USE OF VENTING SLOTS TO IMPROVE HERMETIC SEAL FOR SEMICONDUCTOR DICE HOUSED IN CERAMIC PACKAGES

摘要

In hermetically sealing a base structure (10) of a ceramic package for a semiconductor device to a cap structure (12) of the device, one or more venting slots (36) are initially, according to the invention, provided in the base sealing layer (16) or in the cap sealing layer (26). The base and cap structures are then fused together along the two sealing layers and electrical leads (20) by bringing the structures into contact and heating them to a temperature high enough to cause the sealing material to flow readily. The venting slots allow air to escape during the fusing step. this inhibits the formation of air bubbles along the sealing interface and thereby improves the hermeticity of the seal. The structures are subsequently cooled to harden the sealing layers into a unitary layer (28).