Thin film passive components integrated into silicon based multi-chip modules for aerospace applications

Research and development activities of Boeing embedded passive technologies are described with an emphasis on resistors and capacitors. Both resistor and capacitor technologies are based on thin film processing to be compatible with the current fabrication process for silicon based multi-chip modules. Resistor material systems with two different ranges of resistivity were developed. Candidate materials included TaN_x for low resistivity and various cermet materials for high resistivity materials. Three different materials systems are being evaluated for embedded capacitors. Single or multi-layer capacitors using SiN_x, and Ta₂O₅ based thin film as dielectric are being developed while only a limited study is planned on high permittivity materials. A conceptual process flow for the multi-layering scheme was developed and is being implemented with candidate capacitor materials. This paper will describe experimental results collected along this study