Caroline Jacq

Sensors and packages based on LTCC and thick-film technology for severe conditions

Reliable operation in harsh environments such as high temperatures, high pressures, aggressive media and space, poses special requirements for sensors and packages, which usually cannot be met using polymer-based technologies. Ceramic technologies, especially LTCC (Low-Temperature Cofired Ceramic), offer a reliable platform to build hermetic, highly stable and reliable sensors and packages. This is illustrated in the present work through several such devices. The examples are discussed in terms of performance, reliability, manufacturability and cost issues.

Structuration of the low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) using novel sacrificial graphite paste with PVA–propylene glycol–glycerol–water vehicle

A novel formulation for thick-film graphite sacrificial pastes is studied in this paper. It is composed of coarse graphite powder (grain size: 25 μm), dispersed in a vehicle consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) dissolved in a propylene glycol (PG)–glycerol (G)–water mix, which is not aggressive to thin LTCC sheets. The presented sacrificial paste has been successfully applied for fabrication of thin (<50 μm) membranes and microchannels in low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) substrate. The properties of the graphite-based paste have been examined using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermo-gravimetric (DTG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The obtained membranes and microchannels have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and optical profile measurements gauge.

Properties and stability of thick-film resistors with low processing temperatures - effect of composition and processing parameters

In this work, the properties (sheet-resistance, temperature coefficient and piezoresistance / gauge factor) and stability of thick-film resistors with low firing temperatures (525...650°C) are studied. To this end, two low-melting lead borosilicate glass composition have been chosen, together with RuO2 as a conductive filler. The effect on the properties and stability of composition and firing temperature is studied. The stability of the materials is quantified during high-temperature storage (annealing) at 250°C. These results show that reasonable resistive and piezoresistive properties, as well as stability, can be obtained even using lower processing temperatures compatible with deposition onto steel, titanium, aluminium and glass substrates.

Load sensing surgical instruments

Force and pressure sensing technology applied to smart surgical instruments as well as implants allow to give a direct feedback of loads to the surgeon lead to better reliability and success of surgical operations. A common technology used for sensors is low-cost piezoresistive thick-film technology. However, the standard thick-film firing conditions degrade the properties of medical alloys. In order to avoid this problem, the solution is to decrease the firing temperature of thick films. This work presents the development and characterisation of low-firing thick-film systems (dielectrics, resistors and conductors), formulated to achieve chemical and thermal expansion compatibility with an austenitic stainless steel medical alloy. Adherence tests and results on electrical properties of these systems: resistance, temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) are presented. It was found that the main issue in these systems lies in mastering the materials interactions during firing, especially at the silver-based resistor terminations. The interaction of silver, resistor and dielectric tends to give rise to highly resistive zones at the terminations, affecting reliability. This can be circumvented by post-firing the resistor terminations at a moderate temperature.

Millinewton force sensor based on low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology

Fabrication of a millinewton force sensor, which is based on LTCC technology as an alternative to the widely used alumina (Al2O3) is described. The new sensor, integrated with piezoresistor thick-film, has shown an increase in the sensitivity by two times compared to the alumina-based version in the first attempt. This is ascribed to the smaller elastic modulus and finer substrate thickness attainable by LTCC. Moreover design flexibility is also an important factor, which contributes to the increased sensitivity of the sensor. It is strongly expected that the device performance can further be improved, by modifying the co-fired LTCC components such as LTCC tape and the thick-film terminations.

Optimisation of industrial production of low-force sensors – adhesive bonding of force-centring ball

This work addresses the issue of attaching the force-centring part (a round ball) to the load cell of a force sensor, a piezoresistive thick-film Wheatstone bridge deposited onto a ceramic cantilever. As the current soldering process requires expensive metallisation steps for both the ball and the cantilever, and subjects the solder pads used for mounting the cantilever to an additional reflow cycle, an alternative adhesive bonding process was developed, allowing both simpler production and the use of other ball materials such as ceramic and glass. The self-centring action of solder capillary forces was ensured by structuring the adhesive so as to form a mechanical cuvette allowing centring of the ball by gravity. The selected adhesive materials exhibited good printability and bonding, as well as surviving the subsequent soldering and cleaning process steps.

Structuration and Fabrication of Sensors Based on LTCC (Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic) Technology

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate sensors and structures fabricated using the LTCC technology, which has been addressed and employed increasingly as a smart packaging approach for several applications. The focus will be on inclination and cantilever force sensors and micro-fluidic structures. Motivation for selection of LTCC for these applications in addition to fabrication and structuring of the devices will be explained in details. TGA (thermo-gravimetric analysis), dilatometer analysis, SEM (scanning electron microscopy), electronic equipment for measuring sensor performance will be extensively used for explanation of the results. It will also be shown that, compared to classical thick-film technology on alumina, LTCC allows a considerable increase in sensitivity, and is therefore better suited for the sensing of minute forces and pressures.

Solutions for thermally mismatched brazing operations for ceramic tokamak magnetic sensor

To monitor high-frequency fluctuations of the equilibrium magnetic field in tokamaks, a 3D magnetic sensor has been developed. The sensor, which is positioned inside the vacuum vessel behind the protective tiles of the tokamak and is exposed to potential temperatures up to 400°C, is based on thick-film and LTCC (low-temperature co-fired ceramic) technology. To connect the sensor to the cabling that runs inside the vacuum vessel, mineral-insulated cables have to be brazed to the sensor to ensure electrical connection together with mechanical robustness and sufficient thermal stability. As the brazing temperature is about 600°C, direct brazing to the alumina sensor substrate can cause failure by cracking induced by thermal stresses. It arises both by temperature gradients stemming from the localised heating and by the high thermal mismatch of alumina with the braze and wire materials. In previous work, high stresses from temperature gradients were efficiently decoupled by brazing indirectly to alumina beams attached to the main substrate, and local thermal stresses between alumina and braze/wire by using a porous metallisation. However, as the slender alumina beams protruding out of the substrate are somewhat cumbersome and fragile, three alternatives were studied in the present work: 1) testing shorter and more robust beams, 2) replacing the alumina beam by a silver wire, and 3) depositing a porous temperature- and stress-decoupling dielectric to enable direct brazing on the main alumina substrate. These solutions are characterised with respect to their mechanical robustness and of the degree of thermal decoupling with the substrate they provide.

Fabrication, response and stability of miniature piezoresistive force-sensing thick-film cantilevers

Abstract Miniature ceramic cantilevers have been successfully applied to the fabrication of simple and low-cost piezoresistive thick-film force-sensing cells, using different thick-film and LTCC (low-temperature co-fired ceramic) substrates. The availability of thin substrates for some materials allows much improved sensitivity compared to classical thick-film technology, with LTCC also featuring rather low substrate elastic modulus and fine structurability. However, practical applicability may be hindered by processing difficulties, such as printing and handling very thin fired substrates, or, in the case of co-fired tapes, warpage during firing. Also, signal drift is observed with some devices. In this work, we show that most of the previously-observed signal drift in some LTCC sensors is not due to self-heating, and therefore stems from defects such as micro-cracks within the ceramic cantilevers or plastic deformations in internal conductors. In a second step, we explore manufacturability of thick-film...

Porous thick-film silver metallisation for thermally mismatched brazing operations in tokamak magnetic sensor

A novel sensor based on thick-film + LTCC (low-temperature cofired ceramic) technology has been recently developed for sensing high-frequency 3D magnetic fields in tokamak fusion devices. For integration within the walls of the tokamak, the sensor has to be connected to the mineral-insulated cabling, which is carried out by brazing to ensure sufficient thermal stability. However, thermal mismatch stresses between the braze and the cable vs. the alumina substrate may cause local cracking of the latter during cooling, as the basic dense silver metallisation of the alumina does not provide a sufficient degree of stress decoupling. To address this issue, a series of porous metallisations have been formulated by incorporation of a mix of silver and fugitive graphite powder into a thick-film paste. To allow co-firing of thick, multi-layered prints. Such porous metallisations have allowed successful brazing operations, without cracking of the alumina substrate. Metallisations were assessed by measuring their electrical resistivity and shear stress have been realised as preliminary results to measure the influence of the porosity on the maximal stress before cracking.