The electronics industry in Europe and the US is highly specialized, innovative, and thus very successful. In fields like telecommunications, sensors, medical technology and defense, there are a lot of suppliers who have achieved a global leadership position in their niches and are experiencing strong growth. In order to be able to support these companies even more effectively already during the development phase, SCHOTT Electronic Packaging has decided to bundle its competencies.
“We have been developing and manufacturing hermetic seals for sensitive electronic and opto-electronic components since 1941,” says Andreas Becker, Managing Director of SCHOTT Electronic Packaging GmbH in Landshut and head of the “Opto-electronics and Defense” product division at SCHOTT Electronic Packaging. “In addition to glass, multilayer ceramics are being used more and more often. We are the only vendor in Europe that can supply all of the housing technologies directly, from a single source.
All types of housing technologies from a single supplier
SCHOTT has more than 10 years of experience in the area of High Temperature Cofired Ceramics (HTCC). Manufacturing of these products has now been transferred from Japan to Landshut in order better serve its customers within Europe as well as the US. In addition, SCHOTT is also expanding its range to include Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics (LTCC). Here, an agreement on long-term cooperation was reached with VIA electronic GmbH, a company based in Hermsdorf, near Jena.
“We are proud of our reputation as an extremely agile and knowledgeable development partner who has a lot of expertise in the area of microsystems technology,” says Franz Bechtold, Managing Director of VIA electronic. “Our relationship with SCHOTT now ensures us access to a global sales network and industrial manufacturing capacities. This will enable us to accompany our customers much more effectively on everything from prototypes to serial production,” he adds.
Protection for complex systems in the smallest of spaces
Hermetic housings are needed in order to provide long-term protection against undesirable influences, like moisture, for electronic and opto-electronic components. Metallic conductor rods are melted into housings with the help of glass (glass-to-metal seals, GTMS) in order to produce these types of gas-tight packages. With multilayer ceramics, the feedthrough is integrated into the package of layers and soldered into metallic parts (ceramic-to-metal seals, CerTMS®). In addition, optical interfaces, for instance lenses and windows, and special materials that allow for the heat to dissipate can also be integrated.
Housings that feature glass-to-metal seals offer permanent hermetic protection and are insensitive to vibrations, corrosive substances and temperature fluctuations. The same is true for both full ceramic and ceramic-to-metal housings. Their strength lies in the significantly higher number of conductors that can be connected together in a complex manner inside the smallest possible spaces. These are indispensable when it comes to miniaturizing electronic and opto-electronic components and putting them to use inside the high-frequency range.
