Integrated circuit comprising an auxiliary component, for example a passive component or a microelectromechanical system, placed above an electronic chip, and the corresponding fabrication process
The fabrication of an integrated circuit includes a first phase of producing an electronic chip and a second phase of producing at least one auxiliary component placed above the chip and of producing a protective cover which covers the auxiliary component. The first phase of producing the chip is effected from a first semiconductor substrate and comprises the formation of a cavity lying in a chosen region of the chip and emerging at the upper surface of the chip. The second production phase includes the production of the auxiliary component from a second semiconductor substrate, separate from the first, and then the placement in the cavity of the auxiliary component supported by the second substrate and the mutual adhesion of the second substrate to the upper surface of the chip lying outside the cavity. The second substrate then also forms the protective cover.
A hermetic package of a type used to contain a sensing element, such as an infrared sensing element. The package comprises a base having a base wall and sidewalls surrounding the base wall to define a first recess within the base. The sensing element is fabricated on a device chip disposed within the first recess. A lid is hermetically sealed with the base to enclose the sensing element. The lid defines a second recess that communicates with the first recess, such that the first and second recesses define a continuous cavity between the lid and the base and in which the device chip is contained. The depth of the second recess is preferably at least about half the depth of the sensing element within the first recess, such that neither the lid nor the base are required to have a deep recess that defines essentially the entire cavity in which the device chip is contained.
