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Erscheinungsjahr
- 2012 (2) (entfernen)
Dokumenttyp
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- Englisch (2)
Schlagworte
- LTCC (1)
- Pressure-assisted sintering (1)
- Strain gauge (1)
- Thin-film substrate (1)
Recent advances in the development of high gauge factor thin-films for strain gauges prompt the research on advanced substrate materials. A glass ceramic composite has been developed in consideration of a high coefficient of thermal expansion and a low modulus of elasticity for the application as support material for thin-film sensors. Constantan foil strain gauges were fabricated from this material by tape casting, pressure-assisted sintering and subsequent lamination of the metal foil on the planar ceramic substrates. The sensors were mounted on a strain gauge beam arrangement and load curves and creep behavior were evaluated. The accuracy of the assembled load cells correspond to accuracy class C6. That qualifies the load cells for the use in automatic packaging units and confirms the applicability of the LTCC substrates for fabrication of accurate strain gauges. To facilitate the deposition of thin film sensor structures onto the LTCC substrates, the pressure-assisted sintering technology has been refined. By the use of smooth setters instead of release tapes substrates with minimal surface roughness were fabricated. Metallic thin films deposited on these substrates exhibit low surface resistances comparable to thin films on commercial alumina thin-film substrates. The presented advances in material design and manufacturing technology are important to promote the development of high performance thin-film strain gauges.
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 µ = 900 were fully densified at the standard LTCC sintering temperature of 900°C. Co-firing of this ferrite with dielectric tapes requires the adaptation of the shrinkage behavior of the materials as well as the thermal contraction during the cooling period – especially in the temperature range below the transformation point of the glass 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 laminates 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 using microprobe analysis. Pure ferrite laminates show homogeneous microstructure with large grains up to 50 µm in diameter. 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 permeability and volume fraction of large ferrite grains. Compared to pure ferrite laminates the permeability of co-sintered Ni-Cu-Zn ferrite layers is drastically reduced to 400, that is a decrease of more than 50%.