Recent advancements in high performance ship technology have created a problem in the availability, cost, weight and volume of hermetically sealed traditional ceramic-metal packages. We propose an innovative approach in which a dual coating (organic/inorganic) is deposited over single chip or multichip assemblies, protecting them from the harsh environments of moisture, temperature and ionic contaminants. Parylene and polyimide, two high purity organic polymers, will be investigated for the inner coating. The external protective overcoating will consist of an inorganic film, such as silicon nitride or silicon oxynitride, both known to be good moisture barriers. Electronic cyclotron resonance (ECR) deposition (< 100c), high dielectric quality and good surface coverage, will be investigated as the method for depositing the inorganic barrier films. AvanTeco's expertise in thin-film Parylene, polyimide, and other polymer materials will be coupled with JPL's experience in ECR barrier coating deposition. This 8-month Phase I study will focus on optimizing the deposition conditions for the inorganic coatings and examining their compatability with the organic coatings. Further, the ability of the dual coating system to protect the Sandia-designed corrosion test chip will be evaluated through accelerated humidity-temperature tests.
Keywords: Low Cost Electronic Packaging, Parylene Coating, Electron Cyclotron Resonance Dual-Coating
