The present invention relates to a hermetically sealable capacitive
feedthrough (1) for a
hybrid module for space applications, the capacitive
feedthrough (1) comprising a multilayer
ceramic structure having two opposing outer surfaces including a top surface (10) and a bottom surface (20), and metallized outer closure side walls (31, 32, 33, 34) extending vertically between the opposing outer surfaces (10, 20) around the multilayer
ceramic structure. The multilayer
ceramic structure has, on its upper surface (10), a metallized upper
central region (11) designed to receive an input electrical
signal to be filtered, a
dielectric upper region (12) extending around the metallized upper
central region (11), and a metallized upper
peripheral region (13) extending around the
dielectric upper region (12) until it joins the metallized outer closure sidewalls (31, 32, 33, 34) to act as an electrical ground together with the metallized outer closure sidewalls (31, 32, 33, 34), the
dielectric upper region (12) being designed to ensure
electrical isolation between the input electrical
signal and the electrical ground. and a bottom surface (20) including a metallized bottom
central region (21) designed to provide a filtered output electrical
signal, a dielectric bottom region (22) extending around the metallized bottom central region (21), and a metallized bottom
peripheral region (23) extending around the dielectric bottom region (22) until it joins with the metallized outer closure sidewalls (31, 32, 33, 34) to act as an electrical ground together with the metallized outer closure sidewalls (31, 32, 33, 34), the dielectric bottom region (22) being designed to ensure
electrical isolation between the filtered output electrical signal and the electrical ground.The multilayer ceramic structure further includes ceramic
layers (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48), a first metallization layer (51, 53, 55, 57), and one or more second metallization
layers (52, 54, 56) stacked on one another, such that each first metallization layer (51, 53, 55, 57) is interposed between two respective ceramic
layers (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48) disposed directly above and below the first metallization layer (51, 53, 55, 57), and each / its second metallization layer (52, 54, 56) is interposed between two respective ceramic layers (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48) disposed directly above and below the second metallization layer (52, 54, 56). The first and second metallization layers (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57) are interposed between the respective ceramic layers (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47), and the first and second metallization layers (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57) are vertically alternated, whereby each / its second metallization layer (52, 54, 56) has a respective upper first metallization layer (53, 55, 57) disposed above the second metallization layer (52, 54, 56) and a respective lower first metallization layer (51, 53, 55) disposed below the second metallization layer (52, 54, 56), and two ceramic layers (41, 48) are disposed directly below the top surface (10) and directly above the bottom surface (11), respectively. The first metallization layers (51, 53, 55, 57) are bonded to the metallized outer closure sidewalls (31, 32, 33, 34), whereby the first metallization layers (51, 53, 55, 57), the metallized outer closure sidewalls (31, 32, 33, 34), and the metallized top and bottom
peripheral regions (13, 23) form an electrical ground structure. Each / its second metallization layers (52, 54, 56) are separated from the metallized outer closure sidewalls (31, 32, 33, 34) by a respective first dielectric gap designed to ensure
electrical isolation between the second metallization layers (52, 54, 56) and the electrical ground structure.Each / its second metallization layer (52, 54, 56) is connected to the upper second metallization layer (52, 54, 56) or metallization upper central region (11) through the upper ceramic layer (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48) and the respective upper first metallization layer (53, 55, 57) to the second metallization layer (52, 54, 56) and the upper second metallization layer (52, 54, 56) / metallization upper central region (11) and each of the first conductive vias (62, 63, 64) is separated from a respective overlying first metallization layer (53, 55, 57) by a respective second dielectric gap extending around the respective first conductive via (62, 63, 64), thereby forming a respective first
capacitor; Each / its second metallization layer (52, 54, 56) is connected to the underlying second metallization layer (52, 54, 56) or metallized bottom central region (21) through the underlying ceramic layer (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46) and the respective underlying first metallization layer (51, 53, 55) to the second metallization layer (52, 54, 56) and the underlying second metallization layer (52, 54, 56) / metallized bottom central region (21) The metallization top and bottom central regions (11, 21) and the second metallization layers (52, 54, 56), together with the respective conductive vias (61, 62, 63) and the respective capacitors, form a capacitive
feedthrough structure configured to receive an input electrical signal at the metallization top central region (11) and provide a filtered output electrical signal at the metallization bottom central region (21), whereby filtering of the input electrical signal is performed by the capacitors. The metallization top and bottom central regions (11, 21) are planar regions without openings.