Characterization of alumina-based LTCC composite materials: Thermal and electrical properties

The study on Low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) has been widely investigated due to its potential as an advanced approach for packaging of electronics devices. This paper evaluates and discusses about the firing temperatures effect on the densification, thermal and electrical properties of the prepared LTCC material. The LTCC tape, which consists mostly of Al₂O₃ was fabricated using tape casting technique. Five layers of tapes were then stacked and air-fired at different temperatures of 840, 880, 920 and 960°C. All samples were characterized for thermal and electrical properties. The crystallinity and microstructure of all samples were studied using XRD and SEM respectively. Current investigations show that the changing of density or volume fraction of pores is the main reason for the dielectric properties shift. Meanwhile, the changing in lattice parameters is observed as the main reason in thermal diffusivity shift. The sample fired at 880°C has the best thermal and electrical properties with thermal diffusivity of about 0.62 mm²/s, dielectric constant (ε_r) of about 5.65 and dielectric loss, tan (δ) of about 0.003.