Hermetic feedthrough for an implantable device
First Claim
1. A hermetically sealed package suitable for implantation in living tissue, said package comprising:
- a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of surfaces and having an integrated circuit formed on at least one of said surfaces, said integrated circuit having one or more electrically conductive pads for communicating and/or providing power to said integrated circuit;
one or more electrical pathways for providing electrical connection to said one or more electrically conductive pads, said pathways having first ends coupled to said one or more pads and second ends exposed for external electrical connection from said sealed package; and
an insulating material for encapsulating said integrated circuit and said semiconductor substrate surfaces except for selected portions of said seconds ends of said electrical pathways.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides an implantable substrate sensor comprising electronic circuitry formed within, or on, a substrate. A protective coating then covers the substrate, forming a hermetically sealed package having the circuitry under the coating. The circuitry has electrically conductive pads for communicating and/or providing power to the circuitry. Electrical pathways provide hermetic electrical connection to the conductive pads for external connection to the sealed circuitry. In a first embodiment, the pathway is a via that is made from a biocompatible material that is made hermetic by either increasing its thickness or by ion beam deposition. Alternatively, the pathways are formed from metal traces, surrounded by a biocompatible insulation material, essentially parallel to the surface of the substrate that are connected to the conductive pads by first vias and have second ends externally accessible to the sealed package to provide external electrical connection to the hermetically sealed circuitry within.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A hermetically sealed package suitable for implantation in living tissue, said package comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of surfaces and having an integrated circuit formed on at least one of said surfaces, said integrated circuit having one or more electrically conductive pads for communicating and/or providing power to said integrated circuit;
one or more electrical pathways for providing electrical connection to said one or more electrically conductive pads, said pathways having first ends coupled to said one or more pads and second ends exposed for external electrical connection from said sealed package; and
an insulating material for encapsulating said integrated circuit and said semiconductor substrate surfaces except for selected portions of said seconds ends of said electrical pathways. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of forming an electrically conductive hermetic connection to a hermetically sealed integrated circuit, said method comprising the steps of:
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forming an integrated circuit on a face of a semiconductor substrate, said integrated circuit having one or more electrically conductive pads for communicating and/or providing power to said integrated circuit;
forming one or more electrical pathways for providing electrical connection to said one or more electrically conductive pads;
said pathways having first ends coupled to said one or more pads and second ends exposed for external electrical connection from said sealed integrated circuit; and
encapsulating said semiconductor substrate and said integrated circuit except for selected portions of said second ends of said electrical pathways. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification