Self-aligned electrospray device and related manufacturing techniques

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11217417-B2
Application number	US-202016872776-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 12, 2020
Priority date	May 13, 2019
Publication date	Jan 4, 2022
Grant date	Jan 4, 2022

Abstract

In some embodiments, a self-aligned electrospray device can include a silicon wafer, a fluid reservoir, and a circuit. The silicon wafer can have a layer of electrically insulating material deposited on a top surface and a deposited layer of electrically conducting material. The silicon wafer and the deposited layers can have through holes. The electrically insulating layer may be undercut. The fluid reservoir can be mounted to a bottom surface of the silicon wafer for containing fluid. The circuit can provide an electric potential difference and be coupled between the layer of electrically conducting material and the fluid reservoir.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A self-aligned electrospray device comprising:
a silicon wafer having a top surface and a bottom surface;
a layer of electrically insulating material deposited on the top surface of the silicon wafer;
a layer of electrically conducting material deposited on the layer of electrically insulating material,
wherein the silicon wafer has through holes, the layer of electrically insulating material has through holes, the layer of electrically conducting material has through holes, and the electrically insulating layer is undercut, and
wherein there is no misalignment between the through holes in the silicon wafer and corresponding ones of the through holes in both the layer of electrically insulating material and the layer of electrically conducting material;

a fluid reservoir, mounted to the bottom surface of the silicon wafer, for containing fluid; and
a circuit, for providing an electric potential difference, coupled between the layer of electrically conducting material and the fluid reservoir.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the insulating material comprises an oxide.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the electrically conducting material comprises Tungsten (W).

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the electrically conducting material comprises a doped semiconductor material.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the electrically conducting material comprises a conducting oxide.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the through holes in the deposited layer of electrically conducting material have a diameter that is 15% to 25% larger than a dimeter of the through holes in the silicon wafer.

Assignees

• Massachusetts Inst Technology

Inventors

• Smith Melissa A
• Yost Donna-Ruth W

Classifications

• H01J9/02

  Manufacture of electrodes or electrode systems · CPC title

• H01J3/04 Primary

  Ion guns · CPC title

• B05B5/0255 Primary

  spraying and depositing by electrostatic forces only · CPC title

• H01J2209/012

  Coating · CPC title

• H01J27/26

  using surface ionisation, e.g. field effect ion sources, thermionic ion sources (H01J27/20, H01J27/24 take precedence) · CPC title