ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the primary package types that apply to Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology and their specific concerns. MEMS are an interdisciplinary field combining electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and physics/chemistry; it is also referred to as micromachines, or micro systems technology. The three main functions of a MEMS package include mechanical support, device protection, and electrical interconnections to other system components. The traditional “hermeticity” that is generally thought of for protecting microelectronic devices may not apply to all MEMS devices. MEMS vacuum packaging, the technology for providing a gas-tight enclosure with an internal tiny cavity, has been a key technology for various MEMS devices and systems. Ceramic packages have several advantages that make them especially useful for microelectronics as well as MEMS. Bonding is widely applied in vacuum packaging of MEMS devices. It is a reliable and effective process for hermetically sealing a silicon wafer to a glass wafer or a quartz substrate.
