Integration of magnetic functional components in LTCC Circuit boards calls for co-firing of dielectric and ferrite tapes. Ni-Cu-Zn ferrites with permeability of p=900 were developed which can be fully densified at the Standard LTCC sintering temperature of 900 °C. Successful co-firing of this ferrite with dielectric tapes requires the adaptation of the shrinkage behavior of the materials as well as the thermal expansion during the cooling period - especially in the temperature range below the transformation point of the glassy phase of the dielectric tape. To match these preconditions, a new dielectric LTCC material with steep sintering curve and high thermal expansion coefficient was designed. Sintered multilayer composed of Ni-Cu-Zn ferrite and tailored dielectric tapes are free of cracks and possess no open porosity. No significant interdiffusion between the ferrite and dielectric tapes was found by EDX measurements. Compared to pure ferrite laminates the permeability of co-sintered Ni-Cu-Zn ferrite layers is drastically reduced to 400, i.e. a decrease of more than 50 %.
To investigate the origin of this permeability reduction, Ni-Cu-Zn ferrite laminates were sintered separately, and in combination with alumina release tapes or dielectric tapes, respectively. SEM and EDX analysis of co-fired laminates reveal differences in the ferrite grain growth behavior. Ferrite laminates with homogeneous microstructure and grain size up to 50 pm exhibit large permeability. However, growth of ferrite grains does not take place near the interface between ferrite and release or dielectric tapes. There is a strong correlation between high permeability and volume fraction of large ferrite grains. Regions of fine and coarse grains inside the ferrite layers show different bismuth concentration; the Bi-content is larger in regions of fine ferrite grains.
Further miniaturization of electronic packaging calls for integration of magnetic functional components into LTCC modules. For integration of magnetic function into LTCC, low fired MnZn- and NiCuZn-ferrites which can be fully densified at the standard LTCC sintering temperature of 900°C were developed. To co-fire these ferrite tapes with dielectric tapes the sintering shrinkage and the coefficient of thermal expansion of ferrite and dielectric tapes must be matched. For each ferrite material a new LTCC dielectric material was designed. The embedded ferrite tapes into new LTCC dielectric tapes can be sufficiently densified during co-firing at 900°C without any cracking. Compared to separately sintered ferrites the permeability of embedded ferrite tapes is reduced. For embedded NiCuZn ferrites permeabilities between 230 and 570 (at 2 MHz) according to the thickness of the embedded ferrite layer were measured. For embedded MnZn ferrites a permeability of 300 was measured.
For co-firing of MnZn-ferrite tapes and LTCC dielectric tapes, the sintering shrinkage curves and the coefficient of thermal expansion of ferrite and dielectric tapes were matched. Highly densified embedded ferrite without any cracks could be manufactured by co-firing at 900 °C in nitrogen atmosphere. However, the permeability of MnZn-ferrite co-fired between dielectric tapes is significantly reduced (µ´=100) compared to that of the separately sintered ferrite (µ´=500). Changes in the phase stability and microstructure of MnZn-ferrite were investigated to explain the permeability reduction in the embedded ferrite. It is supposed that early densification of the dielectric tapes on the top and bottom of the ferrite layer prevent the gas exchange during sintering which is necessary for (Mn,Zn)Fe2O4 spinel formation. As a result, high amount of Fe2O3 secondary phase and a Mn-rich spinel phase with low permeability remain in the embedded ferrite layer.
The sintering temperature of BaTiO3 powder was reduced to 900 °C due to the ZnO-B2O3-Li2O-Nb2O5-Co2O3 addition. Excellent densification was achieved after sintering at 900 °C for 2 h. The low sintering temperature of newly developed capacitor materials allows a co-firing with pure silver electrodes. The dielectric constant and the temperature stability of the dielectric constant are strongly correlated with the composition of the ZnO-B2O3-Li2O additives. A high dielectric constant up to 3000 and a dielectric loss less than 0.024 were measured on multilayer capacitors sintered at 900 °C with silver inner electrodes.
Silver in LTCC - Interfacial reactions, transport processes and influence on properties of ceramics
(2009)
Due to addition of minor amounts of suitable additive combinations to BaTiO3 powder the sintering temperature was reduced to 900 °C. Excellent densification (more than 98% of theoretical density) and good dielectric properties were achieved after sintering at 900 °C for 2 hours. Dielectric properties can be improved by modifying the composition of sintering additives and additon of further dopants. The low sintering temperature of newly developed capacitor material allows a co-sintering with pure silver electrodes. No interfacial reaction between silver electrodes and ceramics was observed by microprobe analysis. The dielectric constants of about 1200 to 3000 and the dielectric losses of about 0.008 to 0.02 were measured (f = 1 kHz, T = 25 °C). The temperature dependency of dielectric constant for new capacitor materials is low, almost X7R characteristics. Furthermore, the densification and the dielectric properties of embedded capacitors in LTCC were investigated.
By addition of LiF-containing sintering additives to commercial BaTiO3 powder, more than 98% of the theoretical density was reached at a sintering temperature of 900 °C both on powder compacts and laminates. Dielectric measurements were performed on ceramic samples in the temperature and frequency ranges from -20 °C to 125 °C and from 103 to 106 Hz, respectively. High relative permittivity (εr ~ 3160) and low dielectric loss (tan δ ~ 0.014) were measured for tapes of the favoured material. The breakdown strength for tapes with a thickness of about 80 µm is 30 kV/mm. The microprobe analysis showed, that no interfacial reaction between the dielectric layer and the Ag-electrode had occurred.
The newly developed barium titanate ceramics completely densifying at 900 °C turned out to be promising for integration of buried capacitors in LTCC multilayers.