Packaging is crucial for the success of microsensors and microsystems, and typically a major, if not dominating cost component. Bene®ting from packaging methods for integrated circuits (IC), microsystem packaging currently strongly relies on customized solutions. The paper summarizes challenges in microsensor and microsystem packaging and brie¯y discusses current packaging trends. In the second part of the paper, a packaged low-cost CMOS thermal imager is presented. Its packaging is based on the direct attachment of a silicon infrared ®lter onto the CMOS sensor die. The ®nal microsystem is further packaged in a plastic ball grid array (BGA) enabling subsequent assembly by standard surface mount technology.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.