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EP3907565A1 - Verfahren zur herstellung einer uhrenkomponente aus silizium - Google Patents

Verfahren zur herstellung einer uhrenkomponente aus silizium Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3907565A1
EP3907565A1 EP20173465.4A EP20173465A EP3907565A1 EP 3907565 A1 EP3907565 A1 EP 3907565A1 EP 20173465 A EP20173465 A EP 20173465A EP 3907565 A1 EP3907565 A1 EP 3907565A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
silicon
layer
component
watch component
watch
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP20173465.4A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Sylvain Jeanneret
Rémy FOURNIER
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Patek Philippe SA Geneve
Original Assignee
Patek Philippe SA Geneve
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Patek Philippe SA Geneve filed Critical Patek Philippe SA Geneve
Priority to EP20173465.4A priority Critical patent/EP3907565A1/de
Priority to CH001242/2022A priority patent/CH718818B1/fr
Priority to PCT/IB2021/053765 priority patent/WO2021224804A1/fr
Publication of EP3907565A1 publication Critical patent/EP3907565A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G04HOROLOGY
    • G04BMECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
    • G04B15/00Escapements
    • G04B15/14Component parts or constructional details, e.g. construction of the lever or the escape wheel
    • GPHYSICS
    • G04HOROLOGY
    • G04BMECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
    • G04B13/00Gearwork
    • G04B13/02Wheels; Pinions; Spindles; Pivots
    • GPHYSICS
    • G04HOROLOGY
    • G04BMECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
    • G04B17/00Mechanisms for stabilising frequency
    • G04B17/04Oscillators acting by spring tension
    • G04B17/06Oscillators with hairsprings, e.g. balance
    • G04B17/066Manufacture of the spiral spring
    • GPHYSICS
    • G04HOROLOGY
    • G04BMECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
    • G04B18/00Mechanisms for setting frequency
    • G04B18/08Component parts or constructional details
    • GPHYSICS
    • G04HOROLOGY
    • G04BMECHANICALLY-DRIVEN CLOCKS OR WATCHES; MECHANICAL PARTS OF CLOCKS OR WATCHES IN GENERAL; TIME PIECES USING THE POSITION OF THE SUN, MOON OR STARS
    • G04B19/00Indicating the time by visual means
    • G04B19/04Hands; Discs with a single mark or the like
    • G04B19/042Construction and manufacture of the hands; arrangements for increasing reading accuracy

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a watch component in silicon.
  • Silicon watch components are generally manufactured by deep reactive ionic etching - a technique also known by the English abbreviation DRIE - of a wafer of silicon-based material.
  • the wafer can be a silicon wafer that is etched in its entire thickness (see for example the patent applications EP 1722281 , EP 2145857 and EP 3181938 ) or a silicon on insulator substrate known as SOI (silicon on insulator) comprising an upper layer of silicon and a lower layer of silicon linked by an intermediate layer of silicon oxide, the upper layer of silicon being that in which the etching is carried out (cf. for example patent applications WO 2019/180177 and WO 2019/180596 ).
  • the silicon-on-insulator substrate has the advantage of having a rigid support (the lower layer of silicon, of greater thickness than the upper layer) facilitating its handling and its maintenance and a layer of stop (the intermediate layer of silicon oxide) making it possible to stop the etching.
  • Such fasteners which connect the periphery of each component to the wafer, can pose a problem, in particular when the periphery of the component is a functional surface which must not see its function disturbed by fastener residues or when the external surface of the component must present a particularly neat appearance, as for example in the case of a needle.
  • the functional external surface does not have free space of sufficient size to be able to insert a sufficiently robust fastener therein.
  • the patent application WO 2019/166922 proposes a method of manufacturing a watch balance-spring according to which one is provided with a silicon substrate carrying a layer of silicon oxide, one forms through holes in the layer of silicon oxide, one grows by epitaxy a layer of silicon on the layer of silicon oxide, this layer of silicon filling the through holes to form fasteners or bridges of material, balance springs are etched in the layer of silicon, the layer of silicon oxide is removed, balance springs remaining attached to the silicon substrate by said fasteners, the balance springs are subjected to heat treatments and finally the balance springs are detached from the silicon substrate.
  • the spirals remain bonded to the substrate after etching by clips extending out of the plane of the spirals rather than between the outer surface of the last turn and the etching silicon layer as is generally the case.
  • this process does not allow the use of commercially available silicon-on-insulator substrates, and growing the silicon layer in which the balance-springs will be formed by epitaxy is a complicated operation.
  • the present invention aims to remedy the aforementioned drawbacks, or at least to mitigate them, and to this end proposes a manufacturing process according to claim 1, particular embodiments being defined in the dependent claims.
  • the method of manufacturing a silicon watch component according to the invention begins with a first step consisting in providing a wafer 1 of the silicon-on-insulator type ( figure 1 (a) ).
  • This wafer comprises an upper layer of silicon 2, a lower layer of silicon 3 and, between the two, an intermediate layer of silicon oxide 4.
  • the silicon is monocrystalline, polycrystalline or amorphous. It may or may not be doped.
  • the upper layer of silicon 2 is structured to form the watch component therein, designated by 5.
  • a deep reactive ionic etching is typically carried out preceded by a photolithography operation as described in the patent application. WO 2019/180596 .
  • the intermediate layer of silicon oxide 4 serves to stop the etching.
  • the lower silicon layer 3, preferably thicker than the upper silicon layer 2, for its part serves as a rigid support facilitating the etching as well as the following steps of the process.
  • this second step one leaves in a recess 6 of the watch component 5 (cf.
  • FIGS. 1 (b) and 2 ) a part 7 of the upper layer of silicon 2 which will be called “connecting element”, as well as a fastener or bridge of material 8 connecting this connecting element 7 to the wall, 6a, of the recess 6.
  • connecting element a part 7 of the upper layer of silicon 2 which will be called “connecting element”, as well as a fastener or bridge of material 8 connecting this connecting element 7 to the wall, 6a, of the recess 6.
  • sacrificial silicon parts 9 that no attachment connects to the watch component in the upper layer of silicon. 2.
  • the intermediate layer of silicon oxide 4 is etched in order to remove it between the watch component 5 and the lower layer of silicon 3.
  • This step can be carried out by controlled chemical attack, preferably with steam, with l using hydrofluoric acid or a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and ethanol.
  • This step separates the watch component 5 from the lower silicon layer 3 and detaches the sacrificial silicon parts 9 which can thus be removed (the figure 3 shows the watch component 5 after removing the sacrificial silicon parts 9).
  • the watch component 5 however remains attached to the lower layer of silicon 3 by successively the attachment 8, the connecting element 7 and a part 10 of the intermediate layer of silicon oxide 4 left between the connecting element 7 and layer 3.
  • the dimensions of the connecting element 7 are chosen sufficiently large so that after the removal of the oxide under the watch component 5, the fastener 8 and the sacrificial parts 9 and until the under-etching stops, the oxide remains under the connecting element 7.
  • the recess 6 of the watch component 5 in which the connecting element 7 is located is the central hole of a hub 11 formed by elastic arms allowing elastic mounting of the component on an axis, and the clip 8 connects the 'connecting element 7 to the wall 6a of this central hole.
  • the recess 6 of the watch component in which the connecting element 7 is located separates a rim 12 of the component and one of the elastic arms of the hub 11, and the clip 8 connects the connecting element 7 to the surface internal 12a of the rim 12.
  • the connecting element 7 can be connected to any interior surface of the watch component, such as the interior surface of a rim, a cavity, an axis hole or other assembly hole, the surface of an inner arm, the inner or outer surface of a hub, etc.
  • the / each connecting element 7 could also be connected to the component by several fasteners.
  • the horological component is for example a toothed wheel, as shown in figures 2 to 5 , a cam, an indicator needle or a spiral-type spring or the like.
  • the outer surface of the watch component does not need to be connected by a fastener to the rest of the plate, it can be functional over its entire circumference and have a micrometric structure of the micro-tooth type or the like.
  • the surface condition and appearance of the final component may be optimal since the outer surface will be free of any attachment residue.
  • a fourth step of the process ( figure 1 (d) ) consists in thermally oxidizing the watch component 5.
  • the wafer 1 with the watch component 5 is placed in an oven to subject it to a temperature between 800 and 1200 ° C and to an oxidizing atmosphere comprising gas oxygen or water vapor until a predetermined thickness of silicon oxide (SiO 2 ) is obtained on its surfaces.
  • This silicon oxide layer, 13, is formed by consuming silicon to a depth corresponding to approximately 44% of its thickness.
  • the oxidation is stopped before the growth of the silicon oxide layer 13 on the clock component 5 and on the lower silicon layer 3 causes them to touch each other.
  • the watch component is then deoxidized by removing the silicon oxide layer 13, for example by controlled chemical attack, wet or with steam, using hydrofluoric acid or a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and ethanol. ( figure 1 (e) ).
  • the respective sizes of the watch component 5 and of the lower silicon layer 3 are then reduced with respect to the figure 1 (c) , which increases their spacing d.
  • the oxidation parameters can vary from one oxidation-deoxidation sequence to the next.
  • the assembly 3, 5 can be oxidized for a longer time in the last sequences than in the first since more space is available between the clock component 5 and the lower silicon layer 3 for the growth of the silicon oxide. .
  • Each oxidation step is stopped before the timepiece component 5 and the lower silicon layer 3 touch each other via the silicon oxide layer 13. In this way, the risk of the timepiece component 5 and the lower silicon layer 3 are attracted to each other and merge when removing the silicon oxide layer 13.
  • these oxidation-deoxidation sequences make it possible to attenuate the surface defects of the watch component, in particular the undulations created by the deep reactive ionic etching on the sides of the watch component.
  • a permanent silicon oxide layer 14 can be formed on the watch component, by thermal oxidation or deposition, to increase its mechanical strength.
  • the large spacing d obtained by the oxidation-deoxidation sequences make it possible to form an oxide layer 14 of great thickness, for example approximately 3 ⁇ m or even more, while the component is still attached to the wafer 1.
  • silicon-on-insulator wafers are generally obtained by growing an oxide layer on a silicon wafer and fusion welding another silicon wafer on the oxide layer. Due to the compressive stress that it generates on the first silicon wafer, the oxide layer must have a limited thickness, between 1 and 3 ⁇ m at most. We can therefore understand the advantage of being able to increase at will the distance d between the watch component 5 and the lower silicon layer 3 before the formation of the permanent silicon oxide layer 14, as the invention allows.
  • the watch component 5 could receive a layer of a material having good tribological properties, for example carbon crystallized in the form of diamond (DLC) or crystals. carbon nanotubes, a layer forming an oxygen barrier or a layer, for example of parylene, used to contain debris if the component breaks.
  • a material having good tribological properties for example carbon crystallized in the form of diamond (DLC) or crystals.
  • the horological component 5 is typically part of a batch of identical horological components manufactured simultaneously in the wafer 1.
  • the horological components are detached from the wafer 1 by breaking or elimination of the fasteners 8.
  • the watch components can be turned with respect to the plate 1 by means of tweezers until the fasteners 8 are broken, or the latter are cut by laser.
  • the present invention allows complete work on the watch component (s) while they are linked to the wafer. It is thus possible to achieve high and repeatable quality levels with good uniformity between the different components.
  • the watch components can be integrated into timepieces such as wristwatches, pocket watches or clocks.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Micromachines (AREA)
EP20173465.4A 2020-05-07 2020-05-07 Verfahren zur herstellung einer uhrenkomponente aus silizium Withdrawn EP3907565A1 (de)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP20173465.4A EP3907565A1 (de) 2020-05-07 2020-05-07 Verfahren zur herstellung einer uhrenkomponente aus silizium
CH001242/2022A CH718818B1 (fr) 2020-05-07 2021-05-05 Procédé de fabrication d'un composant horloger en silicium
PCT/IB2021/053765 WO2021224804A1 (fr) 2020-05-07 2021-05-05 Procédé de fabrication d'un composant horloger en silicium

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP20173465.4A EP3907565A1 (de) 2020-05-07 2020-05-07 Verfahren zur herstellung einer uhrenkomponente aus silizium

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP3907565A1 true EP3907565A1 (de) 2021-11-10

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Family Applications (1)

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EP20173465.4A Withdrawn EP3907565A1 (de) 2020-05-07 2020-05-07 Verfahren zur herstellung einer uhrenkomponente aus silizium

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP3907565A1 (de)
CH (1) CH718818B1 (de)
WO (1) WO2021224804A1 (de)

Citations (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1722281A1 (de) 2005-05-12 2006-11-15 ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse Analoger Anzeiger aus kristallenem Material, Uhr mit solchem Anzeiger, und Herstellungsverfahren dafür
EP2104006A1 (de) * 2008-03-20 2009-09-23 Nivarox-FAR S.A. Monoblock-Doppelspirale und ihr Herstellungsverfahren
EP2145857A1 (de) 2008-07-10 2010-01-20 The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd. Verfahren zur Herstellung eines mikromechanischen Bauteils
CH702431A2 (fr) 2009-12-21 2011-06-30 Suisse Electronique Microtech Procédé de fabrication d'une pièce micromécanique.
WO2016062889A2 (fr) * 2014-10-24 2016-04-28 Richemont International Sa Organe réglant pour un mouvement horloger mécanique
WO2016128694A1 (fr) * 2015-02-13 2016-08-18 Tronic's Microsystems Oscillateur mécanique et procédé de réalisation associe
EP3181938A1 (de) 2015-12-18 2017-06-21 CSEM Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique SA - Recherche et Développement Herstellungsverfahren einer spiralfeder mit einer vorbestimmten steifigkeit durch wegnahme von material
EP3425458A1 (de) * 2017-07-07 2019-01-09 ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse Abtrennbares stück eines uhrenoszillators
WO2019166922A1 (fr) 2018-03-01 2019-09-06 Csem Centre Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa - Recherche Et Developpement Procede de fabrication d'un spiral
WO2019180596A1 (fr) 2018-03-20 2019-09-26 Patek Philippe Sa Geneve Procede de fabrication de composants horlogers en silicium
WO2019180177A1 (fr) 2018-03-21 2019-09-26 Nivarox-Far S.A. Procede de fabrication d'un spiral en silicium

Patent Citations (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1722281A1 (de) 2005-05-12 2006-11-15 ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse Analoger Anzeiger aus kristallenem Material, Uhr mit solchem Anzeiger, und Herstellungsverfahren dafür
EP2104006A1 (de) * 2008-03-20 2009-09-23 Nivarox-FAR S.A. Monoblock-Doppelspirale und ihr Herstellungsverfahren
EP2145857A1 (de) 2008-07-10 2010-01-20 The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd. Verfahren zur Herstellung eines mikromechanischen Bauteils
CH702431A2 (fr) 2009-12-21 2011-06-30 Suisse Electronique Microtech Procédé de fabrication d'une pièce micromécanique.
WO2016062889A2 (fr) * 2014-10-24 2016-04-28 Richemont International Sa Organe réglant pour un mouvement horloger mécanique
WO2016128694A1 (fr) * 2015-02-13 2016-08-18 Tronic's Microsystems Oscillateur mécanique et procédé de réalisation associe
EP3181938A1 (de) 2015-12-18 2017-06-21 CSEM Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique SA - Recherche et Développement Herstellungsverfahren einer spiralfeder mit einer vorbestimmten steifigkeit durch wegnahme von material
EP3425458A1 (de) * 2017-07-07 2019-01-09 ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse Abtrennbares stück eines uhrenoszillators
WO2019166922A1 (fr) 2018-03-01 2019-09-06 Csem Centre Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa - Recherche Et Developpement Procede de fabrication d'un spiral
WO2019180596A1 (fr) 2018-03-20 2019-09-26 Patek Philippe Sa Geneve Procede de fabrication de composants horlogers en silicium
WO2019180177A1 (fr) 2018-03-21 2019-09-26 Nivarox-Far S.A. Procede de fabrication d'un spiral en silicium

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CH718818B1 (fr) 2023-12-29
WO2021224804A1 (fr) 2021-11-11

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