer formed at least by all or part of a set of layers and comprising the timepiece-component,
d) the timepiece component is thermally oxidized and then deoxygenated,
e) forming a silicon oxide layer on said timepiece component by thermal oxidation or deposition, and
f) separating the timepiece component from the wafer.
3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the etching in step b) comprises deep reactive ion etching.
4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising, between steps d) and e), an additional step consisting in thermally oxidizing and then deoxidizing said timepiece component.
5. Method according to claim 4, wherein step d) is used to improve the surface finish of the timepiece component, and said additional step is used to adjust the stiffness of a balance spring constituting the timepiece component.
6. A method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein during the thermal oxidation operation of the additional step the wafer (8) is in an inverted position with respect to the thermal oxidation operation of step d).
7. A method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein during step e) the wafer (8) is in an inverted position with respect to the thermal oxidation operation of the additional step.
8. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein during the high temperature oxidation operation the wafer (8) is supported by a support member (11, 12, 13) comprising a support plate (11), and a spacer (12) and a retaining element (13) carried by the support plate (11), the spacer (12) retaining a gap between the wafer (8) and the support plate (11), the retaining element (13) preventing horizontal movement of the wafer (8).
9. Method according to claim 8, wherein the spacer (12) supports the wafer (8) in an area of the wafer (8) not comprising any clock component.
10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the support plate (11) is made of silicon, quartz or silicon carbide.
11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the spacer (12) and the retaining element (13) are made of quartz or silicon carbide.
12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the spacer (12) and the retaining element (13) are fixed to the support plate (11) by means of a bayonet connection.
13. Method according to claim 1 and any one of claims 3 to 12, wherein step c) comprises the operation of vapor etching the intermediate silicon oxide layer (4).
14. Method according to claim 1 and any one of claims 3 to 13, wherein the wafer (8) released in step c) is formed by a portion of the first silicon layer (2) that is etched.
15. A method according to claim 1 and any one of claims 3 to 14, wherein in step b) a recess is etched in the first silicon layer (2) to define the peripheral edge of the wafer (8) to be released in step c).
16. Method according to claim 1 and any one of claims 3 to 15, wherein in step b) an opening (16) is etched in the first silicon layer (2) around the central region (17) of the timepiece component (18), said opening (16) allowing the passage of an etchant for etching the intermediate silicon oxide layer (4) during step c).
17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the timepiece component comprises at least one of the following types of component: a balance spring (18), a pallet fork, a wheel, a pointer, a rocker, a lever, a spring, a balance or a part of these components.
18. A support member (11, 12, 13) for supporting a wafer (8) during thermal treatment of the wafer (8), the support member comprising a support plate (11), a spacer (12) carried by the support plate (11), the spacer (12) for maintaining a gap between the support plate (11) and the wafer (8), and a retaining element (13) for preventing horizontal movement of the wafer (8).
19. The support member (11) according to claim 18, wherein the support plate (11) is made of silicon, quartz or silicon carbide.
20. The support member (11) according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the spacer (12) and the retaining element (13) are made of quartz or silicon carbide.
21. The support member (11) according to any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein the spacer (12) and the retaining element (13) are fixed to the support plate (11) by a bayonet connection.
Technical Field
The invention concerns a method for manufacturing a timepiece component made of silicon, such as a balance spring, a pallet, a wheel, a pointer, a rocker, a lever, a spring or a balance.
Background
Methods for manufacturing silicon watch parts have been described in particular in documents EP 0732635, EP 1422436, EP 2215531 and EP 3181938.
Disclosure of Invention
The aim of the invention is to propose a method for manufacturing a high-quality silicon timepiece component.
To this end, a method according to
The invention further proposes a support member which facilitates the implementation of the method and, more generally, of the thermal treatment of the wafer. The support member is defined by
Drawings
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:
fig. 1 to 11 schematically show successive steps of a method according to a particular embodiment of the invention;
FIGS. 12 and 13 are perspective and side views, respectively, of a support member used to support a silicon wafer during a thermal oxidation process of the silicon wafer in a method in accordance with a particular embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 14 and 15 schematically illustrate steps of a method according to a particular embodiment of the invention, in which an etched silicon wafer is released from a composite substrate;
FIG. 16 illustrates a composite substrate in which a method according to another embodiment of the invention may be implemented.
Detailed Description
According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the method of manufacturing a silicon timepiece component, in particular for a wristwatch, comprises the successive steps illustrated in fig. 1 to 11.
In a first step (fig. 1), a silicon-on-insulator (SOI)
In a second step (fig. 2), a
In a subsequent step (fig. 4), the
Then, the
In a subsequent step (fig. 6), the
The
At this stage of the method, the physical properties of the timepiece component or part of a timepiece component, in particular their dimensions, can be measured. These physical properties are well defined due to the previous oxidation-deoxidation step, and therefore the measurement of these physical properties can be accurate as it is not disturbed by surface defects. For balance springs, their stiffness can be determined. For a given balance spring, the stiffness can be determined by connecting the spring to a balance of predetermined inertia, measuring the frequency of the balance-spring assembly and deducing from this measurement the stiffness of the spring by calculation, while the spring is still attached to wafer 8 or detached from
In a further step of the method (fig. 11), a layer 10 of silicon oxide (SiO2) is formed on the
In a final step, the watch part is separated from the bottom structure of the
During the oxidation step (fig. 7 and 9, and fig. 11 (if applicable)), the
Preferably, during the oxidation process of fig. 9, the
The step of releasing the
The etched
The portion to be released, i.e. the
Fig. 15 shows an example of a
The timepiece component manufactured according to the method of the invention can have very precise dimensions and a good surface finish, which will improve the operating precision and the performance of the mechanical device in which it is to be used.
The method according to the invention can of course be modified as described above.
For example, while two oxidation-deoxidation steps (fig. 7, 8 and 9, 10) for respectively improving the surface finish and adjusting the stiffness of a timepiece component (in the presence of a balance spring) are particularly advantageous, it is possible to provide only one oxidation-deoxidation step before determining the stiffness, which can both improve the surface finish and adjust the stiffness.
Alternatively, it is possible to start with a double or triple SOI substrate, or even more, i.e. a substrate comprising more than two silicon layers separated by an intermediate silicon oxide layer, such as the substrate 20 shown in fig. 16, and to etch the watch part in a set of upper layers to be subsequently released from the substrate. The watch component will then have a composite structure comprising one or more intermediate silicon oxide layers.
The
In other variations, the substrate may be etched from both sides thereof.
The silicon oxide layer(s) used to stop the etch may be reinforced by one or more parylene-type layers.
Finally, the present invention does not preclude the use of one or more metal layers to stop etching.
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