In-situ measurement of thickness shrinkage during pressure-assisted sintering of low temperature co-fired ceramics
- Shrinkage measurement of miniaturized low temperature co-fired
ceramics (LTCC) samples under load typically leads to a collapsing of
the sample due to the softening of the glassy phase, which hampers
the characterization of shrinkage up to full densification. In practical
sintering processes in contrast, LTCC panels are sintered under axial
loads of up to 1 MPa without lateral shrinkage or collapsing of the
structure. To characterize the shrinkage behavior during such
processes, a measurement setup was developed, which allows for in-situ
thickness shrinkage measurements of practical, large LTCC panels
during pressure-assisted sintering in a sintering press. Using this setup,
the shrinkage behavior of two commercial LTCC tapes (GreenTape 951
and Ceramtape GC) has been measured under loads of up to 1 MPa.
No crushing of the specimens was observed and reproducible
characterization of shrinkage up to full densification has been
performed. Based on comparisons toShrinkage measurement of miniaturized low temperature co-fired
ceramics (LTCC) samples under load typically leads to a collapsing of
the sample due to the softening of the glassy phase, which hampers
the characterization of shrinkage up to full densification. In practical
sintering processes in contrast, LTCC panels are sintered under axial
loads of up to 1 MPa without lateral shrinkage or collapsing of the
structure. To characterize the shrinkage behavior during such
processes, a measurement setup was developed, which allows for in-situ
thickness shrinkage measurements of practical, large LTCC panels
during pressure-assisted sintering in a sintering press. Using this setup,
the shrinkage behavior of two commercial LTCC tapes (GreenTape 951
and Ceramtape GC) has been measured under loads of up to 1 MPa.
No crushing of the specimens was observed and reproducible
characterization of shrinkage up to full densification has been
performed. Based on comparisons to thermomechanical analyzer
measurements in this and other studies, it is concluded that the in-situ
approach is much better suited for shrinkage characterization of LTCC
under load.…