Corrosion of silicon integrated circuits and lifetime predictions in implantable electronic devices.
J Neural Eng
; 10(3): 031002, 2013 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23685410
ABSTRACT
Corrosion is a prime concern for active implantable devices. In this paper we review the principles underlying the concepts of hermetic packages and encapsulation, used to protect implanted electronics, some of which remain widely overlooked. We discuss how technological advances have created a need to update the way we evaluate the suitability of both protection methods. We demonstrate how lifetime predictability is lost for very small hermetic packages and introduce a single parameter to compare different packages, with an equation to calculate the minimum sensitivity required from a test method to guarantee a given lifetime. In the second part of this paper, we review the literature on the corrosion of encapsulated integrated circuits (ICs) and, following a new analysis of published data, we propose an equation for the pre-corrosion lifetime of implanted ICs, and discuss the influence of the temperature, relative humidity, encapsulation and field-strength. As any new protection will be tested under accelerated conditions, we demonstrate the sensitivity of acceleration factors to some inaccurately known parameters. These results are relevant for any application of electronics working in a moist environment. Our comparison of encapsulation and hermetic packages suggests that both concepts may be suitable for future implants.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Próteses e Implantes
/
Semicondutores
/
Silício
/
Teste de Materiais
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Análise de Falha de Equipamento
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Materiais Revestidos Biocompatíveis
/
Eletrônica Médica
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Neural Eng
Assunto da revista:
NEUROLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2013
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido