Conference Agenda

The workshop will include exciting contributions by
Keith Mathieson, Professor at the University of Strathclyde, Institute of Photonics. Expert on visual prosthesis, amongst other topics.
Pascal Doguet from Irisia. Expert on designing active implantable devices, sourcing their production and managing their approval for use in humans.
Suzanne Costello, director of Forensic Eyes. Expert in microelectronics reliability and failure root cause analysis
Ahmad Shah Idil, Neural Implant Engineer at Mint Neuro and PhD student at UCL. Expert on coatings for implantable electronics, especially semiconductors
Jean-Luc Boulland , Professor at the University of Oslo. Expert on implantable devices.
Ville Hevonkorpi, SCHOTT Primoceler, Expert on manufacturing smart active medical packages.

Can We Really Prove an Ultra-Low Leak Rate? Rethinking Hermeticity of Electronic Packages
Hermeticity is often considered a straightforward pass/fail metric, yet when it comes to ultra-low leak rates in critical applications—such as medical implants, space electronics, and MEMS devices—standard testing methods may not tell the full story.
This keynote will break down the fundamentals of hermeticity, exploring the three key leak paths: leak channels, permeation, and outgassing. We’ll take the theory of leak rate quantification and show how it translates into real-world measurement challenges, particularly for low-cavity volume packages with stringent vacuum requirements.
But can we truly prove an ultra-low leak rate? External measurement techniques have well-documented limitations, and yet they remain the industry standard. We’ll discuss the gaps in current test methodologies, the challenges in meeting stringent performance requirements and how in-situ approaches offer a path to more meaningful validation.
Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of leak rate quantification and why design-stage consideration of hermeticity testing is crucial for ensuring performance over time. If you assume standard tests are enough, this talk might just change your mind.
Author Bio:
Suzanne has a physics background and an Engineering Doctorate in microelectronics testing. She has worked in industry for over 12 years investigating the root-cause of failures, specialising in electronics. Suzanne is a published author and experienced technical presenter. She was the first female chair of the International Microelectronics, Assembly and Packaging Society in the UK (IMAPS-UK) and is currently a trustee. Suzanne has been on the Scottish Council of the Aerospace Defence and Security (ADS) trade association where she represented SMEs working in the Aerospace sector at a select committee hearing at Westminster.

Robustness and reliability of electronic systems used as part of green transition technologies are challenged today due to several corrosion failure mechanisms caused by harsh environmental conditions. These conditions include climatic exposure such as humidity and temperature variations and other atmospheric pollutants. For some applications, exposure conditions can be as severe as offshore. Sustainable electrical energy production, conversion, and use is most important today as part of renewable energy, E-mobility, information technology and for other technological sectors. Efficiently functioning electronics systems are key to attaining this goal, while they are used under broader service boundaries as part of various technologies. This talk provides an overview of how corrosion of electronics, especially for power electronics, due to exposure to harsh environmental conditions affects its performance as part of various green transition technologies and some information on prevention possibilities.
Author Bio
Dr. Rajan Ambat is currently Professor of Corrosion and Surface Engineering at Division of Materials and Surface Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark. He is also the Manager for the Centre for Electronic Corrosion (CELCORR) and CreCon Industrial Consortium on climatic reliability of electronics at DTU and Research Manager for the Corrosion node of Danish Hydrocarbon Research and Technology Centre. Key research activity in his group is on humidity robustness of electronics focussing on understanding the effect at component, PCBA, and Systems level, elucidating failure mechanisms, controlling parameters and models, and intrinsic and extrinsic methods to improve reliability. Presently he is also the Chairman for the Working Party on Corrosion reliability of electronic devices under European Federation of Corrosion. He is part of the editorial board for various corrosion and electrochemistry journals and held visiting professorship and other academic positions/responsibilities in many universities. Presently he is Honorary Professor of Amity University, India. He has published more than 250 scientific papers, patents, and other contributions.