The key difference between hermetic and non-hermetic packaging is that hermetic packaging is any type of sealing that can make a given object airtight to prevent the pass-through of air, oxygen, and other gases, while non-hermetic packaging is a type of packaging that is made from materials having significantly higher gas and moisture permeability.
Packaging is very important in sealing objects. Hermetic and non-hermetic packaging materials are two types. Hermetic packaging offers a very high level of protection for packaged implantable devices, but the rigidity of these packaging materials makes them less suitable for some applications. Non-hermetic packaging does not perform as well as hermetic packaging.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Hermetic Packaging
3. What is Non-hermetic Packaging
4. Hermetic vs Non-hermetic Packaging in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Hermetic vs Non-hermetic Packaging
What is Hermetic Packaging?
Hermetic packaging is a method of optimizing for weight savings, footprint reduction, thermal transfer, and more for packaging. A hermetic seal can be described as any type of sealing that can make a given object airtight to prevent the pass-through of air, oxygen, and other gases. This term originally is applied to airtight containers. However, this technology is advanced, and it is applied to a large number of materials, such as rubber and plastics. Moreover, hermetic seals are very important and necessary for the correct and safe functionality of many different electronic and healthcare products.
Typically, some packaging methods need to maintain a seal against the entering of gases, e.g., foods, pharmaceutics, chemicals, and consumer goods. Hermetic packaging is responsible for some food preservation practices, including vacuum packaging and canning. The most common materials used for hermetic packaging are glass, aluminum cans, metal foils, and gas-impermeable plastics.
Figure 01: A Battery that is Sealed with a Hermetic Seal
The common applications for hermetic packaging include semiconductor electronics, thermostats, optical devices, MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems), and switches. Further, electrical or electronic parts can be packaged with a hermetic packaging method to secure them against water vapor and foreign substances. This ensures proper functioning and reliability.
What is Non-Hermetic Packaging?
Non-hermetic packaging is a type of packaging that is made from materials having significantly higher gas and moisture permeability compared to hermetic packages. This makes them not work as well as hermetic packaging, especially in aggressive in vivo environments. These packaging materials are significantly higher in gas content and moisture permeability compared to hermetic packages. Therefore, this technique does not perform as well as hermetic packaging and is especially aggressive in vivo environments.
The most common materials that can be used as non-hermetic encapsulation materials include silicones, LCP (liquid crystal polymers), polyimide, and parylene. These are used mainly for medical implants. Moreover, these materials tend to provide low-weight, small-size packaging options that offer a reliable substitute for hermetic applications.
What is the Difference Between Hermetic and Non-hermetic Packaging?
Hermetic and non-hermetic packaging materials are very important in packaging objects safely and properly. Hermetic packaging offers a very high level of protection for packaged implantable devices, but the rigidity of these packaging materials makes them less suitable for some applications. The key difference between hermetic and non-hermetic packaging is that non-hermetic packaging does not perform as well as hermetic packaging. Moreover, the most common materials used for hermetic packaging are glass, aluminum cans, metal foils, and gas-impermeable plastics, while silicone, LCP, polyimide, and parylene are used as non-hermetic packaging materials.
The below infographic presents the differences between hermetic and non-hermetic packaging in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Hermetic vs Non-hermetic Packaging
Hermetic packaging is a method of optimizing for weight savings, footprint reduction, thermal transfer, and more for packaging. Non-hermetic packaging is a type of packaging that is made from materials having significantly higher gas and moisture permeability compared to hermetic packages. The key difference between hermetic and non-hermetic packaging is that hermetic packaging offers a very high level of protection for packaged implantable devices, but the rigidity of these packaging materials makes them less suitable for some applications, whereas non-hermetic packaging does not perform as well as hermetic packaging.
Reference:
1. “Conformal Hermetic Sealing of Wireless Microelectronic Implantable Chiplets by Multilayered Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)” Wiley Online Library.
Image Courtesy:
1. “FeAp 92-1a – keyboad and display PCB – Eternacell Lithium battery G03-8634” By © Raimond Spekking (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia