Hermetic Electrical Feedthroughs Based on the Diffusion of Platinum into Silicon

Abstract

Within this paper a novel approach for the development of hermetic electrical feedthroughs is introduced. So far, every vertical feedthrough induces at the feedthroughs' interfaces possible paths for water to leak across the hermetic barrier into the hermetic package. The presented approach is based on the diffusion of platinum into silicon, locally changing the electrical behavior of the substrate due to the induced impurities. This method avoids destroying the bulk material, in this case silicon, preserving the hermetic barrier environment. Different n-type silicon substrates were investigated for their usability through various diffusion experiments under two gas atmospheres: Argon/hydrogen and pure nitrogen. A significant change in silicon behavior could be shown for one of the used substrates. The current flowing through the bulk could be decreased by a factor of around 12 for an argon/hydrogen atmosphere and by around 10 for pure nitrogen. The current directly correlates with a local increase of the substrates' resistance, demonstrating the possibility of adapting the electrical properties of a substrate to create insulating areas within a conductive substrate.