Shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter

1. An EMI/energy dissipating filter for an active implantable medical device (AIMD), comprising:

an electromagnetically shielded conductive housing for the AIMD;

a hermetic terminal assembly for passage of at least one conductor through the AIMD housing in non-conductive relation therewith;

at least one AIMD electronic circuit disposed within the AIMD housing; and

a shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter conductively coupled between the conductor and the AIMD electronic circuit, comprising:

an active electrode plate through which a circuit current passes between a first terminal and a second terminal;

a first shield plate on a first side of the active electrode plate; and

a second shield plate on a second side of the active electrode plate opposite the first shield plate;

wherein the first and second shield plates are conductively coupled to a grounded third terminal;

wherein the active electrode plate is insulated from the shield plates by a dielectric material such that the active electrode plate and the shield plates cooperatively form a flat-through capacitor; and

wherein the surface area of the active electrode plate is maximized to increase parasitic capacitance to a minimum of 20 picofarads and minimize resistance to current flow.

2. The EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , wherein the shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter is mounted directly onto at least a portion of the hermetic terminal.

3. The EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , wherein the grounded third terminal is conductively coupled to the conductive housing for the AIMD.

4. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , including a lead wire extending to or through at least one of the shield plates in non-conductive relation, the lead wire being conductively coupled to the active electrode plate to form the first terminal.

5. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 4 , including a plurality of active electrode plates each having a first shield plate on a first side thereof and a second shield plate on a second side thereof opposite the first shield plate, wherein each active electrode plate is insulated from its adjacent shield plates by a dielectric material such that each active electrode plate and its adjacent shield plates cooperatively form a flat-through capacitor.

6. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 4 , wherein the shield plates are conductively coupled to a common ground.

7. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 4 , including a plurality of lead wires each extending through at least one of the shield plates in non-conductive relation, where each lead wire is conductively coupled to a respective active electrode plate to form the first terminal for said active electrode plate.

8. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 4 , including a shielded fixture through which the lead wire extends in non-conductive relation.

9. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 8 , wherein the fixture comprises an hermetic seal.

10. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 4 , including a feedthrough capacitor conductively coupled to the active electrode plate to form the first terminal.

11. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , including a conductive pad conductively coupled to the active electrode plate and forming the second terminal, wherein the conductive pad comprises a wire bond pad disposed on an exterior surface of a body of dielectric material through which the active electrode plate extends.

12. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , wherein the active electrode plate at least partially comprises an inductor.

13. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , including a monolithic chip capacitor (MLCC) conductively coupled between the active electrode plate and at least one of the grounded shield plates.

14. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , wherein the active electrode plate is configured to form at least a component of an “L”, “π”, “T”, “LL”, “5 element”, or an “n” element passive electronic low-pass filter.

15. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 14 , wherein the passive electronic device is optimized for use at MRI frequencies.

16. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , wherein the active electrode plate and the shield plates are at least partially disposed within a hybrid flat-through substrate comprising a rigid section having at least one passive electronic component conductively coupled to the active electrode plate, wherein the passive electronic component comprises an RFID chip, a capacitor, an inductor, a bandstop filter, an L-C trap filter, a diode, or a diode array.

17. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , wherein the active electrode plate is a component of an L-C trap filter.

18. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , wherein the active electrode plate is a component of a bandstop filter.

19. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , wherein the active electrode plate is a component of an L-C trap filter, a bandstop filter and a feedthrough capacitor conductively coupled to one another.

20. The shielded three-terminal flat-through EMI/energy dissipating filter of claim 1 , wherein the active electrode plate is conductively connected to a passive or active electronic component mounted on a surface of, or embedded within, a substrate.