Title: Electrical feedthrough assembly for a sealed housing
Abstract: 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.
Patent Number: 6,989,493 Issued on 01/24/2006 to Hipwell, Jr., et al.
| Inventors:
|
Hipwell, Jr.; Roger L. (Eden Prairie, MN);
Gunderson; Neal F. (Lake Elmo, MN);
Boutaghou; Zine-Eddine (North Oaks, MN)
|
| Assignee:
|
Seagate Technology LLC (Scotts Valley, CA)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
792601 |
| Filed:
|
March 3, 2004 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
174/151; 174/261; 174/262; 174/263 |
| Current Intern'l Class: |
H01B 17/26 (20060101); H05K 1/16 (20060101) |
| Field of Search: |
174/151,251,256,259,261,262,263,265
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
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| 6135782 | Oct., 2000 | Cox.
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| 6803527 | Oct., 2004 | Dishongh et al.
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| 6803658 | Oct., 2004 | Suzuki.
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| 6828514 | Dec., 2004 | Chan et al.
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| 6849805 | Feb., 2005 | Honda et al.
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| 6875930 | Apr., 2005 | Peterson.
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| 2002/0167792 | Nov., 2002 | Osterhout.
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| 2003/0016468 | Jan., 2003 | Hayakawa.
| |
Primary Examiner: Reichard; Dean A.
Assistant Examiner: Nino; Adolfo
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Fellers, Snider, et al.
Claims
What is claimed is:
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.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The claimed invention relates generally to the field of mechanical enclosures
and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to an electrical feedthrough
assembly for a sealed housing, such as used in a data storage device.
BACKGROUND
Disc drives are digital data storage devices which store and retrieve large
amounts of user data in a fast and efficient manner. The data are magnetically
recorded on the surfaces of one or more data storage discs (media) affixed to a
spindle motor for rotation at a constant high speed.
An array of vertically aligned data transducing heads are controllably positioned
by an actuator to read data from and write data to tracks defined on the recording
surfaces. An actuator motor rotates the actuator to move the heads across the disc
surfaces. The heads are configured to be hydrodynamically supported adjacent the
disc surfaces by fluidic pressures established by the high speed rotation of the discs.
It is generally desirable to control the interior fluidic environment within a
data storage device housing. Seals are often employed to prevent the ingress of
contaminants from the external environment. Moreover, some device designers have
proposed hermetically sealed designs that utilize a lower density atmosphere, such
as an inert gas (helium, etc.), to allow the device achieve higher levels of operational performance.
Disc drive designers are constrained by a number of factors, including continually
reduced form factors and internal clearance issues, to provide effective internal
fluidic control. With the continued demand for higher performance data storage
devices, there remains a continual need for improved housing configurations, and
it is these and other improvements that the claimed invention is generally directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As embodied herein and as claimed below, the present invention is generally directed
to an electrical feedthrough assembly which establishes an electrical connection
path through an aperture in a side wall of a housing, a housing incorporating the
feedthrough assembly, and a method of fabricating the feedthrough assembly.
In accordance with preferred embodiments, the feedthrough assembly comprises a
plate having opposing sides and a thickness therebetween. At least one electrical
contact extends through the thickness of the plate to establish the electrical
connection path. An optional heating member preferably extends 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 sealing material preferably comprises one or more rings of solder or thermoset
adhesive. Preferably, the sealing material comprises a plurality of adjacent, closed
concentric rings which establish a substantially hermetic seal.
The heating member preferably comprises an embedded electrical conductor which
circumferentially extends adjacent a peripheral edge of the plate. The heating
member generates the aforementioned heat by application of current to the conductor.
In accordance with further preferred embodiments, the feedthrough assembly is
fabricated using a method comprising steps of providing a planar substrate and
forming the at least one electrical contact through a thickness of the substrate
using a microfabrication process.
Preferably, the substrate comprises silicon which is insulated from conductive
traces and contacts with a material such as silicon dioxide or silicon nitride.
Choice of substrates and materials allows for utilization of microfabrication processes
(such as photolithography, wet and dry chemical etching, chemical vapor deposition,
electroplating, sputtering, ion milling, etc.) that are employed n MEMS (Micro-ElectroMechancial
Systems) and microelectronics fabrication.
Such a fabrication method is further preferably implemented into a batch fabrication
method in which multiple plates are manufactured as part of a large panel and later
separated for individual use. Such a batch fabrication method combines the precision
and control of microfabrication with a lower-cost manufacturing method compared
with conventional machining.
In further preferred embodiments, a sealed housing is provided comprising a planar
housing member having an aperture in combination with the aforedescribed feedthrough assembly.
These and various other features and advantages which characterize the claimed
invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description
and upon reviewing the associated drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top plan representation of a data storage device having a hermetically
sealable housing and an electrical feedthrough assembly to facilitate electrical
connections through a housing wall.
FIG. 2 provides a cross-sectional, side elevational representation of the housing
of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 provides a plan view of the electrical feedthrough assembly in accordance
with a preferred embodiment.
FIG. 4 illustrates the feedthrough assembly upon attachment of the assembly
to a base deck of the data storage device housing, the feedthrough assembly spanning
and sealing an aperture in the base deck.
FIG. 5 is a side elevational representation (not to scale) of the feedthrough
assembly and base deck of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 shows a portion of the feedthrough and base deck of FIG. 4 in greater
detail to illustrate a preferred attachment methodology.
FIG. 7 is a flow chart for a FEEDTHROUGH ASSEMBLY FABRICATION routine, illustrative
of steps carried out in accordance with preferred embodiments to fabricate the
feedthrough assembly.
FIG. 8 provides a sequence of fabrication steps corresponding to the flow chart
of FIG. 7.
FIG. 9 is a schematic depiction of a panel of substrates from which a plurality
of the feedthrough assemblies are preferably formed during a batch fabrication
process utilized during the routine of FIG. 7.
FIG. 10 is a flow chart for a FEEDTHROUGH ASSEMBLY INSTALLATION routine, illustrative
of steps carried out in accordance with preferred embodiments to install the feedthrough
assembly of FIGS. 7 and 8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 provides a top plan view of a data storage device constructed in accordance
with preferred embodiments of the present invention. The data storage device is
preferably characterized as a disc drive
100 of the type which magnetically
stores and retrieves digital data from and to a host computer device.
The disc drive
100 includes an enclosed housing
101 which defines
an internal environment for the drive. The housing
101 is preferably characterized
as a clamshell-type housing formed by a pair of substantially planar housing members
including a base deck
102 and a top cover
104 (shown in partial cut-away).
The housing
101 is configured to establish a hermetic seal against the
exterior environment outside the device
100. Preferably, the housing
101
is supplied with an inert fluidic atmosphere (e.g., helium) at a selected atmospheric
pressure, such as standard atmospheric pressure, or a pressure above or below standard
atmospheric pressure. The inert fluidic atmosphere advantageously reduces windage
effects on the actuator
110 and permits the use of lower fly heights for
the heads
112 due to smaller molecules in the air bearing. This improves
the mechanical performance of the device
100 and allows for higher areal
data storage densities on the discs
108.
The housing
101 supports a spindle motor
106 which rotates a number
of data storage discs
108 at a constant high speed. A rotary actuator
110
supports an associated number of data transducing heads
112, with one head
per disc recording surface. The actuator
110 is rotated by an actuator motor
114, preferably characterized as a voice coil motor, VCM.
A flex circuit assembly
116 provides electrical communication paths between
the actuator
110 and a printed circuit board (PCB, not shown in FIG. 1).
The PCB is mounted to an exterior surface of the base deck
102 and supports
communication and control electronics for the device
100.
As further shown in FIG. 2, a compressive metal gasket seal
118 extends
adjacent the periphery of the housing
101. An essentially non-compressive
seal retention ring
120 surrounds the seal
118 and is interposed
between the base deck
102 and top cover
104. A plurality of fasteners
122 are used to secure the base deck
102, top cover
104 and
ring
120 together to complete the housing
101. The seal
118
preferably has a hexagonal, or "double-diamond" cross-sectional shape, although
other configurations such as a c-shape could be used as desired. The ring
120
includes a number of precisely sized bosses (one denoted at
124 in FIG.
1) to limit compression of the seal
118 when the fasteners
122 are installed.
FIG. 3 provides a plan view of a feedthrough assembly
130, constructed
in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention. The feedthrough
assembly
130 provides electrical connection paths through the housing
101
to enable communication between the interior of the housing
101 and the
exterior environment.
The feedthrough assembly
130 includes a rigid, low permeability plate
132 which supports a number of solid electrical contacts (posts)
134
which extend through the thickness of the plate
132. The feedthrough assembly
130 of FIG. 3 includes a total of 22 such contacts
134 which are
used for connection between the flex circuit assembly
116 and the PCB. It
will be understood, however, that other arrangements can be used as required for
a given application, including arrangements that connect the spindle motor
106
to the PCB. Moreover, for designs that encapsulate all of the electronics within
the housing
101, the feedthrough assembly could be used to establish all
the requisite communication paths with an external host device.
FIG. 4 illustrates the feedthrough assembly
130 in conjunction with a
portion of the base deck
102. The feedthrough assembly
130 spans
and seals an aperture
136 formed in the base deck
102, thereby allowing
access to the contacts
134 from the interior of the housing
101 to
provide electrical connection paths between the interior and exterior environments.
FIG. 5 provides an exemplary configuration for the device
100 in which
a flex circuit connector
138 provides a number of spring contacts
140
that compressingly engage the top, or proximal ends of the contacts
134.
The aforementioned PCB (denoted at
142) is also illustrated in FIG. 5 and
likewise includes solder pads (not designated) that engage the bottom, or distal
ends of the contacts
134. Any number of different engagement configurations
can be used with the contacts
134, as desired.
Returning to FIG. 3, the feedthrough assembly
130 further preferably
includes a heating member
144 comprising a circumferentially extending conductor
146 embedded in thin-film, flexible, dielectric layer
148 of the
plate
132. A particularly suitable material for the dielectric layer
148
is KAPTON® polyimide film commercially available from E. I. du Pont de Nemours
and Company Corporation, Circleville, Ohio, USA.
The conductor
146 preferably comprises an elongated, embedded electrical
trace that makes a plurality of adjacent u-shaped turns ("double-backs") as the
conductor
146 weaves around each half of the plate
132 in turn. Other
circumferentially extending routings of the conductor
146 can readily be
employed, including configurations in which the turns are placed at different locations
around the peripheral extent of the plate.
The conductor
146 terminates on opposing ends with a pair of heating contacts
150, which preferably have substantially the same construction as the contacts
134. In this way, current can be applied to the conductor
146 from
the underside of the feedthrough assembly
130 during installation onto the
base deck
102. The current results in the generation of heat within the
heating member
144 as a result of I
2R losses due to the impedance
of the conductor
146.
While the inclusion of the integrated heating member
144 is optional,
the disclosed structure is suited for standard microfabrication techniques and
therefore allows for easy integration of such sealing components into the fabrication process.
The feedthrough assembly
130 further preferably includes a number of closely
spaced, concentrically disposed rings of sealing material that are overlaid onto
the conductor
146. Alternatively, the sealing material can be initially
provisioned onto the base deck, and grooves (not shown) can be used to locate and
secure the sealing material prior to attachment of the feedthrough assembly
130
to the base deck.
The sealing material preferably comprises solder, but can alternatively comprise
other heat activated, low permeability fusing materials such as certain types of
thermoset adhesives. Four concentric rings
154 of the sealing material are
represented in the simplified diagram of in FIG. 6, although other numbers of the
sealing material could readily be used as desired. While a single ring of the sealing
material could provide sufficient sealing, it will be noted that the use of multiple
concentric rings increases the diffusion path from the interior of the housing
101 to the exterior environment, and thus enhances the ability to achieve
and maintain a hermetic seal between the feedthrough assembly
130 and the
base deck
102.
FIG. 7 provides a flow chart for a FEEDTHROUGH ASSEMBLY FABRICATION routine
160, illustrative of preferred steps carried out to fabricate the feedthrough
assembly
130. It will be recognized that numerous variations can be employed
as desired, and so FIG. 7 is not intended to be limiting. FIG. 8 provides a fabrication
sequence that generally corresponds to the flow of FIG. 7.
Preferably, FIGS. 7 and 8 are carried out using one or more microfabrication
processes such as photolithography, wet and dry chemical etching, chemical vapor
deposition, electroplating, sputtering, ion milling, etc. that are common in MEMS
(Micro-ElectroMechancial Systems) and microelectronics fabrication.
The flow of FIG. 7 begins at step
162 with the provision of a substrate
164 with microfabricated apertures
166. This is illustrated in FIG.
8, part (A). Preferably, the substrate
164 comprises a low-permeability
material such as single-crystal silicon. The apertures
166 are formed in
the substrate
164 at the desired locations for the signal transfer contacts
134 and the heating contacts
150. The apertures
166 are preferably
formed using photolithography combined with deep trench reactive ion etching (DRIE),
or other suitable process. This allows for precise, high density and flexible designs
and the use of batch fabrication to reduce manufacturing costs.
At step
168 in FIG. 7, insulating film
170 is formed on the substrate
164 and the sidewalls of the apertures
166. This is illustrated in
FIG. 8, part (B). The insulating film
170 preferably comprises silicon dioxide
or other conformal insulator material which is deposited (using a method such as
chemical vapor deposition) or grown (such as by thermal oxidation of the silicon
substrate
164). The film
170 serves to electrically insulate metal
vias and traces (discussed below) from the substrate
164 and hence, from
each other.
A metal backfill operation is next preferably performed at step
172 in
FIG.
7 to form vias
174 in the apertures
166, as shown in FIG. 8, part
(C). During this step, a suitable conductive material such as copper preferably
fills the apertures
166, coats the adjoining annular areas surrounding the
apertures
166 and extends upwardly and downwardly beyond the insulative
film
170 a selected distance, as shown.
At step
176 in FIG. 7, deposited metal is patterned to form the desired
conductor
146 and other elements of the heating member
144, preferably
using one or more microfabrication processes including photolithography, wet and
dry chemical etching, chemical vapor deposition, electroplating, sputtering and
ion milling. See FIG. 8, part (D). The aforementioned dielectric layer
148
is preferably applied at this time to encapsulate these features, as shown in FIG. 8.
Finally, the sealing material
154 is applied at step
178 in
FIG. 7 (see FIG. 8, part (E)). A second metal deposition operation can also be
performed on the opposing ends of the vias
174 to provide thin layers of
conductive material
180, such as gold, to complete the contacts
132.
The process then ends at
182.
An advantage of the routine of FIG. 7 is that a batch fabrication process can
be employed in which multiple substrates
164 are initially joined together
in a larger panel
184, as depicted in FIG. 9. This facilitates the concurrent
manufacture of a population of the feedthrough assemblies
130 in accordance
with the flow of FIG. 7, and then the separation of the feedthrough assemblies
130 for individual use. Such a batch fabrication method combines the precision
and control of microfabrication with a lower-cost manufacturing method compared
with conventional machining.
FIG. 10 provides a flow chart for a FEEDTHROUGH ASSEMBLY INSTALLATION routine
200 to summarize preferred steps used to install the completed feedthrough
assembly
130 onto the base deck
102.
At step
202, the feedthrough assembly
130 and base deck
102
are initially provided, the base deck
102 having the aforementioned feedthrough
aperture
136 sized appropriately for the dimensions of the feedthrough assembly.
At step
204, the feedthrough assembly
130 is brought into alignment
with the base deck
102 so as to span and surround the aperture
136.
Appropriate fixturing (not shown) is preferably used to temporarily secure these
respective members together.
Current is next applied to the heating member
144 at step
206.
Terminals from a power source (not shown) are brought into alignment with the heating
contacts
150 so that current flows along the conductor
146, thereby
heating and flowing the rings
154 of sealing material. The magnitude and
duration of the current will depend upon a number of factors and can be readily
ascertained empirically. The current is thereafter removed at step
208,
enabling the sealing material to harden in the final sealed configuration (as shown
in FIG. 6), and the process ends at step
210.
It will now be recognized that the present invention, as embodied herein and
as
claimed below, is generally directed to an electrical feedthrough assembly for
establishing an electrical connection path through an aperture in a side wall of
a housing, a housing incorporating such, and a method of fabrication thereof.
In accordance with preferred embodiments, the feedthrough assembly comprises a
plate (such as
132) having opposing sides and a thickness therebetween,
at least one electrical contact (such as
134) which extends through the
thickness of the plate to establish said electrical connection path, and a heating
member (such as
144) which extends along a circumference of the plate. The
plate is sized to span and surround the aperture (such as
136) so that,
upon generation of heat by the heating member, at least one ring (such as
154)
of sealing material adjacent the heating member flows to establish a seal between
the plate and the housing wall surrounding the aperture.
The sealing material preferably comprises one or more rings of solder or thermoset
adhesive. Preferably, the sealing material comprises a plurality of adjacent, closed
concentric rings which establish a substantially hermetic seal.
The heating member preferably comprises an embedded electrical conductor (such
as
146) which circumferentially extends adjacent a peripheral edge of the
plate. The heating member generates the aforementioned heat by application of current
to the conductor.
In accordance with further preferred embodiments, the feedthrough assembly is
preferably fabricated using a method (such as
160) comprising steps of providing
a planar substrate (such as
164) and forming the at least one electrical
contact through a thickness of the substrate using a microfabrication process.
Preferably, the substrate comprises silicon, and the at least one contact
extends through a microfabricated aperture formed by deep reactive ion etching.
Moreover, the providing and performing steps are preferably 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.
In further preferred embodiments, a sealed housing (such as
101) is provided
comprising a planar housing member (such as
102) having an aperture (such
as
136) 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. Consistent with the foregoing discussion, the first means will be
understood to correspond to the aforementioned feedthrough assembly
130.
It is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages
of various embodiments of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing
description, together with details of the structure and function of various embodiments
of the invention, this detailed description is illustrative only, and changes may
be made in detail, especially in matters of structure and arrangements of parts
within the principles of the present invention to the full extent indicated by
the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
For example, the particular elements may vary depending on the particular application
of the housing without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
In addition, although the embodiments described herein are directed to the hermetic
sealing of a data storage device housing, it will be appreciated by those skilled
in the art that the housing can be used for various other types of sealed enclosures
without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.
*
