Vacuum encapsulation of MEMS using self-propagating heat reaction of Al/Ni multilayer film

We are working on the development of new vacuum sealing technology which can be used for MEMS devices such as gyroscopes and resonant mirrors. Al/Ni exothermic multilayer film is a thin film in which Al and Ni are alternately deposited with nanoscale thickness. The method of using heat of alloying reaction of this film as a local heat source for soldering is proposed. The seal performance is investigated by resonant characteristics of oscillators in a vacuum encapsulated chip.

This is a collaborative research with Prof. Namazu in Kyoto University of Advanced Science.