Patent attributes
A method of hermetically packaging an electronic device (8), in an enclosure (2) comprising mutually inter-engageable first and second housing members (4, 6), comprising the steps of securing the electronic device (8) to the first housing member (4), engaging the first (4) and second (6) housing members such that an hermetic seal is provided there between, wherein the engagement step is performed in a controlled atmosphere. The hermetic seal may be provided by an interference fit between the first (4) and second (6) housing members or via sealing means (16) interposed between the housing members (4, 6). The second housing member (6) may comprise an optical element (20), for example a window or lens. The packaging method is particularly applicable to packaging thermal detectors, for example microbolometer arrays.
