On the longevity and inherent hermeticity of silicon-ICs: evaluation of bare-die and PDMS-coated ICs after accelerated aging and implantation studies.

ABSTRACT: Silicon integrated circuits (ICs) are central to the next-generation miniature active neural implants, whether packaged in soft polymers for flexible bioelectronics or implanted as bare die for neural probes. These emerging applications bring the IC closer to the corrosive body environment, raising reliability concerns, particularly for chronic use. Here, we evaluate the inherent hermeticity of bare die ICs, and examine the potential of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a moisture-permeable elastomer, as a standalone encapsulation material. For this aim, the electrical and material performance of ICs sourced from two foundries was evaluated through one-year accelerated in vitro and in vivo studies. ICs featured custom-designed test structures and were partially PDMS coated, creating two regions

SUBMITTER: Nanbakhsh K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11697292 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature