Glass to Metal Seals

Glass to Metal Seals

ECI’s technical experience and sophisticated production techniques, enables us to offer matched and compression glass-to-metal seals for a variety of applications.  Our manufacturing process include process control procedures outlined in MIL-STD-105 and ISO 9001:2015. In-process inspection and testing are performed throughout the manufacturing process in conformance with MIL-I-45208. Our ability to manufacture both standard JEDEC products and custom designs built to customer design specifications enhances our ability to assist our customers with remarkable reliability and quality.

The capabilities include legacy glass seal packages such as T0-3, 5, & 8 and Power Transistor packages including 254, 257, 258 and 259. Glass to Metal Seal packages used in Ordnance & Defense applications for detonators, primers and ignition are also available.

Glass Flatpacks, sometimes described as molded ceramic packages, are manufactured with a high temperature glass-ceramic material and can be optimized for MW/RF applications, less than 20 GHz.

The engineering team at ECI is available to help satisfy all your glass to metal seal requirements.

Glass-to-metal seals are produced via an effective production process comprised with only three involved pieces: the metal components, metal pin or lead frame, and glass preform. In order to attain the desired conditions of the final assembly, knowledge of the fundamental details is critical. Competence in glass types and formulations is a key expertise in maximizing robustness and reliability, especially when it comes to customized components. It also includes the selection of the right metal and glass combination for the intended end-use and proper execution of the sealing process to maximize the integrity of the seal. Electro Ceramic Industries in-house development capability to modify or engineer entirely new glass types allows us to fulfill unique challenges and create new applications.

The CTE of glass and metal in matched seals is balanced. Matched seals are typically used for applications where high-temperature variations are present, or tight pin pitch or dimensional requirements (for example, miniaturized or non-round shapes) are factors. Depending on the design, matched glass-to-metal seals are able to maintain integrity through tens of thousands of thermal cycles and are well suited for semiconductor and optoelectronic assemblies where structural integrity is essential for precise operation of the enclosed electronics.

Due to vastly different CTEs of glass and metal in compression seals, the outer metal eyelet shrinks firmly onto the sealing glass during the production process. This compressive force forms a seal with immense bonded physical strength. In fact, the compressive strength of glass is ten to twenty times higher than its tensile strength. This is why compression seals are typically used for designs with requirements for high mechanical robustness. Usage examples can be found in automotive and energy applications, where long-term seal integrity is essential for continued safe operation of electronics involatile environments.

Glass-to-metal seals are engineered to perform reliably in harsh operating conditions, such as extreme temperatures, moisture, pressure or chemicals. They can also fulfill requirements for long life, performance, and efficiency improvements, as well as innovative designs. The primary function of glass-to-metal seals is to enable reliable connection and protection for the manufacture of high quality and long-lasting hermetically sealed components or equipment. Flexibility is a key characteristic of glass-to-metal sealing technology. This is demonstrated by the multitude of functions, designs, and sizes of GTMS components in a broad range of applications.

ECI’s experts can utilize decades of experience to guide customers to exactly what will work and provide solutions to maximize effectiveness in their application. The ECI team has extensive experience in manufacturing power packaging, including high thermal dissipation power packages and power transistor outline packages. Typical applications include power converters, motor drives, switch mode power supplies, power hybrid circuits, and power thrusters for military, aeronautic and space applications. Utilizing either glass to metal seal (GTMS) or ceramic to metal seal (CTMS) feed thru technology, they are available as standard product form types (TO-254, TO-257, …) or custom designed to meet your needs. We can produce your power package with glass or ceramic seals, and a variety of materials.  We are also always reviewing and analyzing new materials that will help solve your thermal challenges. A range of molded glass-ceramic flatpacks is in development. Typical end products include microwave and RF devices.