Electrical feedthrough assembly for a sealed housing
An electrical feedthrough assembly for establishing an electrical connection path through an aperture in a side wall of a housing, and a method of fabrication thereof. The feedthrough assembly comprises a plate and at least one electrical contact which extends through the plate. Preferably, a heating member is further provided to extend along a circumference of the plate. The plate is sized to span and surround the aperture so that, upon generation of heat by the heating member, at least one ring of sealing material adjacent the heating member flows to establish a seal between the plate and the housing wall surrounding the aperture. The heat is preferably generated by applying current to the heating member. The feedthrough assembly is preferably fabricated using a microfabrication process. A batch fabrication operation is preferably employed so that a population of the plates are formed from a single panel and subsequently separated therefrom.
1. A feedthrough assembly for establishing an electrical connection path through an aperture in a housing wall, the feedthrough assembly comprising:
a plate having opposing sides and a thickness therebetween;
at least one electrical contact which extends through the thickness of the plate to establish said electrical connection path; and
a heating member which extends along a circumference of the plate, wherein the plate is sized to span and surround the aperture so that, upon generation of heat by the heating member, at least one ring of sealing material adjacent the heating member flows to establish a seal between the plate and the housing wall surrounding the aperture.
2. The electrical feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one ring of sealing material comprises a ring of solder.
3. The electrical feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one ring of sealing material comprises a ring of thermoset adhesive.
4. The electrical feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one ring of sealing material comprises a plurality of adjacent, closed concentric rings of the sealing material.
5. The electrical feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein the heating member comprises an embedded electrical conductor which circumferentially extends adjacent a peripheral edge of the plate.
6. The electrical feedthrough assembly of claim 5 , wherein the heating member generates said heat by application of current to the conductor.
7. The electrical feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , wherein the sealing material establishes a substantially hermetic seal.
8. The electrical feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , in combination with said housing.
9. The combination of claim 8 , wherein the housing comprises a housing of a data storage device which encloses a data recording medium.
10. The electrical feedthrough assembly of claim 1 , fabricated by steps comprising providing a planar substrate and forming the at least one electrical contact through a thickness of the substrate using a microfabrication process.
11. The electrical feedthrough assembly of claim 10 , wherein the substrate comprises silicon.
12. The electrical feedthrough assembly of claim 10 , wherein the at least one contact extends through a microfabricated aperture formed by deep reactive ion etching.
13. The electrical feedthrough assembly of claim 10 , wherein the providing and forming steps are carried out using a batch fabrication operation so that a population of the substrates are affixed together in a panel, and wherein the method further comprises subsequently separating the substrates from said panel.
14. A sealed housing, comprising:
a planar housing member having an aperture; and
first means for spanning and sealing the aperture to provide an electrical connection path between an interior of the housing and an exterior environment, said first means comprising second means for generating heat to seal said aperture.
15. The sealed housing of claim 14 , wherein the first means comprises a feedthrough assembly including a plate having opposing sides and a thickness therebetween, at least one electrical contact which extends through the thickness of the plate to establish said electrical connection path, and a heating member which extends along a circumference of the plate, wherein the plate is sized to span and surround the aperture so that, upon generation of heat by the heating member, at least one ring of sealing material adjacent the heating member flows to establish a seal between the plate and the housing wall surrounding the aperture.
16. The sealed housing of claim 15 , wherein the at least one ring of sealing material comprises a ring of solder.
17. The sealed housing of claim 15 , wherein the heating member comprises an embedded electrical conductor which circumferentially extends adjacent a peripheral edge of the plate, and wherein the heating member generates said heat by application of current to the conductor.
18. The sealed housing of claim 15 , wherein the sealing material establishes a substantially hermetic seal.
19. The sealed housing of claim 14 , wherein the housing comprises a housing of a data storage device which encloses a data recording medium.
20. An apparatus comprising a housing wall through which an aperture extends, a feedthrough plate adjacent the aperture, a ring of sealing material adjacent the plate, and a heating member adjacent said sealing material which generates heat to cause said sealing material to flow and thereby establish a seal between the plate and the housing wall.
21. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the ring of sealing material comprises a ring of solder.
22. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the ring of sealing material comprises a ring of thermoset adhesive.
23. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the ring of sealing material is characterized as a first ring, and wherein the apparatus comprises a second ring of sealing material adjacent the first ring.
24. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the heating member comprises an embedded electrical conductor which circumferentially extends adjacent a peripheral edge of the plate.
25. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the heating member generates said heat by application of current to the conductor.
26. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the sealing material establishes a substantially hermetic seal.
27. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the plate is fabricated by steps comprising providing a planar substrate and forming at least one electrical contact through a thickness of the substrate using a microfabrication process.