Patent ID: 8395229

Claim:
A MEMS getter microdevice enclosed in a hermetically sealed package, said package being disposed on a substrate, said MEMS getter microdevice being disposed on a portion of said substrate and comprising: a platform suspended at a predetermined height above a top surface of said substrate, said platform being supported by at least one supporting leg, said at least one supporting leg having dimensions selected to provide low thermal conductance between said platform and said substrate; a resistor element deposited on the top surfaces of said platform and of said at least one supporting legs, said resistor element being connected to electrical contact pads deposited on the top surface of said substrate, said resistor element providing heat when an electrical current is flowing through said resistor element; a heat-spreading layer deposited on the top surface of said platform and covering the top surface of said resistor element; and a getter deposited in the form of a thin film on a predetermined portion of the top surface of said heat-spreading layer, said thin-film getter having an activation temperature; whereby said MEMS getter microdevice absorbs a portion of the gas species present in said package when said thin-film getter is heated at its activation temperature through electrical powering of said resistor element.