Hermetically Gastight Optoelectronic or Electro-Optical Component and Method for Producing the Same

Abstract

A method for producing a hermetically gastight optoelectronic or electro-optical component with great robustness to heat and moisture is described. A housing cap is connected to a carrier in a hermetically gastight manner. Orifices in the housing cap are closed in a hermetically gastight manner by a window element. An electronic component with a housing has a housing cap, a carrier as base plate of the housing, and an interior space enclosed by the housing cap and the carrier. An optoelectronic or electro-optical converter element is arranged in the interior space. The housing cap is closed in a hermetically gastight manner by the carrier through a bonding connection of fused metal. The orifice is connected to the housing cap in a hermetically gastight manner by a window element along an edge metallization of the window element by a circumferential first seam of a fused metallic material.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A housing cap of an electronic component comprising:
 an opening at a bottom surface of the housing cap for receiving a base plate for carrying an electronic converter element;   at least one orifice provided in a wall of the housing cap, the at least one orifice being provided for passing light through the orifice in the wall;   at least one window element of a predetermined transparency having a shape and a size adapted to the at least one orifice of the housing cap and having an edge area with an edge metallization as a contact surface for closing the housing cap in a hermetically gastight manner by a circumferential seam of transiently fused metallic material around the at least one orifice and the edge metallization along the edge area of the at least one window element; wherein:   the edge metallization of the at least one window element is made as a layer sequence of at least two layers, wherein the edge area of the window element is coated with a first layer of chromium or titanium and a second layer comprising one of iron-nickel, platinum or palladium, said second layer being deposited on top of the first layer.   
     
     
         2 . The housing cap according to  claim 1 , wherein the window element is a plate of transparent material selected from the group consisting of sapphire (Al2O3), magnesium fluoride (MgF2), magnesium oxide (MgO), lithium fluoride (LiF), calcium fluoride (CaF2), barium fluoride (BaF2), silicon (Si), silicon dioxide (SiO2), germanium (Ge), zinc selenide (ZnSe), zinc sulfide (ZnS), cadmium telluride (CdTe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), titanium dioxide (TiO2), Y-partially stabilized zirconia (ZrO2), a mixture of thallium bromide and thallium iodide (KRS 5; Tl(Br—I)), flint glass, fused silica, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The housing cap according to  claim 1 , wherein the edge metallization of the window element further comprises a third layer of gold or nickel as a protective or wetting layer. 
     
     
         4 . The housing cap according to  claim 1 , wherein the edge metallization of the window element is produced by a vapor deposition process or by an electrochemical process. 
     
     
         5 . An electronic component comprising:
 a carrier for at least one optoelectronic or electro-optical converter element, the carrier also serving as a base plate of a housing;   a housing cap having an opening at a bottom surface and being placed on the carrier to form an interior space for the at least one converter element on the carrier, the housing cap being closed in a hermetically gastight manner by the carrier through a bonding connection of a fused metallic material;   at least one orifice being provided in the housing cap for passing through desired radiation through the at least one orifice in the housing cap along a desired beam path oriented substantially orthogonally to the carrier and having an axis that substantially centrally penetrates the at least one orifice and the at least one converter element;   at least one window element transparent to the radiation, the at least one window element having a shape and a size adapted to the at least one orifice of the housing cap and having an edge area with an edge metallization as a contact surface for closing the orifice of housing cap by a transiently fused metallic material;   the edge metallization at the edge area of the at least one window element comprising a layer sequence of at least two layers, wherein the edge area of the window element is coated with a first layer of chromium or titanium and a second layer comprising one of iron-nickel, platinum or palladium, said second layer being deposited on top of the first layer; and   the transiently fused metallic material is provided as a circumferentially closed seam for closing the at least one orifice by the at least one window element along said edge metallization of the window element in a hermetically gastight manner.   
     
     
         6 . The housing cap according to  claim 5 , wherein the window element is a plate of transparent material selected from the group consisting of sapphire (Al2O3), magnesium fluoride (MgF2), magnesium oxide (MgO), lithium fluoride (LiF), calcium fluoride (CaF2), barium fluoride (BaF2), silicon (Si), silicon dioxide (SiO2), germanium (Ge), zinc selenide (ZnSe), zinc sulfide (ZnS), cadmium telluride (CdTe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), titanium dioxide (TiO2), Y-partially stabilized zirconia (ZrO2), a mixture of thallium bromide and thallium iodide (KRS 5; Tl(Br—I)), flint glass, fused silica, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The electronic component according to  claim 5 , wherein the edge metallization of the window element further comprises a third layer of gold or nickel as a protective or wetting layer. 
     
     
         8 . The electronic component according to  claim 5 , wherein the edge metallization of the window element being produced by a vapor deposition process or by an electrochemical process. 
     
     
         9 . The electronic component according to  claim 5 , wherein the interior space is either filled with a gas or a gas mixture or is evacuated before producing the hermetically gastight connection between the housing cap and the carrier. 
     
     
         10 . The electronic component according to  claim 5 , wherein the at least one converter element is an optoelectronic receiver, and wherein the electronic component is a sensor. 
     
     
         11 . The electronic component according to  claim 10 , further comprising at least one optical filter associated with the at least one orifice along the beam path. 
     
     
         12 . The electronic component according to  claim 10 , further comprising an additional orifice for passing the desired radiation along an additional beam path toward an additional optoelectronic receiver, the additional orifice being associated in a hermetically gastight manner with the at least one window element 
     
     
         13 . The electronic component according to  claim 12 , wherein the beam path and the additional beam path correspond to at least one measurement beam path and at least one reference beam path. 
     
     
         14 . The electronic component according to  claim 11 , further comprising an intermediate space between the at least one optical filter and the at least one window element. 
     
     
         15 . The electronic component according to  claim 14 , wherein the interior space of the housing and the intermediate space are connected by at least one channel for gas exchange and pressure equalization. 
     
     
         16 . The electronic component according to  claim 5 , wherein the converter element is an electro-optical radiation source, and wherein an inner reflector is disposed in a rotationally symmetrical manner along a portion of the beam path so that the electronic component serves as an emitter unit for emitting a directed bundle of the desired radiation. 
     
     
         17 . The electronic component according to  claim 5 , wherein the converter element is an electro-optical radiation source, and wherein an outer reflector is disposed on the housing cap over the orifice so that the electronic component comprises the outer reflector and serves as an emitter unit for emitting a directed bundle of the desired radiation. 
     
     
         18 . An electronic component according to  claim 5 , wherein the at least one converter element further comprises at least a first converter element in form of an optoelectronic receiver and at least a second converter element in form of an electro-optical radiation source, wherein the first and the second converter elements are positioned opposite to one another along a common optical axis at a measuring path, the measuring path corresponding to a distance defined by a measuring cell housing. 
     
     
         19 . The electronic component according to  claim 18 , wherein the measuring cell housing is a tubular formation comprising through-holes for passing of a gas. 
     
     
         20 . The electronic component according to  claim 5 , wherein the at least one converter element further comprises a first converter element in a form of an optoelectronic receiver and a second converter element in a form of an electro-optical radiation source, wherein the first and the second converter elements are arranged next to one another and positioned along a common optical axis deflected at least once by at least one mirror unit disposed in a measuring cell housing opposite the first and second converter elements. 
     
     
         21 . The electronic component according to  claim 20 , wherein the measuring cell housing is a tubular formation comprising through-holes for passing of a gas.