A novel thick film materials technology offering high performance packaging solutions

Thick film technology has been widely used in the past for modern performance packaging solutions, but has been unable to complete with thin film technology for high performance requirements. The problems of poor geometrical resolution, together with high dielectric constant and loss have all contributed to the very limited adoption of thick film for advanced packaging. This paper describes an advanced ceramic based technology using thick film conductors and dielectric. Excellent geometrical properties result from a combination of novel materials and processing, giving line widths better than 25 micron and via geometries better than 50 micron. A novel dielectric material provides a dielectric constant of less than 4, with a loss factor better than 1.10/sup -4/. This technology allows the fabrication of high density circuits and packages, offering many packaging solutions, including MCM, microwave, sensors and displays, all on one substrate. The paper discusses the technology, its processing and performance. It concludes by presenting examples of typical applications.