Microwave Characterization of Parylene C Dielectric and Barrier Properties

Parylene C thin films are commonly used as a passivation layer, protective coating, or substrate material in implantable medical devices. However, fluid or vapor may permeate through Parylene C films over time through defects, film edges, or bulk diffusion and lead to device failure in vivo. Such fa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2023 22nd International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems (Transducers) pp. 1180 - 1183
Main Authors Barrera, Nikolas D., Pawlik, Jacob T., Yoon, Eugene J., Booth, James C., Long, Christian J., Orloff, Nathan D., Meng, Ellis, Stelson, Angela C.
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEJ 25.06.2023
Subjects
Broadband
Dielectric
Fluids
Interfaces
Microfluidic
Microwave
Microwave devices
Microwave measurement
Microwave theory and techniques
Parylene C
Permittivity measurement
Sensitivity
Spectroscopy
Thin film
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Summary:Parylene C thin films are commonly used as a passivation layer, protective coating, or substrate material in implantable medical devices. However, fluid or vapor may permeate through Parylene C films over time through defects, film edges, or bulk diffusion and lead to device failure in vivo. Such failure can be difficult to detect using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (0.1 Hz - 1 MHz) which does not capture the dielectric contributions of fluid at higher frequencies.We present a method for tracking broadband (1 MHz - 110 GHz) microwave dielectric properties of polymer-fluid interfaces. Using 2D electromagnetic modeling, we simulated measurement sensitivity to potential changes in Parylene C film dielectric properties and estimated sensitivity to changes in film relative permittivity as small as ±0.1 and fluid layers under films as small as 5 nm. Results were used to aid in the interpretation of measurements of soaked Parylene C films. These results are informative development of robust, hermetic polymer films in implantable medical devices and other RF applications in the analysis of complex fluids.
ISSN:2167-0021