OtherMembers’ Profiles

Nippon Avionics Co., Ltd.
1. Company Profile

3. Sealing Product Lineup

Since 1963, Nippon Avionics has been assistingcustomers through the development of resistance welders
primarily for use with electronic parts, and such joining
technologies as microsoldering, thermocompression, andbonding. In 1966 the company adopted parallel seam
sealing as a highly reliable hermitic sealing method for
optical devices and hybrid integrated circuits. The
applications for this parallel seam sealing technology
expanded with the surface mounting of crystal oscillators
and SAW filters in the early 1980s. When vacuum seals
became necessary for the miniaturization of crystal
oscillators around 2003, we quickly introduced a vacuum
seam welder that is still the primary sealing method today.
Recently there has been an increase in the use of seam
sealing for MEMS devices, such as accelerometers,
gyroscopes, and infrared sensors and our sales of seam
welders has reached more than 800 units.

As a specialist in welding, Nippon Avionics exploredthe most suitable control technologies for seam sealing
and developed a dedicated power supply to install in its
sealing equipment. The company has manufactured
sophisticated, high-performance equipment using its own
software, and mechanical, image-recognition, andapplication technologies and has held the top market
share since its product lineup was first introduced.
We have a wide array of products ranging frommanually operated units for research or low-volume
production to automated inline units for mass production.
Our products also perform constant pressure control andare capable of sealing vibration devices such as
accelerometers in helium or other inert gases when thedevices must be accommodated in a constant internalpressure environment to maintain a uniform vibratingstate.

2. Parallel Seam Sealing
The principle of parallel seam sealing is to supply
electricity to a lid, a seal ring, or a metal package, thereby
applying Joule heating to melt a brazing filler materialpreset between the lid and the package. The melted filler
material fills the gaps and forms a mechanical bond
between the lid and the package.
As shown in Fig. 1, tapered roller electrodes areprovided on the left and right edges of a device so as toapply a moderate load to the device. As the device is
moved at a constant speed, a welding current flows
intermittently between the electrodes, generating heat tomelt the filler material around the lid.
Since parallel seam sealing can produce a hightemperature instantaneously, the seal can be formed withnickel, which is very reliable but has a high melting point.
Nickel also has a very high cooling rate, producing a dense
filler composition when solidified and, thus, a highbonding strength. Further, parallel seam sealing uses
localized heating and, therefore, generates only a small
heat-affected zone. Accordingly, this technique canproduce a hollow structure that is strong and reliable.

Fig.1 Principle of seam sealing

Fig.2 Full Automatic Vacuum Sealing
Equipment NAW–1265A

4. Future Endeavors
In addition to the seam welding method introduced inthis article, Nippon Avionics possesses a joining
technology employing heating units to implement a pulse
heating method. Pulse heating adjusts the temperature
through feedback control to reproduce a specified
temperature profile accurately. This feature canconceivably be applied to batch sealing and die bonding in
MEMS devices using filler material with a low melting
point.
By refining the conventional seam welders, we offeruser-friendly equipment that achieves higher yields. As apioneer in micro-joining technology, the company supplies
pulse heating units suitable for use in MEMS devices. We
are confident that you will find this equipment
advantageous when developing or fabricating such MEMS
devices.
For a more detailed description of our products,
please refer to our Web site at http://www.avio.co.jp.

Note:With the launch of the BEANS Project in April this year, the format for this issue (No. 67) of the MICRONANO magazine has been
updated to include information in the micro/nano fields distributed by both the Micromachine Center and the BEANS Laboratory,
which is the association overseeing the BEANS Project. Thus, in addition to including a description of activities performed at theMicromachine Center, future issues of the magazine will also include activities and achievements by the BEANS Laboratory.

MICRONANO No. 67
MICRONANO is published quarterly by Micromachine Center (MMC), BEANS Technical Research Association(BEANS . TRA) to promote the international exchange of information related to micromachines, R&D and othertechnical topics, and is circulated free of change. Please send your comments about MICRONANO to the publisher :Keiichi Aoyagi, Executive Director, Micromachine Center (MMC)
MBR99 Bldg., 6F., 67 Kanda Sakumagashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0026, Japan
Tel : +81-3-5835-1870, Fax : +81-3-5835-1873
Internet Home Page h t t p : / / w w w . m m c . o r . j p /Date of Issue : May 15, 2009