Preparation and characterization of high-temperature silver thick film and its application in multilayer chip inductances

Conductive silver terminal paste for multilayer chip inductances (MLCIs) was prepared. Surfactant could decrease the apparent viscosity of silver paste and improve the densification of the fired silver films, however, surplus surfactant would worsen the levelability of silver paste because of the decrease in the surface tension of the printed thick films. Suitable dosage of lead-free glass and sintering temperature are also very important to obtain the qualified thick films. Silver thick films containing 5 wt.% frit/silver have high adhesion strength (119 Kgf cm−2), low sheet resistance (5.4 mΩ/□), dense microstructure and excellent electroplating behavior at the fired temperature of 850 °C. MLCIs with as-synthesized silver terminal paste have excellently electrical and mechanical properties.