Method and structure for fabricating sensors with a sacrificial gel dome
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A packaged pressure sensor, comprising:
- a housing having an interior chamber;
a pressure sensor having a diaphragm placed in said interior chamber;
an electrical lead protruding through said housing;
a wire coupling said electrical lead to said pressure sensor; and
a protective gel covering said electrical lead and said wire surrounding said diaphragm, thereby defining a vent over said diaphragm.
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Abstract
A method and structure that protects interior electrical components of a pressure sensor (4) from corrosive particles using a sacrificial gel dome (30) to form a vent (34) in a protective gel (32) that covers electrical components that can be corroded such as wires (16), bond pads (18), and electrical leads (14). Sacrificial gel dome (30) is dispensed over a diaphragm (28) of pressure sensor (4) to form vent (34) enabling diaphragm (28) to sense pressure variations without the influence of protective gel (32). Sacrificial gel dome (30) is removed through a water rinsing process (42) to expose vent (34).
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A packaged pressure sensor, comprising:
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a housing having an interior chamber;
a pressure sensor having a diaphragm placed in said interior chamber;
an electrical lead protruding through said housing;
a wire coupling said electrical lead to said pressure sensor; and
a protective gel covering said electrical lead and said wire surrounding said diaphragm, thereby defining a vent over said diaphragm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13)
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7. A packaged pressure sensor, comprising:
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a pressure sensor to detect an environmental pressure;
a housing to protect said pressure sensor from a corrosive environment surrounding said housing, said housing having an interior chamber in which said pressure sensor is disposed;
electrical communication means to enable said pressure sensing means to communicate a pressure reading to an external circuit;
a protective gel to protect said electrical communication means from said corrosive environment without covering a pressure sensing diaphragm coupled to said pressure sensor, thereby defining a vent over said pressure sensing diaphragm. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 12)
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14. A method of fabricating corrosion protection for a sensor, comprising:
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dispensing a viscous mask over a diaphragm of a pressure sensor contained within a housing;
hardening said viscous mask;
dispensing a protective gel into said housing over an electrical lead and a wire coupled to said pressure sensor;
hardening said protective gel; and
removing said viscous mask. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification