Integrated Devices for Micro-Package Integrity Monitoring in mm-Scale Neural Implants

Recent developments in the design of active implantable devices have achieved significant advances, for example, an increased number of recording channels, but too often practical clinical applications are restricted by device longevity. It is important however to complement efforts for increased functionality with translational work to develop implant technologies that are safe and reliable to be hosted inside the human body over long periods of time. This paper first examines techniques currently used to evaluate micro-package hermeticity and key challenges, highlighting the need for new, in situ instrumentation that can monitor the encapsulation status over time. Two novel circuits are then proposed to tackle the specific issue of moisture penetration inside a sub-mm, silicon-based package. They both share the use of metal tracks on the different layers of the CMOS stack to measure changes in impedance caused by moisture present in leak cracks or diffused into the oxide layers.