Method for producing a hermetic housing for an electronic device

Abstract

A method produces a housing with at least one hermetically sealed receiving space for an electronic component, the receiving space including at least a part of the interior of the housing. In the method, a hollow body made of glass and having at least one opening is produced/provided, at least one electronic device is introduced through the at least one opening, and the receiving space is hermetically sealed by melting the housing, or the at least one opening is sealed by laser radiation. A device has an at least partially hermetically sealed housing made of silicon, particularly a housing produced according to the above-mentioned method.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . Method for the production of a housing having at least one hermetically sealed accommodation space for an electronic device, comprising at least a part of an interior of the housing, comprising the steps:
 producing/making available a hollow body made of glass, having at least one opening,   introducing, positioning and/or fixing in place at least one electronic device through the at least one opening,   closing off and welding the at least one opening by means of laser radiation, wherein a tubular base body is severed by means of melting it, for production of the housing, wherein the melted material closes off the resulting ends, and wherein the inside and outside of the housing have a differently great pressure force exerted on them in the region of the severing location, during the severing process and/or closing process of the tubular housing.   
     
     
         2 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein a heat insulator or a heat protection layer is disposed between the device and the melting region or welding region. 
     
     
         3 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein a partition wall is inserted into the interior and welded to the housing, and the two accommodation spaces are hermetically separated from one another. 
     
     
         4 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein an electronic device and/or an energy source is/are disposed in a first hermetically sealed accommodation space. 
     
     
         5 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the elements mentioned below, such as an electronic device, analysis apparatus, readings recorder is disposed in an accommodation space adjacent to the first hermetically sealed accommodation space. 
     
     
         6 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein openings are disposed in the partition wall between the first hermetic accommodation space and the second hermetic accommodation space ( 20 ), which openings can be hermetically sealed by means of light guides, electric lines or conductive contact masses. 
     
     
         7 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein a camera is introduced into the cavity. 
     
     
         8 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein a wireless module and/or a transponder is/are introduced into the cavity. 
     
     
         9 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein a mass moved by a motor is introduced into the cavity. 
     
     
         10 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein a repulsion drive having a passage opening in the housing is introduced into the accommodation space. 
     
     
         11 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein a tritium gas light source is disposed in the accommodation space. 
     
     
         12 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein multiple electronic devices are introduced, positioned and/or fixed in place in the tubular housing, at a distance from one another in the longitudinal direction, one after the other, through the at least one opening, whereupon the housing is heated by means of laser radiation, by emission of nanosecond and/or picosecond energy pulses and/or with continuous introduction of energy in the intermediate region between the electronic devices, and the tubular housing is closed off with a face wall, by means of differently great forces exerted on the inside and outside of the housing in the region of the severing location, in the longitudinal direction of the housing, on both sides of the intermediate region. 
     
     
         13 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one end of the tubular base body is melted/welded for the production of the housing. 
     
     
         14 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein a face wall of the housing is heated by heating the end region of the center part by means of a laser, by emission of nanosecond and/or picosecond energy pulses, and a face wall is formed by the differently great forces exerted on the inside and outside of the housing in the region of the severing location, in the longitudinal direction of the housing. 
     
     
         15 . Method according to  claim 14 , wherein differently great forces are exerted on the inside and outside of the housing in the region of the severing location, in the longitudinal direction of the housing, during the severing process and/or closing process of the tubular housing. 
     
     
         16 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing is configured as a block. 
     
     
         17 . Method according to  claim 1 , comprising:
 making at least one depression in at least one housing part of a housing,   producing at least one accommodation space by means of joining the housing parts together, wherein at least one opening, particularly at least two openings, remains/remain open into the accommodation space from the outside,   introducing an electronic device into the at least one accommodation space through the at least one opening, and   closing off and welding the at least one opening by means of laser radiation.   
     
     
         18 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein micro-bores that are gas-permeable and liquid-impermeable are disposed in the housing. 
     
     
         19 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing with the electronic device is introduced into a further hermetic glass housing, in which micro-bores that are gas-permeable and liquid-impermeable are disposed. 
     
     
         20 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein bores for passing through metallic wires and/or light-guide fibers are disposed in the housing. 
     
     
         21 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer surface of the housing is coated with a gel and/or a flavor carrier. 
     
     
         22 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer surface of the housing is roughened and/or provided with reactive substances/structures that promote growth of human/animal/plant tissue on it. 
     
     
         23 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein the emission of energy of the laser pulses is controlled with a control apparatus, in such a manner that the temperature in the interior of the housing is kept below a value of 200° C. in a region that is at a distance of equal to or greater than 2 mm from the weld seam or from the location of action of the laser beams. 
     
     
         24 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein during application of the heat energy by means of the laser radiation, the regions adjacent to the weld seam are cooled. 
     
     
         25 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein the laser radiation is formed by means of nanosecond and/or picosecond pulses and/or with the continuous introduction of energy. 
     
     
         26 . Method according to  claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the housing or of the cover layer is produced to be diffuse. 
     
     
         27 . Apparatus having a housing that is hermetically sealed, at least in part, composed of silicon, according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing is produced in one piece from a single basic material. 
     
     
         28 . Apparatus having a housing that is hermetically sealed, at least in part, composed of silicon, according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises multiple housing parts and is at least produced from a single basic material. 
     
     
         29 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing parts are formed from different materials that have essentially the same physical and chemical properties. 
     
     
         30 . Apparatus according to  claim 29 , wherein at least one of the face walls is configured to be concave or planar. 
     
     
         31 . Apparatus according to  claim 29 , wherein at least one of the face walls is configured to be convex. 
     
     
         32 . Apparatus according to  claim 29 , wherein the face walls are configured with a cone that extends in the direction facing away from the center part or as a spherical dome or spherical dome section. 
     
     
         33 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing is formed from a cylindrical center part and two face walls disposed in the face sides of the same. 
     
     
         34 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein a heat insulation apparatus is disposed between the electronic device and at least one of the two face walls. 
     
     
         35 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein an interior of the housing is divided into two partial spaces by a partition wall ( 18 ). 
     
     
         36 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing has at least one opening that extends from the outside in at least one of the two partial spaces, which opening is air-permeable and/or liquid-permeable. 
     
     
         37 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein both partial spaces are hermetically sealed. 
     
     
         38 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the partial space is configured to be gas-tight, particularly tritium-gas-tight. 
     
     
         39 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the partial space is configured to be water-vapor-tight with a water vapor permeability s d  greater than 2,500 m. 
     
     
         40 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein an analysis and/or evaluation unit is disposed in at least one of the two partial spaces. 
     
     
         41 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the analysis and evaluation unit is configured for analysis and evaluation of bodily fluids and/or tissue samples. 
     
     
         42 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one light source, such as an LED, a tritium gas light source or a luminescent material with afterglow properties is disposed in the housing. 
     
     
         43 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein an image recording device, for example an image recognition chip, is disposed in the housing. 
     
     
         44 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the following components in the housing, such as a light source, image recognition apparatus, image recording apparatus, electronic device, analysis, memory and evaluation unit is connected with a transmitter for wireless transmission of data. 
     
     
         45 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the following components in the housing, such as a light source, image recognition apparatus, image recording apparatus, electronic device, analysis and evaluation unit is connected with an energy source. 
     
     
         46 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the energy source is connected with an energy converter to which energy can be applied in contact-free manner. 
     
     
         47 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the face walls are formed by means of supplying laser energy, particularly with nanosecond or picosecond pulses and/or with continuous introduction of energy. 
     
     
         48 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the dew point of the water vapor in the air in the housing, at least in its hermetically sealed partial space, amounts to 0° C., preferably to between −10° C. and −30° C. 
     
     
         49 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein a wall thickness of the housing, at least in the center region, amounts to between 0.05 to 5 mm. 
     
     
         50 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein at least part of the housing or of the cover layer is configured to be diffuse or opaque. 
     
     
         51 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the diffuse or opaque parts of the housing or of the cover layer are disposed adjacent to the melting regions or welding regions. 
     
     
         52 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the housing or of the cover layer is provided with a functional coating, for example a film. 
     
     
         53 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the functional coating, for example the film, is configured to be diffuse or opaque. 
     
     
         54 . Apparatus according  claim 1 , wherein the two housing parts are spaced apart from one another with support elements that are distributed over the accommodation space and oriented perpendicular to the base surfaces of the accommodation space. 
     
     
         55 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the support elements are connected with at least one of the two housing parts. 
     
     
         56 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing is configured as a block or flat piece. 
     
     
         57 . Apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the block or flat piece is formed by two essentially plate-shaped housing parts having a polygonal or elliptical or circular base surface, and the sum of the heights (h) of the two housing parts that are perpendicular to the base surface is less than the shorter side length (s) or a minimal diameter (d) or radius of the same.