As chip components (SMT) are commonly adopted by the electronics industry, conventional PCBs with organic plates as a substrate material grow to high accuracy, high density, and high durability. as a substrate material, they are often used as print circuit boards. Ceramic PCBs have gained a considerable deal of market interest as a comparatively new form of circuit board because they are considered a way to attain the miniaturization of existing electronic devices and technologies for electrical assembly. Through this article, the features, categories, Ceramic PCB Manufacturing Process, and applications of ceramic PCBs will be comprehensively introduced.
With all the advancement of chip materials and surface mounting technology (SMT) in the electronics industry, typically printed circuit boards using organic laminates as just a base material are advancing very fast towards higher densities, higher precision, and higher reliability. Needless to mention, ceramic PCB, as a comparatively recent form of printed circuit board that has been commonly used in the electronics industry for years which is a much more feasible choice for PCB manufacturers, is a successful alternative for miniaturization of current electronics devices and electronic assembly technology.
The ceramic PCB is far more flexible, less complex, and delivers superior efficiency due to its high thermal conduction and minimal expansion coefficient, than a conventional printed circuit board (CTE).
What’s PCB ceramic?
Ceramic PCB is indeed a type of ceramic powder heat conductive heat binder, and also the organic ceramic PCB thermal conductivity is generated with a conductivity of 9-20W/m.
In other words, ceramic PCBs are ceramic-based circuit boards with high thermal conductivity ingredients such as alumina, aluminium nitride and beryllium oxide, which can be easy to dissipate and dissipate heat from hot spots around the entire body. Moreover, ceramic PCB is manufactured using LAM technology, a quick-activation laser metallization technology. So the ceramic PCB is extremely modular, enabling the entire conventional printed circuit board to be replaced by a less complex and enhanced performing structure.
Ceramic PCB Properties
Ceramic PCBs feature the following properties in comparison to standard PCBs, which have epoxy fibers, polyimides, polystyrene, and phenolic resin materials:
- Excellent thermal conductivity
- Chemical erosion-resistant
- Great Mechanical intensity
- Compatible with part CTE
- High-density tracing is easy to introduce.
With growing numbers of features, miniaturization, high speed of electronic devices, and an increase of IC power, more stringent CTE, thermal conductivity, failure, dielectric, and tape resistance requirements must be imposed on ceramic PCBs.
Ceramic PCB Classifications
Ceramic PCB can be categorized into three classes according to ceramic PCB manufacturing processes:
Ceramic PCB can be categorized into three classes according to ceramic PCB manufacturing processes:
- High-temperature and co-fired ceramic PCB,
- Low-temperature and co-fired ceramic PCB and
- Thick film ceramic PCB.
- High-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic
As the traditional process, the mixture of aluminum oxide and adhesion, plasticizer, lubricant, and the solvent is used to co-found the high temperature co-firing, resulting in raw ceramics by the roll forming and curtain coating and circuitry on refractive metals, such as tungsten and molybdenum.
- Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic PCB
Co-fired ceramic PCB mostly with low temperature is made by a mixture of quartz, composite glass, and non-glass with layer adhesive and high conductivity gold pad tracing. After it is sliced and shaped precisely, it is put at a temperature of 900°C in the oxidizing gas oven for baking.
- Thick Film Ceramic PCB
The thick foil gold paste and dielectric paste were written on the ceramic base repeatedly and alternately and baked at below 1000°C. Although this kind of manufacturing technology is optimized for large-size manufacturing of ceramic PCBs and has a more comparatively high assembly base number it is indeed limited because of its high gold cost, which also hinders precipitation solder paste. As a consequence, the most prominent and common ceramic PCBs are created by multi-page, thick-film copper circuit technology.
Ceramic PCB Manufacturing Process
- First and foremost, it is possible to put silver or gold-conductive pastes in each layer in the manufacture of ceramic PCB.
- In general, each layer with a layer-by-layer screen printing method places metal elements or substrates. This can also mechanically punch the vias of an unburned layer or do a laser blockage of the micro vias.
- Secondly, it bakes the whole stack in an oven after printing and piling the ceramic layers. In general, the firing temperature needed for ceramic PCB baking is less than 1000 ° C, which is equal to the gold- or silver-paste content sintering temperature.
- The low-temperature cooking process thus permits the ceramic PCB Manufacturing Process to be made of gold or silver.
- But hot pressing and sintering for multilayer PCB allow the integration of passive components throughout the internal layers of a ceramic PCB easier instantly.
- The PCB manufacturer will then increase part and attachment density on internal layers in a board manufactured with FR-4 material.
Ceramic PCB application
The high thermal conductivity, low CTE, low dielectric constant resistance, and chemical erosion resistance of ceramic PCB are now widespread.
Memory module
For eg, a Japanese company has produced a 1 Mbit SRAM memory module that uses the four IC chips multi-layer ceramic PCBs to provide high reliability and high-density configuration. Besides, a US corporation has produced ceramic PCB, telecommunication products, and aeronautical devices. What they both share is that in serious environments they can be used. Multilayer ceramic PCBs and kit pieces at warhead have appropriate strength and shock tolerance capability.
Receiving/Transmission module
There is a US company developing a radar receiving/transmission module PCB Manufacturing Process with ceramic PCBs. In the receiving/transmission module, Aluminum nitride provides high thermal conductivity and low CTE, which provide a strong base for ceramic PCBs.
Multi-layer interconnect board
More components in the very same PCB region are compliant with ceramic PCBs and electronic device miniaturization; the operation of the interconnect multilayer board seems to have more chances for ceramic PCBs.
Digital/Analog PCB
Moreover, LTCC PCB is used by a company in Japan to produce analog/digital PCB, mainly for reducing the parasitic ability by approximately nine-tenths. Not only does it effectively interfere with a crosstalk system track, but it also decreases the circuit volume and weight.
Advantages of Ceramic PCB
- High thermal conductivity and low thermal resistance, may improve semi-conductive chips’ performance and operating life.
- Excellent thermal and fine mechanical strength with cycling efficiency.
- High isolating strength
- The coefficient of thermal expansion is well above the Silicon Chip Coefficient.
- The strong conductive capacity of current
- Compatibility with the climate, no environmental contaminants PCB Manufacturing Process, e.g. PB,Hg, and Cr, etc.
- Can pass strict protection to the climate.
Bottom Line
At last, it can be said that the best ceramic PCBs have vast areas of use due to their high-temperature conductivity, low CTE, and low dielectric consistency. In applications where high reliability, high air screening, and high thermal conductivity is needed, they will certainly play an important role. And knowing Ceramic PCB Manufacturing Processes a must to deal with it smartly.
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