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What is Thick Film Ceramic PCB ?

Thick film ceramic printed circuit boards represent an important category of
electronic substrates that enable fabrication of high performance, extremely
reliable circuits especially for demanding applications like defense systems,
satellite modules, medical instrumentation operating under challenging
temperatures.

This article provides an in-depth primer explaining ceramic PCB technologies

— their compositions, manufacturing processes, utilization in specialized
electronics plus application areas driving adoption. Let’s get started.

Ceramic PCB Definitions

Also designated as ceramic substrates or ceramic circuit boards, these modules

provide similar functionality to widely used polymer-based PCBs with a few
important distinctions making them suitable for niche applications:

Key Characteristics

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 Inorganic ceramic base materials enable survival in extreme

temperature conditions (-65 °C to over 250°C)

 Dense stacking of components and conductors facilitated by multiple

thick film screening process

 Integrated encapsulations possible providing hermetic sealing

 Excellent thermal heat dissipation performance

Typical Applications

Medical Electronics, Avionics, Downhole Petroleum Exploration, Space and

Satellite Systems, Military and Defense equipment

Now that we understand where they fit, let’s explore some background before
getting into further technical details.

A Brief History

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Ceramic substrates originated from established ceramic packaging

technologies used to protect early vacuum tubes and related components. With
shift towards solid-state electronics, designers needed smaller, increasingly
complex circuit foundations. Thick film processing on ceramic tiles provided
an efficient solution.

Historic milestones include:

 1950s: Screen-printed resistors created on alumina substrates

 1960s: Conductor, resistor and dielectric ink formulations advanced

 1970s: IBM pioneered ceramic multi-layer circuits for mainframe

computers

 1980s: Military, aerospace and telecom applications expanded

 Today: Increasingly sophisticated, nano-engineered materials and

fabrication

Next, let’s understand thick film technology composition central to multilayer

ceramic circuits.

Thick Film Materials Science

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Thick film fabrication involves formulating and deposition of specialty

functional inks containing mixtures of inorganic powders, glasses plus organic
vehicles. Each raw material constituent serves a specific purpose:

Key Composition Elements

 Metal powders like Au, Ag, Pd determine conduction property

 Glasses control adhesion and bonding

 Organic carriers provide printability

Inks get screened-printed layer-by-layer on substrate and co-fired at peak

temperatures around 850°C to achieve densification and electrical
functionality.

Typical Properties

 High Silver (Ag) Content: ↑ Conductivity, ↑ Cost

 High Glass Content: ↑ Adhesion, ↑ Dielectric Loss

 Organic Binders: Provide viscosity for printing

Let’s explore popular material choices next.

Ceramic Substrate Materials

While several ceramic compositions like glass ceramics and LTCC exist, two
principal material families dominate electronics use:

Alumina (Al2O3)

 Mostly polymorphic crystalline structures

 Naturally abundant and low cost

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 High hardness and dense grain structure

 Excellent dielectric properties

Key Attributes

High Thermal Conductivity: 30 W/mK Melting Point: 2050°C Dielectric

Breakdown Voltage: 15V/μm

Aluminum Nitride (AlN)

 Covalently bonded crystalline lattice

 Challenging to produce hence pricier

 Very high thermal performance

Key Attributes

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Thermal Conductivity: Up to 285 W/mK Melting Point: 2200°C Dielectric

Breakdown Voltage: 20V/μm

Applications

Alumina: Cost-driven SMT circuits, LED substrates, resistor/capacitor

networks

AlN: High-power RF power amplifiers, laser diode modules, aerospace avionics

Why Use Ceramics vs. Polymeric Substrates?

Engineers choose ceramic over traditional FR-4 type substrates for specialized
requirements:

Key Reasons for Ceramic PCB Adoption

 Withstand extreme temperatures and thermal cycling

 Hermetic surface seals against humidity, chemicals

 High voltage insulation properties crucial for MEMS

 Close sintering of glass-metal layers provide unmatched reliability

 Integrated shielding layers minimize EMI/RFI noise

However, higher substrate costs, more fabrication steps plus lower resistivity
conductors require strategic evaluation by designers.

Manufacturing Process Steps

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Let’s take a closer look at the thick film printing process used to produce
ceramic circuit boards:

Step 1: Tape Casting

Ceramic powder slurries are caster on carrier films to produce ultra-smooth

green tape rolls as base substrate after binder burnout and sintering upto
1000°C or above.

Tape thickness range from 50 μm to 300 μm depending on layer functionality

— thicker dielectric layers kept beneath and above completed stackup.

Step 2: Via Punching

Tapes get punched with via hole patterns that get filled with conductive inks
forming vertical interconnects between tracing layers.

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Mechanical presses use metal punches to create small holes capable of

achieving 75 μm diameter and 175 μm pitch.

Step 3: Screen Printing

Using advanced patterned meshed screens and squeegee press methods,

functional inks get printed sequentially to build horizontally interconnected
circuits.

Screens upto 900 mesh/inch resolution deposit traces down to 100 μm

line/space

 Printing process repeated for conductors, resistors or dielectric layers as

needed per design

Step 4: Stacking and Lamination

Printed ceramic sheets and externally printed components are collated, aligned
and laminated before undergoing co-firing to form dense, multi-layered
substrate with electrical interconnects.

Lamination presses use precise vacuum suction cup assemblies to ensure

layer-to-layer registration accuracy.

Step 5: Co-firing

Firing profile widely varies based on materials formulated needing peak

temperatures between 850°C to 1600°C for ceramic consolidation and thick
film densification achieving stable electrical performance.

Controlled cooling after peak hot stage prevents cracking or delamination

defects before completion.

Step 6: Attachment and Testing

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Post-firing processes involve pad finishing, component assembly,

encapsulation, soldering plus extensive inspection and testing to screen defects
before customer shipments.

Now let’s explore some application areas driving adoption of ceramic PCBs.

Applications Driving Ceramic PCB Demand

Here are some major electronics segments spurring usage of thick film ceramic
circuit boards:

Aerospace and Defense

Critical satellite payloads and flight control electronics routinely experience

temperature swings from -55°C in space to high-power dissipation extremes.
Militarized platforms also require surviving intense vibration. Hermetically
sealed ceramic enclosures excel in such scenarios.

Automotive Sensors

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Stringent AEC-Q200 quality norms demand microcontrollers and related

electronics inside automotive chamber temperatures sustain 125°C
affiliatemarkkinointi. As radar sensors proliferate for safety applications,
ceramic material stability helps.

Medical Instrumentation

Clinical diagnostics equipment like imaging systems and patient monitors

experience repeated sterilization. Only ceramic printed circuits can endure hot
steam/chemical cycles without performance degradation or insulation breach.

Oil and Gas Logging Tools

During subsurface drilling, electronics embedded inside exploration tools

experience sustained high ambient temperatures exceeding 200°C with
additional vibration loads. Thick film ceramics handle such environments.

In many cases, mixed substrates integrating high density interconnects on

ceramic carriers provide optimal solutions. As miniaturization demands rise,
we will likely see wider adoption.

Recent Innovations

Technology advancements around manufacturing techniques, materials and

design tools aim to improve user experience plus accessibility:

Process Improvements

 Photolithographic patterning of conductors to achieve 20 μm lines and

spaces

 Additive screen printing methods for fine line widths down to 30 μm

 Sequential buildup dielectric layers as thin as 10 μm with 5 μm

microvias

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 Precision CNC machining of fired ceramic boards

Material Advancements

 Metal-core substrate integrations using Cu or Al inserts for thermal

management

 Glass-ceramic, HTCC and LTCC material options

 Silver-Palladium (AgPd) inks with boosted conductivity

Design Tool Integrations

 Importing PCB CAD netlists into thick film CAD tools to ease design
migration

 Co-simulation of electrical, thermal and mechanical parameters

 Design rule checking implementation for DFM

Technology and Supply Chain Outlook

Application areas like autonomous transportation, renewable energy, life

sciences and space exploration will likely boost volume demand for specialized,
high reliability electronic circuits where ceramics can thrive.

However, compared to established polymeric PCB mass production, ceramic

lines involve higher operational costs and steep capital investments.
Fabrication knowledge also remains relatively closely guarded allowing only
strategic players to succeed.

Geopolitical scenarios related to crucial raw material supplies likehigh-grade

alumina, rare earth metals pose additional supply chain risks needing
mitigation through resource diversification and tactical partnerships.

Cost Analysis
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Evaluating purely based on board prices reveals stark differences between

typical FR-4 boards used in commercial electronics vs. niche ceramic PCBs:

However, such comparisons overlook the value of unparalleled thermal

stability and longevity in challenging operating environments provided
uniquely by ceramics allowing 10–15 years platform field life.

Still, driving higher volumes can help improve fabrication yields reducing
average costs along with design standardization — aspects requiring supply
and demand side collaborations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Can ceramic PCBs be drilled and routed like normal PCBs?

A1. Unlike polymeric PCB structures which easily allow machining, fired
ceramic boards are extremely hard requiring diamond cutters, lasers,
ultrasonics or scribing tools followed by fracture to achieve required shapes
which increases fabrication costs.

Q2. Can components be mounted on both sides of ceramic PCBs?

A2. Yes, state-of-art ceramic packaging lines enable double-sided SMT lines to
mount BGAs, capacitors, chips along with gold or copper wire bonding on

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opposing surfaces thereby maximizing component densities over given

footprint areas.

Q3. What are some ways to lower ceramic PCB costs?

A3. Adopting design commonality across build volumes, learning to work with
thicker line geometries above 125 μm, relaxing registration tolerances between
layers and exploring newer nanoparticle inks or additive print methods can
help lower ceramic substrate costs.

Q4. Does ceramic PCB technology have environmental benefits?

A4. Ceramic PCBs boast impressive longevity even when exposed to repeated
temperature cycling thereby greatly minimizing electronic waste volumes.
Their fully inorganic compositions also make ceramics easier to recycle via
re-firing and grinding compared to epoxy-glass PCBs requiring complex
separation processes.

Q5. Can ceramic PCB production capability be easily scaled on

demand?

A5. Ceramic PCB fabrication lines demand heavy capital investments

measured in millions of dollars along with specialized skillsets and tightly
controlled powder processing capabilities — making it hard to scale volumes
due to long 4–6 month lead times. Strategic partners with existing capacity
serve as the ideal fulfillment option.

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