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INO has developed a hermetic vacuum packaging technology for uncooled bolometric detectors based on ceramic leadless chip carriers (LCC). Cavity pressures less than 3 mTorr are obtained. Processes are performed in a state-of-the art semi-automated vacuum furnace that allows for independent activation of non-evaporable thin film getters. The getter activation temperature is limited by both the anti-reflection coated silicon or germanium window and the MEMS device built on CMOS circuits. Temperature profiles used to achieve getter activation and vacuum sealing were optimized to meet lifetime and reliability requirements of packaged devices. Internal package components were carefully selected with respect to their outgassing behavior so that a good vacuum performance was obtained. In this paper, INO’s packaging process is described. The influence of various package internal components, in particular the CMOS circuits, on vacuum performance is presented. The package cavity pressure was monitored using INO’s pressure microsensors and the gas composition was determined by internal vapor analysis. Lifetime was derived from accelerated testing after storage of packaged detectors at various temperatures from room temperature to 120°C. A hermeticity yield over 80% was obtained for batches of twelve devices packaged simultaneously. Packaged FPAs submitted to standard MIL-STD-810 reliability testing (vibration, shock and temperature cycling) exhibited no change in IR response. Results show that vacuum performance strongly depends on CMOS circuit chips. Detectors packaged using a thin film getter show no change in cavity pressure after storage for more than 30 days at 120°C. Moreover, INO’s vacuum sealing process is such that even without a thin film getter, a base pressure of less than 10 mTorr is obtained and no pressure change is observed after 40 days at 85°C.
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