Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C03—GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL
  • C03C—CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GLASSES, GLAZES OR VITREOUS ENAMELS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF GLASS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF FIBRES OR FILAMENTS MADE FROM GLASS, MINERALS OR SLAGS; JOINING GLASS TO GLASS OR OTHER MATERIALS
  • C03C27/00—Joining pieces of glass to pieces of other inorganic material; Joining glass to glass other than by fusing
  • C03C27/04—Joining glass to metal by means of an interlayer
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
  • A61N1/00—Electrotherapy; Circuits therefor
  • A61N1/18—Applying electric currents by contact electrodes
  • A61N1/32—Applying electric currents by contact electrodes alternating or intermittent currents
  • A61N1/36—Applying electric currents by contact electrodes alternating or intermittent currents for stimulation
  • A61N1/372—Arrangements in connection with the implantation of stimulators
  • A61N1/375—Constructional arrangements, e.g. casings
  • A61N1/3752—Details of casing-lead connections
  • A61N1/3754—Feedthroughs
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
  • H01B17/00—Insulators or insulating bodies characterised by their form
  • H01B17/26—Lead-in insulators; Lead-through insulators
  • H01B17/30—Sealing
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
  • H01M50/00—Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the non-active parts of electrochemical cells other than fuel cells, e.g. hybrid cells
  • H01M50/10—Primary casings; Jackets or wrappings
  • H01M50/183—Sealing members
  • H01M50/186—Sealing members characterised by the disposition of the sealing members
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
  • H01M50/00—Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the non-active parts of electrochemical cells other than fuel cells, e.g. hybrid cells
  • H01M50/10—Primary casings; Jackets or wrappings
  • H01M50/183—Sealing members
  • H01M50/19—Sealing members characterised by the material
  • H01M50/191—Inorganic material
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
  • Y02E60/10—Energy storage using batteries

Definitions

• This invention relates to a hermetic electrical feed-through assembly which, makes use of niobium and sapphire.
• the optical transparency of sapphire allows visual inspection of the. sapphire-to-niobium bond for the presence of defects.
• Hermetic seals in electrical feedthroughs consisting of the. specific combinations of materials disclosed herein and prepared according to this invention have been found to be more likely to resist delamination between the insulator and metal members of the feedthrough i.e., they are. more resistant to stress induced cracking during fabrication or testing.
• Sapphire is an aluminum oxide which is grown with a single crystal lattice structure and can be easily cut and polished to optical clarity without creating cracks or defects. If cracks or defects do result during preparation of a sapphire insulator for a feedthrough or during fabrication of the feedthrough assembly, they can be easily seen at low magnification. The ease of visual inspection consequently allows for 100% final product inspection.
• hermetic electrical feedthroughs which, are particularly adapted for use in encapsulated electrical devices, such as electrochemical cells, heartpacers: and the like for human implant.
• Such devices require high assurety against the presence of defects and loss of hermeticity in the feedthroughs.
• the improved feedthrough of the. invention consists of a niobium lead wire extending through a sapphire, insula tor, preferably a disc-like insulator.
• the sapphire insulator is carried by a niobium ferrule or the like.
• the assembly is brazed together by means of either a gold braze or a gold-vanadium-yttrium alloy braze. Some compositional variations are allowed in this alloy as is discussed below.
• the surfaces of the sapphire in the brazed areas are first metallized with, a discrete layer of niobium, titanium or a composition of the two i.e., niobium/titanium and a layer of gold the gold overlaying the niobium/titanium.
• Niobium is preferred over the titanium or compositions of the two in certain instances.
• Figure 1 is the. schematic cross-section of a first embodiment of a feedthrough according to the invention.
• Figure 2 is a schematic cross-section of another embodiment" of a feedthrough. according to the invention.
• Figure.3 is yet another schematic cross-section showing a third embodimen of a feedthrough according to the invention.
• Figure 4 is a schematic cross-section of a fourth embodiment of the invention.
• the electrical feedthroughs shown in Figures 1-4 represent several variations of the invention. The same numbers are used to identify similar elements throughout the Figures. All of the embodiments, include a more or less centrally positioned niobium lead-in wire or pin 10 extending through a sapphire insulator body 12. Body 12 is preferably generally disc shaped. Even more preferably, the sapphire body will Be fabricated with a cup-like surface 12 (a) as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
• the feedthrough assembly also includes a niobium ferrule or the like 14 which may more or less peripherally contact sapphire body 12 as is well known in the case of metal ferrule and glass Insulator arrangements already known In this art. Ferrule 14 Is utilized for mounting the feedthrough. For example, in a preferred use, this feedthrough will be mounted in a titanium encapsulating structure (not shown) which contains an electrical device for human implant. Normally, theferrule will be welded to the titanium container.
• the niobium used for the lead wire and ferrule herein may also be a niobium alloy so long as its thermal expansion coefficient remains about ⁇ 10% of that. of commercially pure niobium.
• An example of such an alloy is. 99Nb-1Zr (Wt.%).
• Wt.% 99Nb-1Zr
• brazing of the feedthrough. assembly may be accomplished by placing rings of the brazing material at the joints to be brazed and heating the. assembly to the appropriate melting temperature of the braze material.
• the acceptable brazing materials comprises alloys of gold, vanadium and yttrium and/or scandium, optionally including niobium. Assemblies using this alloy brazing material are shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3.
• Brazing alloys of the foregoing type which may be utilized with this invention are disclosed in copendlng application Serial No. 885,489, filed March 13, 19.78 and assigned to the same assignee as is this application.
• the alloys may Include scandium and niobium.
• One exemplary alloy is vanadium-5.5%, yttrium- 0.2%, balance gold, the percentages being expressed in terms of atomic percentages.
• braze material which, may be used, as mentioned above, is gold i.e., commercially pure gold (99.9%).
• the pure gold braze material Is utilized the sapphire must first be provided with a coating of niobium, titanium or niobium/titanium and a coating of gold over the niobium or titanium in the areas where the brazed joint Is to be formed.
• Various, proportions of niobium and titanium may be co-sputtered to form layer 19.
• These coatings are preferably formed by sputtering and may be very thin.
• the niobium, titanium or niobium/titanium coating will have a thickness on the order of about 10,000 angstroms and the gold will have a thickness on the orderof about 2,000 angstroms.
• a metallized version Is shown in Figure 4, the niobium or titanium and gold layers being schematically indicated at 18 and 19, respectively, the gold braze at 16.
• the different braze material may be used in any of the feedthrough. configurations disclosed herein.
• the various configurations differ in geometry, Figure 1 Being the simplest.
• Figure 2 and 3 are self-fixturing due to the notched, portions included in either the ferrule body 14, as shown in Figure 2, or in the. insulator body 12, as shown in Figure 3.
• the sapphire used herein may be the "clear" sapphire or the "doped” sapphire i.e., sapphire containing a few tenths of a percent of a dopant such as chromium, cobalt or nickel and taking on a characteristic color such as ruby, Blue or emerald, respectively.
• a dopant such as chromium, cobalt or nickel

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Electrochemistry (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Radiology & Medical Imaging (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
• Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy & Molecular Imaging (AREA)
• Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Ceramic Products (AREA)
• Materials For Medical Uses (AREA)
• Mechanical Coupling Of Light Guides (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (1)

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• 1980
  • 1980-01-28 CH CH7375/80A patent/CH649411A5/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1980-01-28 DE DE803030687T patent/DE3030687T1/de active Granted
  • 1980-01-28 WO PCT/US1980/000126 patent/WO1980001620A1/en active Application Filing
  • 1980-01-29 CA CA000344568A patent/CA1143024A/en not_active Expired
  • 1980-08-22 EP EP80900389A patent/EP0022863A1/en not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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