US Patent 7204737 Hermetically sealed microdevice with getter shield

A microdevice that comprises a device microstructure (38) and vent channel (34) in a wafer (14) that is sandwiched between a substrate (10) and a cap (16). The cap (16) and substrate (10) have recesses (41, 21) around the microstructure (22) to define a cavity. A vent (25) is connected to the vent channel (34) and subsequently to the cavity. The vent (25) is used to evacuate and seal the microstructure (38) in the cavity. A getter layer (32) can be used to maintain the cavity vacuum. An electrical connection can be provided through the vent (25), vent channel (34) and cavity to the getter (32) to electrically ground the getter layer (32).