Packaging options for MEMS devices

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices can be delicate structures sensitive to damage from handling or environmental influences. Their functionality may furthermore depend on sealing out the environment or being in direct contact with it. Stress, thermal load, and contaminants may change their characteristics. Here, packaging technology is challenged to extend from microelectronics toward MEMS and optoelectronic MEMS (MOEMS). Today's approaches rely on modified single-chip packages derived from the microelectronics industry, wafer-level capping to enable the device to be packaged like an integrated circuit, or highly specialized packages designed to complement the function of the MEMS device itself. Selecting the proper packaging method may tip the scale toward a product success or a product failure. Choosing the right technology therefore, is a crucial part of the product design.