Elements of a sensor system are encapsulated into a single package. The
sensor elements are covered with a flexible gel coat and then inserted into a molding
tool cavity. Each element may be individually coated with a gel blob, or all elements
may by coated with a single gel blob. One or more retractable pins are incorporated
into the molding tool and in their normal position are each in contact with the
gel. A molding compound is injected into the cavity so as to encapsulate the device
and gel coat. When the pins are extracted and the device ejected from the molding
cavity, one or more passageways in the molding are left defined by the pins. The
passageways expose the flexible gel covering the device elements to the atmosphere.
For pressure sensitive elements, the gel, being flexible, transfers the local air
pressure to the pressure sensitive element. For optical elements, the exposed gel
is preferably removed to allow for the passage of radiation to and from the device
elements. Alternatively, or in addition, an optically transmitting gel is used
so as to allow for the passage of radiation at specific wavelengths.
