LIGHT-BASED SEALING AND DEVICE PACKAGING

• US 20110096508A1
• Filed: 10/23/2009
• Published: 04/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snaptrack Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hong, John H., Alam, Khurshid S., Bita, Ion
• Granted Patent: US 8,379,392 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/728
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 1/00269 Bonding of solid lids or wafers to the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 2203/0109 Bonding an individual cap on the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 2203/019 characterised by the material or arrangement of seals between parts
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/8426 Peripheral sealing arrangements, e.g. adhesives, sealants
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/8722 Peripheral sealing arrangements, e.g. adhesives, sealants

Abstract

Systems and methods for manufacturing and packaging electronic devices with light absorptive thin film stacks are provided. In one embodiment, a light is applied to a light absorptive thin film stack disposed between a substrate and a backplate to seal the substrate to the backplate. In another embodiment, the light absorptive thin film stack includes a plurality of thin film layers. In yet another embodiment, the light absorptive thin film stack includes a spacer layer over a reflective layer and an absorber layer over the spacer layer. In still another embodiment, the light absorptive thin film stack is less than 200 nanometers thick. In yet a further embodiment, a light absorptive thin film stack is used to seal a substrate having glass, plastic, metal, or silicon to a backplate having glass, plastic, metal, or silicon. Thus, the light absorptive thin film stack is used to seal similar or dissimilar materials through a bonding process.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing an electronic device, comprising:

providing a substrate comprising an electronic device;

providing a backplate configured to be sealed to the substrate, wherein a light absorptive thin film stack is disposed between the substrate and the backplate; and

applying a light to the thin film stack to seal the substrate to the backplate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the light is a laser light.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the thin film stack comprises a plurality of layers.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the thin film stack comprises an absorber layer over a reflective layer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the thin film stack comprises a spacer layer over a reflective layer, and an absorber layer over the spacer layer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a liquid crystal polymer is disposed between the substrate and the backplate.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises glass, plastic, metal, or silicon.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the backplate comprises glass, plastic, metal, or silicon.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the light absorptive thin film stack comprises an interferometric modulator.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein the light is incident on the absorber layer.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein the spacer layer comprises one of silicon dioxide, a metal oxide, a nitride, and a polymer.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein at least one of the spacer layer, the reflective layer, and the absorber layer is less than about 10 nanometers thick.

13. The method of claim 5, wherein light of a specific wavelength is selected, and wherein the thickness of the spacer layer is chosen to increase absorption of the selected wavelength of light.

14. The method of claim 4, wherein the absorber layer comprises one of molybdenum, chromium, silver, and a molybdenum-chromium alloy.

15. The method of claim 4, wherein the reflective layer comprises a metal.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising joining the substrate and the backplate in a modified pressurized atmosphere.

17. An electronic device formed by the method of claim 1.

18. An electronic device package, comprising:

a substrate comprising an electronic device;

a backplate; and

a light-treated thin film seal disposed between the substrate and the backplate to form a package comprising the electronic device.

19. The device package of claim 18, wherein the light-treated thin film seal comprises a laser-light-treated thin film seal.

20. The device package of claim 18, wherein the thin film seal comprises a reflective layer over a spacer layer and an absorber layer over the spacer layer.

21. The device package of claim 18, wherein the substrate comprises glass, plastic, metal, or silicon.

22. The device package of claim 18, wherein the backplate comprises glass, plastic, metal, or silicon.

23. The device package of claim 20, wherein the spacer layer comprises a silicon dioxide, a metal oxide, a nitride, or a polymer.

24. The device package of claim 20, wherein the absorber layer comprises molybdenum, chromium, silver, or a molybdenum-chromium alloy.

25. The device package of claim 20, wherein the reflective layer comprises a metal.

26. The device package of claim 18, wherein the electronic device comprises a MEMS device.

27. The device package of claim 18, wherein the electronic device comprises an organic light emitting diode (OLED) device.

28. The device package of claim 18, wherein the electronic device comprises an interferometric modulator device.

29. The device package of claim 18, further comprising:

a processor that is configured to communicate with said electronic device, said processor being configured to process image data; and

a memory device that is configured to communicate with said processor.

30. The device package of claim 29, further comprising a driver circuit configured to send at least one signal to said electronic device.

31. The device package of claim 30, further comprising a controller configured to send at least a portion of said image data to said driver circuit.

32. The device package of claim 29, further comprising an image source module configured to send said image data to said processor.

33. The device package of claim 32, wherein said image source module comprises at least one of a receiver, transceiver, and transmitter.

34. The device package of claim 29, further comprising an input device configured to receive input data and to communicate said input data to said processor.

35. An electronic display, comprising:

means for supporting a display device;

means for covering the display device to form a package; and

means for forming a thin film seal between the covering means and the supporting means.

36. The electronic display of claim 35, wherein the forming means comprises a light-treated thin film seal.

37. The electronic display of claim 36, wherein the light-treated thin film seal comprises a laser-light-treated thin film seal.

38. The electronic display of claim 35, wherein the supporting means comprises a transparent substrate.

39. The electronic display of claim 35, wherein the covering means comprises a backplate.

40. The electronic display of claim 35, wherein the forming means comprises a plurality of thin film layers.

41. The electronic display of claim 40, wherein the plurality of layers comprises a spacer layer over a reflective layer and an absorber layer over the spacer layer.