MOLD FOR MAKING ALKALI METAL WAX PACKET, METHOD FOR PREPARING SAME, AND METHOD FOR USING SAME

Abstract

Disclosed are a mold assembly for making alkali metal wax packets, a method for preparing same, and a method for using same. The mold assembly comprises a silicon substrate (10), the silicon substrate (10) comprising a mold isolator (11) at the edge of the silicon substrate (10) and a silicon substrate central portion (18). The upper surface of the silicon substrate central portion (18) is indented to form a plurality of wax packet receiving cavities (12). A cavity isolator (13) locates between adjacent wax packet receiving cavities (12). A release sacrificial layer (15) is formed on the upper surface of the silicon substrate (10), and a paraffin layer (16) is formed on the upper surface of the release sacrificial layer (15) away from the silicon substrate (10). Cavities (121) for containing alkali metal are formed on a side of the paraffin layer (16) away from the release sacrificial layer (15). The mold isolator (11) is provided with corrosion release holes (14). The mold assembly can reliably and controllably achieve batch production of uniform alkali metal wax packet arrays and is completely compatible with MEMS and microelectronic processes, with simple processes that can be easily implemented and high operability. The wax packet mold assembly can be reused, such that wasting of raw materials can be avoided, and the cost of batch production can be effectively reduced.

Claims

1. A mold assembly for making alkali metal wax packets, wherein the mold assembly comprises packaging molds, the packaging mold comprising a silicon substrate forming a main body of the packaging mold; the silicon substrate comprising: a mold isolator at the edge of the silicon substrate; and a silicon substrate central portion formed by a recess in the upper surface of the silicon substrate in an area enclosed by the mold isolator; a plurality of wax packet receiving cavities being formed by indentations of the upper surface of the silicon substrate central portion; a cavity isolator between adjacent wax packet receiving cavities; a release sacrificial layer formed on the upper surface of the silicon substrate, a paraffin layer formed on the upper surface of the release sacrificial layer away from the silicon substrate; cavities for receiving alkali metal formed on a side of the paraffin layer away from the release sacrificial layer; and corrosion release holes formed in the mold isolator, the corrosion release holes configured to allow a corrosive liquid pass through to corrode and dissolve the release sacrificial layer.

2. The mold assembly according to claim 1, wherein the corrosion release holes are through holes connecting the upper and lower side surfaces of the silicon substrate to directly reach the release sacrificial layer.

3. The mold assembly according to claim 1, wherein the release sacrificial layer completely covers the upper surface of the silicon substrate.

4. The mold assembly according to claim 1, wherein the paraffin layer covers the upper surface of the silicon substrate central portion.

5. The mold assembly according to claim 1, wherein the cavity isolator is also provided between the wax packet receiving cavities at the edge of the silicon substrate central portion and the mold isolator.

6. The mold assembly according to claim 1, wherein the mold further comprises a silicon pin mold, the silicon pin mold comprising a silicon substrate forming a main body of the silicon pin mold; the silicon substrate comprising: a substrate; and silicon pins protruding outward from a surface of the substrate and configured to correspond to the wax packet receiving cavities; and the silicon pins configured to form cavities for receiving the alkali metal on the side of the paraffin layer away from the release sacrificial layer.

7. The mold assembly according to claim 1, wherein the mold assembly comprises two packaging molds having the same structure, the two packaging molds being engaged such that cavities formed in the paraffin layers together form a wax packaging cavity for sealing the alkali metal.

8. The mold assembly according to claim 1, wherein a height difference between the upper surface of the mold isolator and the upper surface of the cavity isolator is 100-200 μm.

9. A method for preparing the mold assembly according to claim 1, comprising the following steps: S1, forming a mold isolator on a silicon substrate, and a silicon substrate central portion formed by an area enclosed by the mold isolator; S2, forming a plurality of wax packet receiving cavities on the silicon substrate central portion, and thus forming a cavity isolator between adjacent wax packet receiving cavities; S3, forming corrosion release holes in the mold isolator; S4, forming a release sacrificial layer on the upper surface of the silicon substrate; and S5, forming a paraffin layer on the upper surface of the release sacrificial layer away from the silicon substrate, and providing cavities for receiving alkali metal on a side of the paraffin layer away from the sacrificial release layer.

10. A method for using the mold assembly according to claim 1 to make alkali metal wax packets, comprising the following steps: S100, using one packaging mold as a lower mold, and filling each wax packet receiving cavity of the lower mold with an appropriate amount of alkali metal; S200, using the other packaging mold as an upper mold, and engaging the upper mold and the lower mold such that cavities formed in a paraffin layer together form a wax packaging cavity for sealing the alkali metal; S300, heating and jointing the paraffin layer of the upper mold and the paraffin layer of the lower mold together, so as to form an alkali metal coating; and S400, corroding a release sacrificial layer using a corrosive liquid via a corrosion release hole, separating the upper mold from the lower mold, and dicing to obtain a plurality of alkali metal wax packets provided with the alkali metal inside.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] The specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0054] FIGS. 1a-1i illustrate a process mold and process steps for making wax micropackets in the prior art.

[0055] FIG. 2a illustrates a schematic diagram of a structure of a packaging mold in an alkali metal wax packet mold assembly of the present application.

[0056] FIG. 2b illustrates a top view of the packaging mold shown in FIG. 2a.

[0057] FIG. 2c illustrates a schematic diagram of a silicon pin mold in the alkali metal wax packet mold assembly in the present application.

[0058] FIGS. 3a-3g illustrate process steps to fabricate the packaging mold of the present application.

[0059] FIGS. 3h-3l illustrate process steps to form alkali metal wax micropacket by using the packaging mold of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0060] Various exemplary embodiments of the present application are described in detail herein with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specifically defined, the relative arrangement of components and steps, numerical expressions, and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not intended to limit the scope of the present application.

[0061] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative as a matter of fact and is in no way intended to limit the present application and application or use thereof.

[0062] Techniques and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail herein, but where appropriate, such techniques and devices should be considered part of the description.

[0063] In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific value should be construed as illustrative only rather than restrictive. Accordingly, other instances of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0064] It should be noted that similar numerals and letters refer to similar items in the following drawings, so once an item is defined in a drawing, it does not require further discussion in subsequent drawings.

[0065] According to an aspect of the application, the application first provides a mold assembly for fabricating an alkali metal wax micropacket. Referring to FIGS. 2a-2c, specifically, the mold assembly includes a packaging mold, the packaging mold including a silicon substrate 10 forming a main body of the packaging mold.

[0066] The silicon substrate 10 includes:

[0067] a mold isolator 11 at the edge of the silicon substrate 10; and

[0068] a silicon substrate central portion 18 formed by a recess in the upper surface of the silicon substrate in an area enclosed by the mold isolator 11.

[0069] A plurality of wax packet receiving cavities 12 are formed by indentations of the upper surface in the silicon substrate central portion 18.

[0070] A cavity isolator 13 is formed between adjacent wax packet receiving cavities 12.

[0071] A release sacrificial layer 15 is formed on the upper surface of the silicon substrate, and a paraffin layer 16 is formed on the upper surface of the release sacrificial layer 15 away from the silicon substrate.

[0072] Cavities 121 for receiving alkali metal are formed on the side of the paraffin layer 16 away from the release sacrificial layer 15.

[0073] The mold isolator 11 includes corrosion release holes 14, which are configured to allow a corrosive liquid to dissolve the release sacrificial layer 15 by means of corrosion.

[0074] In this embodiment, the corrosion release holes 14 are through holes connecting both the upper and lower surfaces of the silicon substrate 10 to reach the release sacrificial layer 15. This specific embodiment is merely an exemplary embodiment, and other embodiments are not limited to this structural form.

[0075] In the present application, the silicon substrate plays the role of supporting, and the material of the silicon substrate is preferably a <100> crystal-oriented silicon wafer, in consideration that the fabricating processes are known and that inclined angles may be formed by anisotropic wet etching. A wax packet receiving cavity 12 includes an inclined sidewall, and the wax packet receiving cavity 12 with the inclined sidewall facilitates the wax packet to be molded and to be released. Preferably, the cavity isolator 13 is also formed between the wax packet receiving cavities 12 at the edge of the silicon substrate central portion 18 and the mold isolator 11, facilitating the alkali metal wax packet to be molded and to be released from the packaging mold. A height difference between the upper surface of the mold isolator 11 and the upper surface of the cavity isolator 13 is 100-200 μm.

[0076] The functions of the mold isolator 11 lie in that: firstly, facilitating controlling the depth of a silicon pin pressed into the wax packet receiving cavity 12 by the silicon pin mold so as to control the thickness of the paraffin layer of the wax packet; secondly, defining a positional area of an array structure formed by the plurality of wax packet receiving cavities 12; and thirdly, facilitating reuse of the mold by forming the corrosion release holes 14 in the mold isolator 11 at a position away from the wax packet receiving cavities 12.

[0077] The wax packet receiving cavity 12 is used to support the paraffin layer 16 and fabricate a cavity for molded paraffin coating, i.e., a wax sealing cavity, so as to complete a wax packet process by filling alkali metal. The depth and side length of the wax packet receiving cavity 12 determine the volume and approximate filling amount of alkali metal.

[0078] The cavity isolator 13 is formed simultaneously with the wax packet receiving cavities 12 for isolating the wax packet receiving cavities 12 and forming an array of the plurality of wax packet receiving cavities 12, so as to fabricate wafer-level alkali metal wax packets, and serving as a positioning reference for dicing the alkali metal wax packet array.

[0079] The corrosion release holes 14 are used as channels for the corrosive liquid to reach the release sacrificial layer 15, and are located in the mold isolator 11, away from the array of the wax packet receiving cavities 12.

[0080] The release sacrificial layer 15 functions to isolate the paraffin layer 16 from the silicon substrate 10, the mold isolator 11, the wax packet receiving cavities 12, the cavity isolator 13, and the corrosion release holes 14 in the process of fabricating the wax packets, and to completely dissolves by the corrosive liquid to release an alkali metal wax packet array from the packaging mold after process of making the alkali metal wax packet array is completed. Preferably, the release sacrificial layer covers the upper surface of the silicon substrate thoroughly. A cyclic process comprising repeated growth of the release sacrificial layer 15 and repeated corrosion and dissolution by the corrosive liquid passing through the corrosion release holes 14 is the key to achieve the reuse of the mold assembly for fabricating the alkali metal wax packets.

[0081] The paraffin layer 16 is an effective coating material for the alkali metal 17 such that the alkali metal wax packets are fabricated by the packaging mold, and further serves as an inner wall protection layer in a gas micro chamber. Further preferably, the paraffin layer covers the upper surface of the silicon substrate central portion.

[0082] In an embodiment, with reference to FIG. 2c, the mold assembly further includes a silicon pin mold, the silicon pin mold including a silicon substrate forming a main body of the silicon pin mold.

[0083] The silicon substrate includes:

[0084] a substrate 20; and

[0085] silicon pins 21 formed by the substrate 20 protruding outward from one surface thereof, and configured to correspond to the wax packet receiving cavities 12.

[0086] The silicon pins 21 are configured to form cavities 121 for containing the alkali metal on the side of the paraffin layer 16 away from the release sacrificial layer 15. The shape of the silicon pins 21 strictly matches the shape of the wax packet receiving cavity 12, and with the height control of the mold isolator 11, the paraffin layer 16 is formed as a thickness-controllable, uniform conformal layer in the wax packet receiving cavity 12. In an actual process of fabricating the alkali metal wax micropacket, the mold assembly includes two packaging molds with the same structure, the two packaging molds being engaged such that the cavities 121 formed by the paraffin layer 16 together form a wax packaging cavity for sealing the alkali metal. A specific process is described in detail with reference to the following process steps of fabricating the alkali metal wax micropacket with the packaging mold provided in the present application.

[0087] Referring to FIGS. 3a-3g, according to another aspect of the present application, the application provides a method for preparing the above-mentioned mold, including the following steps:

[0088] S1. A mold isolator 11 and a silicon substrate central portion 18 formed by an area enclosed by the mold isolator 11 are formed on a silicon substrate 10.

[0089] S2. A plurality of wax packet receiving cavities 12 are formed in the silicon substrate central portion 18, and a cavity isolator 13 is formed between adjacent wax packet receiving cavities 12.

[0090] S3. Corrosion release holes 14 are formed in the mold isolator 11.

[0091] S4. A release sacrificial layer 15 is formed on the upper surface of the silicon substrate 10.

[0092] S5. A paraffin layer 16 is formed on the upper surface of the release sacrificial layer 15 away from the silicon substrate, and cavities 121 for receiving alkali metal are provided on the side of the paraffin layer 16 away from the sacrificial release layer 15.

[0093] Specifically, first in step 1), photolithography and etching are performed on the silicon substrate 10 to form the mold isolator 11 and the silicon substrate central portion 18 formed by the area enclosed by the mold isolator 11. The mold isolator 11 defines a positional area of an array structure of a plurality of wax packet receiving cavities 12, as shown FIG. 3a.

[0094] The silicon used as a substrate requires a certain thickness to satisfy the requirement for an etching depth of the wax packet receiving cavity 12 (related to the wax packet volume, i.e., an alkali metal filling amount) and the requirement for an overall structural strength. Moreover, in order to reduce a process difficulty in etching the corrosion release hole 14, the upper limit of the thickness of the substrate is limited. The thickness of the silicon substrate 10 may be adjusted according to actual requirements, particularly parameters such as the wax packet volume, and is preferably 500-2000 μm.

[0095] The etching process described in this step may preferably be deep reactive ion etching, which is a known technique and may form a substantially steep etched sidewall, thereby facilitating subsequent process steps.

[0096] The height of the mold isolator 11, i.e., the etching depth in this step, determines the depth of the silicon pin 21 pressed into the wax packet receiving cavity 12 in making the packaging mold with the silicon pin mold, thereby controlling the thickness of the paraffin layer of the wax packet. The etching depth is preferably 100-200 μm. In consideration that the corrosion release holes 14 are etched in the mold isolator 11 subsequently, the width of the isolator depends on the diameter of the release hole, and the width of the mold isolator 11 is preferably 200-600 μm. In a specific embodiment, a silicon substrate 10 with a thickness of 1000 μm in a <100> crystal orientation is selected, and photolithography and deep reactive ion etching are performed. The etching depth is 200 μm in the 3600 μm×3600 μm central area, which is used to make an array of the wax packet receiving cavities 12. The peripheral remaining area is the mold isolator 11 with a width of 400 μm and a height of 200 μm.

[0097] Then in step 2), photolithography and wet etching are performed on the packaging mold, and the cavity isolator 13 and the array structure of the plurality of wax packet receiving cavities 12 are formed in the area defined by the mold isolator 11, as shown in FIG. 3b.

[0098] The size of the area defined by the mold isolator 11, i.e., the silicon substrate central portion, is mainly determined by the number of the wax packet receiving cavities 12 in the array, the side length of a single packet cavity 12, as well as the width of the cavity isolator 13.

[0099] The number of wax packet receiving cavities 12 is restricted by two factors. From the practical perspective, it is expected that the number of wax packet receiving cavities 12 in the array is as large as possible, so as to increase a batch yield. From the process perspective, it is expected that the number is reduced to reduce the technical difficulty. The wax packet is released mainly by the corrosive liquid entering into the corrosion release hole 14 and contacting the release sacrificial layer 15 to achieve lateral complete corrosion and dissolution of the release sacrificial layer 15, so an entire corrosion path should not be excessively long. The number of the wax packet receiving cavities 12 is preferably a 3×3 array, a 4×4 array, ora 5×5 array.

[0100] The shape and volume of the wax packet receiving cavity 12 depend on the substrate material and of process parameters. The silicon substrate material is preferably a <100> crystal-oriented silicon wafer, mainly considering a mature process thereof. Rapid corrosion of the <100> crystal-oriented silicon wafer can be achieved by using a KOH system or EPW (ethylenediamine, catechol, and water) system corrosive liquid, so as to obtain a smooth inclined sidewall and a flat and smooth bottom surface. A smooth inner surface is conducive to the regularity of the surface of the wax packet, and the inclined sidewall forming the cavity with a larger opening and a smaller bottom surface, facilitating molding and release of the wax packet. The volume of the wax packet receiving cavity 12 and the filling amount of alkali metal depend on the requirements of gas microchambers for different applications, and the volume of the cavity is basically determined by the area of the opening port and the depth of the cavity. Preferably, the opening port of the cavity is in shape of square, preferably 600-2000 μm on one side, and the depth of the cavity is preferably 200-800 μm.

[0101] The width of the cavity isolator 13 mainly controls the integration density and effective isolation of the wax packet receiving cavities 12 in the array, as well as the dicing and separating after the wax packet array being completed. The width of the cavity isolator 13 is preferably 200-400 μm. In a specific embodiment, photolithography and KOH anisotropic wet etching are performed in the 3600 μm×3600 μm central area to form a 3×3 array of the wax packet receiving cavities 12 and the corresponding cavity isolator 13, wherein the width of the top of the cavity isolator 13 is 400 μm, the side length of a square opening at the top of the cavity is 800 μm, the depth is 400 μm, and the side length of the corresponding bottom square of the cavity is about 240 μm.

[0102] Then in step 3), photolithography and etching are performed on the packaging mold to form the corrosion release holes 14 in the mold isolator 11, the corrosion release hole 14 passing through the entire silicon substrate 10, as shown in FIG. 3c.

[0103] The corrosion release hole 14 serves as a channel for the corrosive liquid to reach the release sacrificial layer 15, so the larger the hole diameter is, the easier the corrosive liquid passes through. The upper limit of the diameter is restricted by the integration requirements of the entire wafer wax packet and the process difficulty. Deep reactive ion etching is a well-known process for making the hole at large aspect ratio, and an etching aspect ratio may be 1:5-1:10. From the perspective of process reliability, the aspect ratio of about 1:5 is selected, and considering that the thickness of the silicon substrate is 500 μm-2000 μm, the diameter of the corrosion release hole 14 is preferably 100-400 μm. The distance between the corrosion release holes 14 also affects the corrosion rate. Preferably, along the circumferential direction of the mold isolator 11, the mold isolator 11 includes a plurality of corrosion release holes 14. Preferably, the corrosion release holes are arranged at equal intervals, preferably at 500-1000 μm. In a specific embodiment, photolithography and deep reactive ion etching are performed on the mold isolator 11 to form the corrosion release holes 14, the corrosion release holes 14 pass through the entire silicon substrate 10, with a diameter of 200 μm, and the distance between the centers of the holes is 1000 μm, that is, there are five corrosion release holes 14 on each side of mold isolator 11, thus obtaining the packaging mold.

[0104] Then in step 4), the release sacrificial layer 15 is formed by vacuum deposition. The release sacrificial layer 15 covers the upper surface of the silicon substrate 10 thoroughly, that is, the release sacrificial layer 15 completely covers the upper surface of the silicon substrate central portion 18 and the upper surface of the mold isolator, as shown in FIG. 3d.

[0105] The release sacrificial layer 15 serves as an isolation layer and a release layer between the paraffin layer 16 and the silicon substrate 10, having basic functions of effective isolation for preventing adhesion between the paraffin layer 16 and the silicon substrate 10 and good corrosion selectivity to the silicon substrate 10 for preventing the silicon substrate 10 from being damaged by the corrosive liquid during the release step. The material of the release sacrificial layer 15 is preferably selected from SiO.sub.2 or Si.sub.3N.sub.4, and different vacuum deposition techniques may be selected.

[0106] The release sacrificial layer 15 formed by a chemical vapor deposition vacuum coating naturally covers the upper surface of the silicon substrate 10 thoroughly. Since the release sacrificial layer 15 is very thin, the corrosion release hole 14 will not be blocked and the subsequent corrosion release process will not be affected. In other embodiments, the release sacrificial layer may also be formed by chemical vapor deposition, which is not limited in the present application.

[0107] In an electron beam evaporation coating method, since a vacuum evaporation coating material propagates in a straight line, in order that the release sacrificial layer 15 completely covers the upper surface structure of the silicon substrate 10, the packaging mold is rotated along the plane normal direction during the production process while the glancing angle deposition coating is performed on the packaging mold. A rotation speed is preferably 30-60 RPM, and an evaporation glancing angle is preferably 15-30 degrees.

[0108] A complete isolation and corrosion release process requires an increase in the thickness of the release sacrificial layer 15, and the increase in the thickness of the vacuum coating increases the process difficulty. In view of above, the thickness of the release sacrificial layer 15 is preferably 0.2-1 μm (for the convenience of observation, the thickness of the release sacrificial layer in FIGS. 3 is artificially increased). In a specific embodiment, the packaging mold rotates at a speed of 60 RPM along the plane normal direction, while the release sacrificial layer 15 is formed by evaporating SiO.sub.2 using an electron beam at 30-degree glancing angle, and completely covers the entire upper surface of the packaging mold, with the thickness of 0.4 μm.

[0109] Then in step 5), photolithography and wet etching are performed on the silicon substrate 20 to fabricate a silicon pin mold 305. The silicon pin mold 305 includes a silicon substrate forming a main body of the silicon pin mold. The silicon substrate includes a substrate 20 and silicon pins 21 formed by a side surface of the substrate 20 protruding outward and configured to correspond to the wax packet receiving cavities 12, as shown in FIG. 3e.

[0110] The substrate 20 is also preferably a <100> crystal-oriented silicon wafer, and a KOH system or an EPW (ethylenediamine, catechol, and water) system corrosive liquid is used. The silicon pins 21 of the silicon pin mold form an array structure in strict one-to-one positional correspondence with the array structure formed by the plurality of wax packet receiving cavities 12 of the packaging mold. The shape and size of the silicon pin 21 mainly depend on the wax packet receiving cavity 12. The height of the silicon pins 21 is preferably 200-800 μm, and the side length of the top of the silicon pin is preferably 100-800 μm.

[0111] Then in step 6), an appropriate amount of paraffin is placed on the cavity isolator 13 and on the array area of the wax packet receiving cavities 12, then heated, melted, tiled, and cooled, as shown in FIG. 3f.

[0112] The material of the paraffin layer 16 is preferably paraffin with a softening temperature of 52° C. and a melting point temperature of 62° C.

[0113] According to the volume of the wax packet receiving cavity 12 and the surface area of the cavity isolator 13, the amount of paraffin of the paraffin layer 16 is strictly controlled, for example, about 2.8 mg of paraffin is placed such that the paraffin layer may completely cover the wax packet receiving cavities 12 and the surface area of the cavity isolator 13 during a process of pressing the silicon pins 21 down to form the paraffin layer, without excess paraffin overflowing from the mold isolator 11 and blocking the corrosion release holes 14.

[0114] Then in step 7), the paraffin is heated to a temperature above its melting point 62° C., so as to be completely melt. At the softening point temperature of the paraffin, the silicon pin mold is pressed down to the packaging mold, and enables the paraffin in the wax packet receiving cavity 12 to form a uniform conformal layer with the thickness of about 200 μm, thus obtaining the packaging mold in the alkali metal wax packet mold assembly of the present application, as shown in FIG. 3g.

[0115] In this step, the silicon pin mold is pressed down until it contacts with the highest portion of the packaging mold, i.e., the top surface of the mold isolator 11. The shape of the silicon pins 21 strictly matches the shape of the wax packet receiving cavities 12, and is controlled by the height of the mold isolator 11 such that the paraffin layer forms a thickness-controllable, uniform conformal layer in the wax packet receiving cavity 12.

[0116] Referring to FIGS. 3h-3l, according to another aspect of the present application, it further provides a method for using the above-mentioned mold assembly to fabricate an alkali metal wax packet, including the following steps:

[0117] S100. One packaging mold is used as a lower mold 303, and the wax packet receiving cavities 12 of the lower mold 303 are filled with an appropriate amount of alkali metal 17.

[0118] S200. Another packaging mold is used as an upper mold 304, and the upper mold 304 and the lower mold 303 are engaged such that cavities 121 formed with the paraffin layers 16 together form the wax packaging cavities 19 for sealing the alkali metal 17.

[0119] S300. The paraffin layer 16 of the upper mold 304 and the paraffin layer 16 of the lower mold 303 are joined together by means of heating, so as to form an alkali metal coating.

[0120] S400. A release sacrificial layer 15 is corroded by the corrosive liquid via corrosion release holes 14, the upper mold 304 is separated from the lower mold 303, and a plurality of alkali metal wax packets with the alkali metal inside are obtained by dicing.

[0121] In the specific process of fabricating the alkali metal wax micropacket, the mold assembly includes two packaging molds having the same structure, that is, one packaging mold is used as the lower mold 303 and the other packaging mold having the same structure as that of the packaging mold of the lower mold 303 is used as the upper mold 304. The two packaging molds are engaged such that the cavities 121 formed in the paraffin layers 16 together form the wax packaging cavity 19 for sealing the alkali metal.

[0122] Both the upper mold 304 and the lower mold 303 have the same shape and are symmetrical in the plane, ensuring strict alignment therebetween during packaging.

[0123] First, a wax packet receiving cavity 122 of the packaging mold used as the lower mold is filled with an appropriate amount of alkali metal 17, and the alkali metal 17 is received in the cavity 121 of the paraffin layer 16, as shown in FIG. 3i. The filling amount of the alkali metal 17 varies according to applications, and is generally in the magnitude of μl and sub-μl, not more than the volume of the cavity 121. A filling process of the alkali metal 17 is carried out in a glove box with water less than 0.1 mg/l and oxygen values less than 0.4 mg/l, respectively. The liquid alkali metal is filled by a microsyringe, and a filling accuracy can be controlled at 0.1 μl.

[0124] Subsequently, the packaging mold used as the upper mold 304 is aligned with and covered on the packaging mold used as the lower mold 303 and compressed, and the cavity 121 in the paraffin layer 16 of the upper mold 304 and the cavity 121 in the paraffin layer 16 of the lower mold together form the wax packaging cavity 19 for sealing the alkali metal. The paraffin is heated to melt such that the upper and lower paraffin layers are jointed to form an alkali metal wax packet array 306, wherein the heating temperature of the paraffin is preferably its melting point of 62° C., and is maintained for a certain time, without completely melting the paraffin so as to prevent the coating from deforming. Moreover, under the combined function of pressure and temperature, the upper and lower paraffin layers can be tightly and effectively jointed. The release sacrificial layer 15 is corroded via the corrosion release hole 14, and after complete dissolution, the alkali metal wax packet array 306 is separated from the silicon substrates serving as the body of the packaging molds, as shown in FIG. 3j and FIG. 3k. In an embodiment, the corrosion of SiO.sub.2 and Si.sub.3N.sub.4 is carried out by using an HF system corrosive solution. In order to accelerate the corrosion release, the process can be assisted by appropriate ultrasonic vibration, and an ultrasonic power is preferably about 100 W.

[0125] Then, the completed alkali metal wax packet array 306 is diced to obtain a plurality of separate alkali metal wax packets with the alkali metal inside, as shown in FIG. 3l.

[0126] The silicon substrate structure of the packaging mold obtained after finishing the alkali metal wax packet can be reused for making new alkali metal wax packets by re-forming the release sacrificial layer and the paraffin layer on the silicon substrate.

[0127] Therefore, compared with the existing mold and technology for fabricating an alkali metal wax packet, the mold and method for using same to make an alkali metal wax packet disclosed in the present application allows reliably and controllably fabricating uniform alkali metal wax packet arrays in a batch fabricated manner. This fabricating method is completely compatible with MEMS and microelectronic processes, with simple processes that can be easily implemented and high operability. In addition, in this fabricating method, the wax packet mold can be reused, avoiding a waste of raw materials, and thereby effectively reducing the cost of the batch fabrication.

[0128] The present application is applicable to the fabrication of the micro alkali metal wax packets in a batch fabricated manner, and achieves filling of a wafer-level micro gas chamber with alkali metal. In use of a paraffin packet for filling the micro gas chamber with the alkali metal, molten paraffin forms a uniform paraffin protective layer on the inner wall of the micro gas chamber in practical applications, effectively alleviating the collision of alkali metal atoms with the cavity wall, and thereby significantly reducing the width of a spectral line of coherent population trapping. Thus, the fabricating mold the fabricating method for the micro alkali metal wax packets is applicable to high-reliability chip scale atomic clock devices.

[0129] Obviously, the above embodiments of the present application are merely examples for clearly describing the present application, rather than limiting the embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, changes or modifications in other different forms can also be made on the basis of the above description. It is impossible to list all the embodiments herein, and any obvious changes or modifications derived from the technical solutions of the present application still fall within the protection scope of the present application.