DIAMONDLIKE CARBON HERMETIC ENCAPSULANTS

DIAMONDLIKE CARBON (DLC) CAN BE DEPOSITED ON ROOM TEMPERATURE SUBSTRATES. FURTHERMORE, EXPERIMENTS ON SILICON SUBSTRATES HAVE SHOWN THAT MOISTURE DOES NOT PENETRATE DLC FILMS AS THIN AS 150 ANGSTROMS. THE PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO DETERMINE IF THIN FILMS OF DLC CAN PROTECT COMPLETE ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS FROM MOISTURE, AS WELL AS FROM CHEMICALS CONTAINED IN COMMON EPOXIES USED FOR POTTING. THESE DEVICES CONTAIN POLY-SILICON, SILICIDES, METALS, AND DIELECTRIC FILMS WHICH ALL HAVE DIFFERENT THERMAL EXPANSION COEFFICIENTS AND STICKING COEFFICIENTS FROM DLC ADHESION. THUS (A) MOISTURE AND CHEMICAL PROTECTION, (B) BONDING UNDER CONDITIONS OF THERMAL CYCLING, AND (C) STEP COVERAGE WILL BE PRIMARILY ADDRESSED IN PHASE I.