Prolonging the Lifetime of PEEK Packages for Implantable Electronic Devices Using Commercially Available Vacuum Thin Film Coatings

For short term applications (less than three years), it may be possible to replace traditional long term packaging materials such as titanium with a biocompatible polymer such as PEEK. This paper investigates the use of commercially available thin films to decrease the water vapor permeation rate through the walls of a PEEK package. It was found that most physical vapor deposition (PVD) and plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (PaCVD) coatings tested did not provide a significant improvement in lifetime, due to the porosity of the films produced. This is mostly linked to the morphology of the films (i.e., growth in columns which are poorly bonded together, creating a porous structure) and is exacerbated by the high surface roughness of the machined substrates. Applying a lacquer before coating reduces this effect significantly, and we found that the time constant of our coated packages was improved by a factor of 2.3. Based on the findings of our group's previous work and this paper, the maximum achievable lifetime of PEEK packages with a thin film coating and desiccant is presented. As an example, a coated cylindrical PEEK package (using atomic layer deposition, ALD) with a uniform wall thickness of 2 mm, an internal cavity size of 1.5 cm3, filled with 20% of desiccant, has a lifetime of 18.8 mo (27.2 mo with 30% of desiccant). This would be sufficient for a range of applications and provide a cheaper and more versatile packaging alternative to traditional packages.