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Q plot of a silicon resonator vacuum packaged with NanoGetters®. Q = 21,600.

MEMS Applications Process

Micromachinig Applications for NanoGetters®

A variety of micromachined devices require vacuum packaging. Examples include gyroscopes, accelerometers, pressure sensors, IR sensors, flow sensors, optical devices, chemical sensors, density meters, RF-MEMS, vacuum displays, vacuum microelectronics and others.

A lower pressure, or better vacuum, improves the Q of resonators and the resolution of tunneling devices. The reliability is improved and hysterisis and drift reduced as the pressure is dropped inside the vacuum package.

For Optical and IR Sensors, vacuum packaging of sensing elements using NanoGetters® reduces interference and absorption from water vapor and oxygen trapped in the package. Solderable lids made of Si, glass, sapphire and Ge can be selectively coated with NanoGetters®.

Ways that vacuum packaging is currently accomplished include a solder or welded lid attachment of discrete packages and vacuum packaging at the wafer level. NanoGetters® have worked well with both Au/Sn soldered lids on ceramic packages and wafer level vacuum packaging.

Conventional wafer-to-wafer vacuum bonding results in a cavity pressure range of 1 Torr to 200 Torr, depending on the bonding method employed. Q data for a silicon resonator was taken in a vacuum chamber in order that the variation in Q (Quality factor of the resonator) could be plotted as a function of pressure. This plot enables the pressure of a microcavity to be determined. At 1 to 2 Torr the Q value of the resonator was found to be 15 to 20, very low. By using NanoGetters® technology the Q of this resonator could be raised above 10,000, which corresponds to cavity pressure of less than 800 microTorr. NanoGetters® typically reduces MEMS cavity pressures by over 4 orders of magnitude.

At the system level perspective, one of the most attractive features that Nanogetters® offers to the MEMS community is a "Total Solution" to the most important problem facing many emerging MEMS products. Nanogetters® Inc. technology offers:

• Wafer-level, high-vacuum (< 1mTorr) encapsulation
• Long-term vacuum stability
• Hermetic electrical lead transfer
• Compatibility with all MEMS technologies (polysilicon surface, bulk, silicon-on glass, and LIGA micromachining technologies)
• High yield
• Low cost

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