TY - JOUR A1 - Naghib-zadeh, H. A1 - Oder, Gabriele A1 - Hesse, J. A1 - Reimann, T. A1 - Töpfer, J. A1 - Rabe, Torsten T1 - Effect of oxygen partial pressure on co-firing behavior and magnetic properties of LTCC modules with integrated NiCuZn ferrite layers JF - Journal of Electroceramics N2 - Low-κ dielectric LTCC was developed, to realize successful co-firing with NiCuZn ferrite tapes. A critical high-temperature process in the production of highly integrated LTCC modules is the migration of silver from inner conductors into the LTCC glass phase. Intensive silver migration causes strong deformation of LTCC multilayers during firing in air. Silver migration into the LTCC glass phase depends on oxygen content of the sintering atmosphere and can be minimized by sintering in nitrogen atmosphere. However, partial decomposition of NiCuZn-ferrite and formation of cuprite was observed during sintering in nitrogen and, consequently, the permeability of the ferrite decreases. As shown by a combined XRD/thermogravimetric study the co-firing of LTCC modules with silver metallization and integrated ferrite layer demands precise adjustment of oxygen partial pressure. KW - Ferrite KW - Silver diffusion KW - Co-firing KW - LTCC PY - 2016 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10832-016-0043-0 SN - 1385-3449 SN - 1573-8663 VL - 37 IS - 1-4 SP - 100 EP - 109 PB - Springer Science+Business Media CY - New York AN - OPUS4-38603 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hesse, J. A1 - Naghib-zadeh, H. A1 - Rabe, Torsten A1 - Töpfer, J. T1 - Integration of additive-free Ni–Cu–Zn ferrite layers into LTCC multilayer modules JF - Journal of the European Ceramic Society N2 - The sintering behavior of sub-micron Ni0.30Cu0.20Zn0.52Fe1.98O3.99 ferrite with and without Bi2O3 addition was studied. Ferrites with 0.5 wt% Bi2O3 exhibit enhanced shrinkage at T < 900 °C with significant grain growth. Additive-free ferrite powders also sinter to high density at 900 °C, however, grain growth is very limited. Both ferrites exhibit a permeability of µ = 400–450. Multilayers consisting of ferrite and low-k dielectric LTCC layers were prepared by co-firing at 900–915 °C. The shrinkage and thermal expansion characteristics of ferrite and LTCC tapes are similar. However, the permeability of integrated ferrite layers, made from ferrite tapes with Bi2O3 additive, significantly drops after co-firing with LTCC layers compared to separately fired monolithic ferrite multilayers. Contrarily, the permeability of integrated, Bi2O3-free ferrite layers, co-fired with dielectric tapes, is identical to that of monolithic ferrite multilayers. This finding is an important step toward ferrite integration into complex LTCC multilayer architectures. KW - LTCC KW - Ferrite integration KW - Multilayer KW - Sintering PY - 2016 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2016.02.016 SN - 0955-2219 VL - 36 IS - 8 SP - 1931 EP - 1937 PB - Elsevier Ltd. CY - Oxford, UK AN - OPUS4-36001 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Matz, R. A1 - Rabe, Torsten A1 - Töpfer, J. A1 - Ziesche, S. T1 - Circuit-Board-Integrated Transformers Design and Manufacture JF - Journal of Ceramic Science and Technology N2 - Transformers couple two sections of a circuit by electromagnetic induction. They are widely used to either transform alternating voltage levels or to transmit power or signals across galvanic isolation. Both of these functions are essential for the operation of sensors and controllers. Covering all aspects from idea to circuit performance and from design to manufacture, this paper presents the first comprehensive description of the making of miniaturized, rugged, up-to-100W transformers for embedding into multilayer circuit boards. For circular coils, the well-manageable Ampere-Laplace law is shown to yield reliable designs, predicting correctly the performance of manufactured hardware. This enables fast design without lengthy finite element modelling. In the low-power linear regime, basic relations describe how the device’s characteristics evolve from the material properties and device structure. While scattering Parameters are useful for the analysis of isolated transformers with their intrinsic parasitics, the interaction with the components of the final circuit and the aspects of power and efficiency are addressed by chain matrixes. While these design rules are similar for multilayer boards of different material (like epoxy, Teflon, ceramics), the manufacturing of ceramic board transformers is considered here in detail. Low-temperature-cofired ceramic (LTCC) boards being sintered at 900 °C are particularly suited for harsh environments with chemical or thermal stress as frequently found at sensor positions. The transformer performance usually benefits from or even requires an integrated ceramic core of higher permeability, a ferrite, to shape the magnetic flux. Methods to sinter ferrites inside a dielectric ceramic multilayerandto measure their performance are therefore described in detail.Asthe sintering behaviour of dielectricandmagnetic ceramics differs considerably, their simultaneous sintering is challenging.However, the sintering temperatures of the usefulMnZnand NiZnCu ferrites can be lowered to that of the dielectric material with only moderate loss of permeability by glass additives. Furthermore, thermal mismatch between materials causes catastrophic failure or at least stress and loss of magnetic performance during cooling to room temperature after sintering. This is avoidable by either adjusting the thermal expansion coefficient of the ferrite or by enclosing the ferrite between stressreleasing separation layers.We present the state of the art in materials development according to the first approach as well as fully functional devices made with the second technique. Other applications not directly addressed but well related to this work are characterized by low load resistance in relation to the coil resistance of the transformer. Efficient power transmission then requires that technological solutions are applied to achieve the lowest possible resistive loss inside the coils by an enlarged conductor cross-section. As this is particularly challenging for LTCC boards, a technique is discussed to fabricate conductor traces with a thickness larger than their width. KW - Multilayer ceramic technology KW - LTCC KW - Transformer PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.4416/JCST2019-00071 SN - 2190-9385 VL - 11 IS - 1 SP - 44 EP - 61 PB - Göller Verlag CY - Baden-Baden AN - OPUS4-50751 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -