EP0589678A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Hermetic protection for integrated circuits
Assignee: Dow Silicones Corp
•
Filing: 1993-09-21
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2013-09-21
Abstract
Abstract The present invention relates to hermetically sealed integrated circuits. These circuits comprise a circuit subassembly having a primary passivation and one or more bond pads (2) opened in the passivation. To the primary passivation is applied a silicon-containing ceramic layer (4) by a physical vapor deposition (PVD) or CVD process. In addition, the ceramic layer (4) also covers a portion of the bond pads (2) such that the opening is smaller than that present in the primary passivation and the bond pads are thereby more effectively sealed.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael Keith Winton
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 01:22
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10W; H10W72/00; H10W72/90; H10W74/00; H10W74/10; H10W74/131; H10W74/137; H10W74/147; H10W74/40; H10W74/43; H10W72/921; H10W72/923; H10W72/951; H10W72/952; H10W72/981; H10W72/983
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
89 words
A hermetically sealed integrated circuit comprising: a circuit subassembly having bond pads (2); a primary passivation layer (3) on the surface of the subassembly which is etched at the bond pads (2) and streets (5); and one or more ceramic layers (4) covering the primary passivation (3) and the sides of the primary passivation created by etching at the bond pads (2) and streets (5); wherein the ceramic layers (4) comprise a ceramic material which is deposited by a process selected from chemical vapor deposition and physical vapor deposition.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
18 words
The circuit of claim 1 further characterized by a non-corroding, conductive layer (6) covering the bond pads (2).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
The integrated circuit of claim 2 wherein the non-corroding, conductive layers (6) comprise a material selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, tungsten, solder, silver filled epoxy and copper.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The circuit of claim 2 further characterized by a diffusion barrier metal layer (6) covering the bond pads.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
62 words
The integrated circuit of claims 1, 2 or 4 wherein the ceramic layer (4) is selected from the group consisting of silicon containing ceramics, silicon oxygen containing ceramics, silicone nitrogen containing ceramics, silicon oxygen nitrogen containing ceramics, silicon oxygen carbon containing ceramics, silicon carbon nitrogen containing ceramics, silicon oxygen carbon nitrogen containing ceramics, silicon carbon containing ceramics and diamond-like carbon containing ceramics.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
The integrated circuit of claim 5, wherein the diffusion barrier metal layer (6) is selected from the group consisting of titanium, an alloy of titanium and tungsten and titanium nitride.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
The integrated circuit of claims 1, 2 or 4 which has been interconnected and embedded within a material selected from the group consisting of organic encapsulants and silicone encapsulants.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.