Parylene-based three-dimensional microsystems packaging for autonomous wireless implantable medical devices

The recent trend in implantable medical devices, toward being small, lightweight, flexible, and wireless, calls for development of a viable device packaging technology based on unconventional materials and fabrication strategy. In addition, the demand for robust and sustainable operation of implantable devices via wireless power transfer calls for high-performance energy harvesting and storage devices integrated on an implantable microsystem platform. Proposed and demonstrated in this thesis is a novel Parylene-based three-dimensional microsystems packaging technology that addresses these challenges and enables miniature autonomous wireless implantable devices. A unique all-Parylene thin-film multilayer package is established as compact and flexible heterogeneous integration platform for passive components (capacitors, antenna), chip, and energy harvesting/storage system. The packaging concept, fabrication, materials, devices, circuits and systems are studied in depth. Embedding of metal-insulator-metal capacitors and ultrahigh-density (up to 500 μF/mm2) micro-supercapacitors are achieved for the first time on a flexible Parylene platform and their energy storage applications are demonstrated on system level. Design and implementation of miniature printed antennas on Parylene is described and their utilization in remote wireless RF powering is demonstrated. Finally, full-system integration including an active chip is proposed and its feasibility is shown. The novel Parylene-based system packaging technology described in this work are potentially applicable to a broad range of miniature implantable devices and offers promise for implantation of them in areas not previously possible