Substrate ceramics

Hybrid Circuits. The use of parylenes as a hybrid circuit coating is based on much the same rationale as its use in circuit boards. A significant distinction Hes in obtaining adhesion to the ceramic substrate material, the success of which determines the eventual performance of the coated part. Adhesion to the ceramic must be achieved using adhesion promoters, such as the organosilanes. 

Fig. 10. Exploded view of a monolithic multicomponent ceramic substrate. Layers (a) signal distribution (b) resistor (c) capacitor (d) circuit protection ...

Table 5. Properties of High Performance Ceramic Substrates ...

Metal powder—glass powder—binder mixtures are used to apply conductive (or resistive) coatings to ceramics or metals, especially for printed circuits and electronics parts on ceramic substrates, such as multichip modules. Multiple layers of aluminum nitride [24304-00-5] AIN, or aluminay ceramic are fused with copper sheet and other metals in powdered form. The mixtures are appHed as a paste, paint, or slurry, then fired to fuse the metal and glass to the surface while burning off the binder. Copper, palladium, gold, silver, and many alloys are commonly used. 

Standards for High Mlumina Ceramic Substrates for Microelectronic Mpplications, Alumina Ceramic Manufacturers Association, New York, 1971, pp. 1—12. 

A dimensionally stable anode consisting of an electrically conducting ceramic substrate coated with a noble metal oxide has been developed (55). Iridium oxide, for example, resists anode wear experienced ia the Downs and similar electrolytic cells (see Metal anodes). 

Polymer thick films also perform conductor, resistor, and dielectric functions, but here the polymeric resias remain an iategral part after cuting. Owiag to the relatively low (120—165°C) processiag temperatures, both plastic and ceramic substrates can be used, lea ding to overall low costs ia materials and fabrication. A common conductive composition for flexible membrane switches ia touch keyboards uses fine silver particles ia a thermoplastic or thermoset polymeric biader. 

Cera.mic, The ceramic substrate is made from a mixture of siUcon dioxide, talc, and kaolin to make the compound cordierite [12182-53-5]. Cordierite possesses a very low coefficient of thermal expansion and is thermal-shock resistant. The manufacturing process involves extmding the starting mixture (which is mixed with water and kneaded into a sort of dough) through a complex die to form the honeycomb stmcture. The extmded piece is dried and fired in a kiln to form the cordierite. The outside or circumferential dimension is formed by the die, and the length is cut later with a ceramic saw. 

The contact between the aluminium layers and the ceramic substrate requires a joining material which will wet both metal and ceramic, and solders such as the conventional Pb-Sn alloy have been used which are molten during the annealing process. The contact between the solder and the aluminium layer is frequently unsatisfactoty because of the intervention of the AI2O3 layer, and a practical solution appears to be to place drree layers of metal clrromium in contact widr the aluminium, copper in contact with the clrromium, and gold between the copper layer and the solder. 

The catalyst is normally contained on a ceramic substrate. These ceramics are extruded in a malleable state and then fired in ovens. The process consists of... 

Starting with a ceramic and depositing an aluminum oxide coating. The aluminum oxide makes the ceramic, which is fairly smooth, have a number of bumps. On those bumps a noble metal catalyst, such as platinum, palladium, or rubidium, is deposited. The active site, wherever the noble metal is deposited, is where the conversion will actually take place. An alternate to the ceramic substrate is a metallic substrate. In this process, the aluminum oxide is deposited on the metallic substrate to give the wavy contour. The precious metal is then deposited onto the aluminum oxide. Both forms of catalyst are called monoliths. 

The gas-sensitive material in thick-film gas sensors has a sintered layer area of a few square millimeters, and about 30 im in thickness, on a ceramic substrate (Fig. 13.546). In other types of gas sensors, it is on the outer surface of a thin tube or as a sintered button (Fig. 13.54l and c). The sensor is heated tet the operating temperature of 300-500 °C by means of a resistor. 

The sensor usually consists of a coil of wire made from the material that is wound on a former and the whole sealed to prevent oxidization, although a film of the metal deposited on a ceramic substrate can also be used. The resistor is connected in a Wheatstone bridge network (Figure 17.17), using fixed resistors in the other three arms. The instrument connected across the bridge is calibrated directly in terms of temperature. The range is limited by the linearity of the device and the upper temperature, which can be measured, must be well below the melting point of the material. 

These materials are produced in monolithic form or as coatings. The coatings are generally applied by CVD on ceramic substrates and by sputtering, electron-beam evaporation, or ion-beam assisted deposition on steel substrates (see Appendix). 

Poon, C. Y. andBhhushan, B., Surface Roughness Analysis of Glass-Ceramic Substrates and Finished Magnetic Disks, and Ni-P Coated Al-Mg and Glass Substrates," Wear, Vol. 190, 1995,pp. 89-109. 

Yoon el al. [112] reported an all-solid-state sensor for blood analysis. The sensor consists of a set of ion-selective membranes for the measurement of H+, K+, Na+, Ca2+, and Cl. The metal electrodes were patterned on a ceramic substrate and covered with a layer of solvent-processible polyurethane (PU) membrane. However, the pH measurement was reported to suffer severe unstable drift due to the permeation of water vapor and carbon dioxide through the membrane to the membrane-electrode interface. For conducting polymer-modified electrodes, the adhesion of conducting polymer to the membrane has been improved by introducing an adhesion layer. For example, polypyrrole (PPy) to membrane adhesion is improved by using an adhesion layer, such as Nafion [60] or a composite of PPy and Nafion [117],... 

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