Silicone encapsulation of thin-film SiOx, SiOxNyand SiC for modern electronic medical implants: a comparative long-term ageing study.

These results demonstrate silicone encapsulation offers excellent protection to thin-film conducting tracks when combined with appropriate inorganic thin films. This conclusion corresponds to previous reliability studies of silicone encapsulation in aqueous environments, but with a larger sample size. Therefore, we believe silicone encapsulation to be a realistic means of providing long-term protection for the circuits of implanted electronic medical devices.