Patent ID: 8307674

Claim:
A method of bonding a cap wafer to a device wafer so as to hermetically seal and isolate a MEMS device in a cavity defined therebetween, the method comprising: providing a hot-melt sealing glass composition comprising: from about 50% by weight to about 95% by weight of a glass component comprising one or more glass frits, and from about 5% by weight to about 50% by weight of a polymeric binder system that is a solid at 22.5° C. but which melts at a temperature within the range of from 35° C. to 90° C., wherein the polymeric binder system is capable of complete burn-out at a temperature below 450° C., and wherein the glass component is capable of melting and flowing at a temperature below 500° C. heating the hot-melt sealing glass composition above the melting point of the polymeric binder system and below a temperature at which the polymeric binder system begins to substantially volatilize, to form a molten paste; depositing the molten paste onto the cap wafer and/or the device wafer by screen printing; allowing the deposited molten paste to re-solidify; positioning the cap wafer and device wafer in relation to each other such that at least the glass component of the hot-melt sealing glass composition is positioned therebetween; and firing the cap wafer and device wafer at a temperature above the melting point of the glass component to form a hermetic seal between the cap wafer and device wafer that isolates the MEMS device in the cavity defined therebetween.