When Failure is not an Option – Packaging Materials and Technologies for the Reliable Protection of Medical Electronics

Abstract

Abstract Enabling high-level electrical performance and smooth optical signal transmission is a key requirement for microelectronics packaging materials. This becomes even more relevant for biomedical applications, in which protection requirements must be met alongside standard performance and signal transmission benchmarks. The major challenge: medical packaging must to provide absolute reliability. Microelectronic components face potentially damaging working environment hazards such as high humidity, extreme temperatures, corrosive chemicals, and bodily fluid – especially in the application cases of implantable, ingestible, and wearable devices. Hermeticity is an important factor in the performance of medical packaging. Non-hermetic packaging, sometimes known as “quasi-hermetic” uses organic materials, such as silicone or plastic over-moldings, that are not designed to withstand extreme conditions and break down over time. Material break down in these types of packages can lead to limited protection by allowing permeation of water and other gases through the polymer structure. Non-hermetic packages typically reach critical permeation levels after a very short period of time. For microelectronic components, even the smallest, hardly detectable traces of hydrogen and water vapor inside a package can compromise the performance and reliability of the encapsulated chips and circuits and potentially lead to interconnect failure, one of the most common reliability failure modes in microelectronic applications. The only way to overcome the challenge of achieving absolute reliability is by using hermetic packaging technologies with inorganic materials, such as glass, ceramics and metal. Unique manufacturing processes of these hermetic components create vacuum-tight seals that prevent moisture and harmful gases from penetrating into the package. Hermetically sealed packages deliver uncompromised reliability, offering long-term protection of sensitive electronics in medical devices – even after thousands of surgical procedures and steam sterilization cycles. This technical presentation will introduce the different reliability levels of packaging materials and provide an in-depth comparison of the respective advantages, disadvantages, and typical application areas of various hermetic packaging technologies. The latest insights into materials and technologies available for high-reliability packaging of medical electronics will be presented.