Thick films or thin?

It is sometimes difficult to decide between thick-film and thin-film technologies in the fabrication of hybrid integrated circuits consisting of a ceramic substrate with deposited passive components and attached active devices. In the case of thick films, the deposited pattern of conductors, resistors, capacitors, and inductors is applied to the substrate by screen-printing and firing special conductive, resistive, or dielectric pastes. Thin-film layers, on the other hand, are deposited in vacuum by evaporation or cathode-sputtering of appropriate source materials. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of both technologies as well as their application ranges.