Vacuum Packaging Requirements for MEMS and Characterization Techniques

Abstract

Getter materials are technically proven and industrially well-implemented solutions for maintaining a vacuum inside electronic devices to assure long lifetimes and proper operating conditions. The pressure requirements of some hermetically packaged microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices, such as gyroscopes, accelerometers, infrared (IR) bolometers, and digital mirrors, are very stringent. The internal pressure can be as low as in the 10−3 mbar range. Due to the desorption phenomena of gaseous species from the internal surfaces, the vacuum inside such hermetically sealed electronic devices tends to degrade over time and, in the worst case, can affect the proper operation of the device. The integration of a special nanostructured getter film is an effective way to preserve and guarantee the performance of such devices. In addition to the getter material, there is also the need to develop and customize analytical techniques for post-process vacuum quality control and reliability checks of hermetic bonding, which are extremely important for the assessment of a device’s overall performance, lifetime, and manufacturing process yield.

Keywords

• MEMS
• getter coating
• vacuum packaging
• hermetic sealing