Method for making a biocompatible hermetic housing including hermetic electrical feedthroughs

Abstract

A method for fabricating a biocompatible hermetic housing including electrical feedthroughs, the method comprises providing a ceramic sheet having an upper surface and a lower surface, forming at least one via hole in said ceramic sheet extending from said upper surface to said lower surface, inserting a conductive thick film paste into said via hole, laminating the ceramic sheet with paste filled via hole between an upper ceramic sheet and a lower ceramic sheet to form a laminated ceramic substrate, firing the laminated ceramic substrate to a temperature to sinter the laminated ceramic substrate and cause the paste filled via hole to form metalized via and cause the laminated ceramic substrate to form a hermetic seal around said metalized via, and removing the upper ceramic sheet and the lower ceramic sheet material from the fired laminated ceramic substrate to expose an upper and a lower surface of the metalized via.

Claims

1. A method of fabricating a biocompatible hermetic housing, comprising the steps of: providing a ceramic sheet having a sheet upper surface and a sheet lower surface; forming a plurality of vias in the ceramic sheet extending from the sheet upper surface to the sheet lower surface; inserting an electrically conductive thick film paste into the plurality of vias, the thick film paste comprising ceramic and metal wherein the metal is selected from the group consisting of platinum, titanium, palladium, tantalum, and niobium; laminating the ceramic sheet between an upper ceramic sheet containing no aligned vias and a lower ceramic sheet containing no aligned vias using a heatpress, the heatpress forming a laminated ceramic substrate; firing the laminated ceramic substrate to a temperature to compress the thick film paste, sinter the laminated ceramic substrate, forming a single sintered structure comprised of the ceramic sheet, the upper ceramic sheet and the lower ceramic sheet, and forming a metalized via and a hermetic seal between the metalized via and the laminated ceramic substrate; grinding the upper ceramic sheet and the lower ceramic sheet from the single sintered structure exposing an upper and a lower surface of the metalized via and forming a ceramic substrate having a substrate upper surface and a substrate lower surface with hermetic vias extending from the substrate upper surface to the substrate lower surface; and forming a housing enclosing electronics using the ceramic substrate as a wall.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein drawing the thick film past is with a vacuum.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising polishing the substrate upper surface and substrate lower surface so the metalized vias are flush with the substrate upper surface and substrate lower surface.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the ceramic sheet is providing a sheet comprised of at least 90% aluminum oxide.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of grinding the upper ceramic sheet and the lower ceramic sheet to form the fired laminated ceramic substrate is grinding the substrate to 0.040 inches thick or less.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of grinding the upper ceramic sheet and the lower ceramic sheet from the fired laminated ceramic substrate is grinding the substrate to less than 0.015 inches thick.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of inserting a conductive thick film paste further comprises inserting the thick film paste comprising of platinum.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming at least one via is forming a via having a diameter of 0.020 inches or less.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming at least one via is forming a via having a diameter of 0.010 inches or less.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing a ceramic sheet is providing an unfired ceramic sheet.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming at least one via in the ceramic sheet is punching the at least one via with a punch tool, etching the via with a solvent, or forming the via by laser ablation or drilling.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of inserting a conductive thick film paste into the at least one via comprises: disposing the ceramic sheet with the via between a stencil layer and a vacuum base, wherein the stencil layer includes at least one through hole that is aligned above the via; rolling the conductive thickfilm paste across the stencil layer; and pulling the conductive thickfilm paste into the via though the hole in the stencil layer with a vacuum created by the vacuum base.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of firing the laminated ceramic substrate further comprises evaporation, binder burnout and sintering of the laminated ceramic substrate.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing the ceramic sheet that is comprised of aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide or mixture thereof.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing the ceramic sheet that is comprised of 99% aluminum oxide or more.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of grinding the upper ceramic sheet and the lower ceramic sheet from the fired laminated ceramic substrate is grinding the substrate to a thickness of less than 0.020 inches.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of grinding the upper ceramic sheet and the lower ceramic sheet from the fired laminated ceramic substrate is grinding the substrate to a thickness of 0.015-0.020 inches.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1 depicts a top view of a finished feedthrough assembly in accordance with the present disclosure comprised of a ceramic sheet having electrically conductive vias extending therethrough;

(2) FIG. 2 depicts a sectional view taken substantially along the plane 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing the electrically conductive vias ends flush with the surfaces of the ceramic sheet;

(3) FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram illustrating a possible series of process steps for fabricating a feedthrough assembly in accordance with the present disclosure;

(4) FIGS. 4A-4M respectively depict the fabrication stages of a feedthrough assembly in accordance with the process flow illustrated in FIG. 3, wherein FIG. 4A depicts a sectional view of a ceramic sheet; FIGS. 4B-C depict via holes being punched in the sheet of FIG. 4A; FIGS. 4D-E depict exemplary stencil printing with vacuum pull down process; FIG. 4F depicts paste inserted into the via holes; FIGS. 4G-H depict exemplary multilayer lamination process; FIG. 4I shows an exemplary laminated substrate; FIGS. 4J-K depict lapping/grinding process; and FIGS. 4L-M depict dicing of the substrate to form multiple feedthrough assemblies.

(5) In the following description, like reference numbers are used to identify like elements. Furthermore, the drawings are intended to illustrate major features of exemplary embodiments in a diagrammatic manner. The drawings are not intended to depict every feature of every implementation nor relative dimensions of the depicted elements, and are not drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) The present disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus suitable for forming hermetic electrical feedthroughs in a ceramic sheet (or substrate) having a possible thickness of 40 mils. More particularly, the disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus for forming a structure including a hermetic electrical feedthrough which is both biocompatible and electrochemically stable and suitable for implantation in a patient's body.

(7) Electrical feedthroughs in accordance with the present writing are intended to function in corrosive environments, e.g., in medical devices intended for implantation in a patient's body. In such applications, it is generally critical that the device housing be hermetically sealed which, of course, requires that all feedthroughs in the housing wall also be hermetic. In such applications, it is also generally desirable that the weight and size of the housing be minimized and that all exposed areas of the housing be biocompatible and electrochemically stable. Biocompatibility assures that the implanted device has no deleterious effect on body tissue. Electrochemical stability assures that the corrosive environment of the body has no deleterious effect on the device. Ceramic and platinum materials are often used in implantable medical devices because they typically exhibit both biocompatibility and electrochemical stability.

(8) Embodiments constructed in accordance with the present disclosure are able to achieve very high feedthrough density. For example, in applications where miniaturization is important, the feedthrough pitch, i.e., center-to-center distance between adjacent feedthroughs may be from 10 mils to 40 mils.

(9) Attention is initially directed to FIGS. 1 and 2 which depict a preferred feedthrough assembly 8 in accordance with the present disclosure comprising a thin ceramic sheet 10 of ceramic material having multiple electrical feedthroughs 12 extending therethrough terminating flush with the upper and lower surfaces 14, 16 of sheet 10. The sheet 10 typically comprises a wall portion of a housing (not shown) for accommodating electronic circuitry. The feedthroughs 12 function to electrically connect devices external to the housing, e.g., adjacent to surface 14, to electronic circuitry contained within the housing, e.g., adjacent to surface 16. Thin ceramic sheet as used herein refers to a sheet having a finished thickness dimension of 40 mils, i.e., 1 mm. The apparatus in accordance with the disclosure is particularly suited for use in corrosive environments such as in medical devices implanted in a patient's body.

(10) The present disclosure is directed to providing electrical feedthroughs that are compatible with thin ceramic sheets (or substrates) having a finished thickness of 40 mils, and with feedthroughs that are hermetic, biocompatible, and electrochemically stable. In one exemplary embodiment, the ceramic sheet 10 may be formed of 90% aluminum oxide (AlO.sub.2) and the feedthroughs 12 may have a diameter of 20 mils and may be composed of paste containing, for example, platinum.

(11) Attention is now directed to FIGS. 3 and 4A-4M which depict the possible process steps for fabricating the finished feedthrough assembly 8 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

(12) Initially, a green ceramic sheet/tape/substrate 20 (FIG. 4A), formed, for example, of >90% aluminum oxide (AlO.sub.2) is selected as represented by step 21 in FIG. 3. In an exemplary embodiment, the sheet 20 may have a thickness of 40 mils or less. Green ceramic sheet/tape/substrate as used herein refers to an unfired ceramic sheet, tape or substrate.

(13) Via holes 26 are formed into the sheet 20 as represented by FIGS. 4B-4C and step 28 in FIG. 3. In an exemplary embodiment, each via hole 26 may be punched in to the sheet 20 using, for example, programmable punch tool 27. In one exemplary embodiment, a plurality of via holes 26 may be punched at the same time. It is to be understood that other methods may be used to form via holes 26. For Example, via holes 26 may be formed using solvent etching, laser ablation, and/or via holes 26 may be drilled.

(14) Step 37 of FIG. 3 calls for selecting a conductive thickfilm paste 17 to fill in via holes 26 depicted in FIG. 4C. Thickfilm paste as used herein refers to a material containing inorganic particles dispersed in a vehicle comprising an organic resin and a solvent. Types of different pastes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,638, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

(15) In one exemplary embodiment, a stencil printing with vacuum pull down process may be used to fill via holes 26 with the conductive paste 17 as represented by FIGS. 4D-4E and step 39 in FIG. 3. During the stencil printing with vacuum pull down process, the sheet 20 may sandwiched between a stencil layer 19 and a vacuum base 80. As a squeegee 18 roles the conductive paste 17 across the stencil layer 19, a vacuum chuck 81 of the vacuum base 80 pulls the conductive paste 17 through holes 82 of the stencil layer 19 and into the via holes 26 as shown in FIGS. 4D-4E.

(16) Step 40 of FIG. 3 calls for determining if additional green ceramic sheet/tape/substrates with paste filled via holes are required. If additional green ceramic sheet/tape/substrates with paste filled via holes are required (Yes in step 40), steps 21, 28, 37 and 39 are repeated. If additional green ceramic sheet/tape/substrates with paste filled via holes are not required (No in step 40), step 41 of FIG. 3 is performed.

(17) Upon completion of the stencil printing with vacuum pull down process and step 40, the sheet 20 with via holes 26 filled with conductive paste 17 shown in figure FIG. 4F may go through a multilayer lamination process as represented by FIGS. 4G-4H and step 41 in FIG. 3.

(18) In the multilayer lamination process, the sheet 20 of FIG. 4F may be laminated with, for example, sheets 91 and 92 as shown in FIG. 4G. The sheets 91 and 92 may contain conductive paste filled vias 26 that are similar to the conductive paste filled vias 26 of the sheet 20 and the sheets 91 and 92 may be formed using steps 21, 28, 37 and 39 of FIG. 3 as described above.

(19) During the multilayer lamination process, a) the sheets 20, 91 and 92 are stacked on top of each other with conductive paste filled vias 26 of each sheet being aligned on top of each other; b) stacked sheets 20, 91 and 92 are sandwiched between two unpunched green ceramic sheets/tapes/substrates 95 and 96; and c) the sheets 20, 91 and 92 and the sheets 95 and 96 are laminated together using a heatpress 98 to create laminated substrate 100 shown in FIG. 4I.

(20) Although FIGS. 4G and 4H laminate three sheets 20, 91 and 92 with conductive paste filled vias 26, one skilled in the art can appreciate that this disclosure is not limited to three sheets and that a single sheet 20 with conductive paste filled vias may be laminated together with the sheets 95 and 96 without the additional sheets 91 and 92. Although FIGS. 4G and 4H laminate three sheets 20, 91 and 92 with conductive paste filled vias 26, one skilled in the art can appreciate that this disclosure is not limited to three sheets and that additional sheets with conductive paste filled vias may also be laminated together with sheets 20, 91 and 92.

(21) Step 44 of FIG. 3 calls for the laminated substrate 100 to be fired. Firing of the laminated substrate 100 encompasses different aspects of forming bonds in ceramic (evaporation, binder burnout, sintering, etc.). The unpunched ceramic layers 95 and 96 of the laminated substrate 100 help to constrain the conductive paste within via holes 26 and allow for compression during the firing step 44. The unpunched ceramic layers 95 and 96 of the laminated substrate 100 also help to isolate the conductive paste filled vias 26 from the firing atmosphere during the step 44 which may be the key to hermetic and low resistance paste filled vias 26. An exemplary firing schedule includes ramping the laminated substrate 100 of FIG. 4I up to 600 C. at a rate of 1 C./minute, then ramping up to 1600 C. at a rate at 5 C./minute, followed by a one hour dwell and then a cool-to-room-temperature interval.

(22) During the firing and subsequent cooling during the step 44, the ceramic material of the laminated substrate 100 shrinks thereby shrinking via holes 26 around the paste 17 to form a seal. The fine aluminum oxide suspension permits uniform and continuous sealing around the surface of the paste 17. Additionally, at the maximum firing temperature, e.g., 1600 C., the paste 17 being squeezed by the ceramic exhibits sufficient flow to enable the paste 17 to flow and fill any crevices in the ceramic. This action produces a hermetic paste/ceramic interface. Furthermore, the firing step 44 may also cause hermeticity through bonding mechanisms like, for example, sintering, glass melt/wetting, alloying, compounding and/or diffusion solution formation. Sintering as used herein is a term used to describe the consolidation of the ceramic material during firing. Consolidation implies that within the ceramic material, particles have joined together into an aggregate that has strength. The term sintering may be used to imply that shrinkage and densification have occurred; although this commonly happens, densification may not always occur. Sintering is also a method for making objects from powder, by heating the material (below its melting point) until its particles adhere to each other. Sintering is traditionally used for manufacturing ceramic objects, and has also found uses in such fields as powder metallurgy. Alloying as used herein refers to an alloy that is a homogeneous hybrid of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resulting material has metallic properties. Compounding as used herein refers to a chemical compound that is a substance consisting of two or more elements chemically-bonded together in a fixed proportion by mass. Diffusion solution formation as used herein refers is the net movement of particles from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. A solid solution is a solid-state solution of one or more solutes in a solvent. Such a mixture is considered a solution rather than a compound when the crystal structure of the solvent remains unchanged by addition of the solutes, and when the mixture remains in a single homogeneous phase. Also, the firing step 44 may also cause solidification of the metalized vias 26 and the ceramic material of the laminated substrate 100 to prevent leaks.

(23) Step 48 of FIG. 3 calls for lapping or grinding the upper and lower surfaces of the fired laminated substrate 100 to remove materials 50 and 51, depicted in FIG. 4J, in order to expose the upper and lower faces of the metalized vias 26. The upper and lower surfaces of the fired laminated substrate 100 may also go through the polishing step 49 so that the metalized vias 26 are flush with the surrounding ceramic material.

(24) After lapping and/or grinding, the fired laminated substrate 100 may be subjected to a hermeticity test, e.g., frequently a helium (He) leak test as represented by step 56 in FIG. 3.

(25) In one exemplary embodiment, sheet/substrate 20 may contain several patterns 24a-d of the via holes 26 as shown in FIG. 4L. In this exemplary embodiment, the fired laminated substrate 100 would contain several patterns 24a-d of the metal filled via holes 26 and the fired laminated substrate 100 would be subjected to a singulation or dicing step 58 to provide multiple feedthrough assemblies 60A, 60B, 60C, 60D shown in FIG. 4M.

(26) Although some embodiments described above employ a ceramic sheet of >90% aluminum oxide (AlO.sub.2), alternative embodiments may use other ceramic materials, e.g., zirconium. Because the firing temperature of the ceramic can be tailored within certain limits, the conductive paste 17 may comprise any of the noble metals and/or any of the refractory metals, for example, platinum, titanium, gold, palladium, tantalum, niobium.

(27) As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms a, an, and the include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. The term plurality includes two or more referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosure pertains.

(28) From the foregoing, it should now be appreciated that electrical feedthrough assemblies and fabrication methods thereof have been described suitable for use in medical devices intended for implantation in a patient's body. Although a specific structure and fabrication method has been described, it is recognized that variations and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art coming within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.