Characterization of silicate sensors on Low Temperature Cofire Ceramic (LTCC) substrates using DSC and XRD techniques

摘要

Characterization of Silicate sensors using Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), X-ray Diffraction(XRD) and Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM) is presented. These silicate sensors are based on three primarymaterials: Li_2SiO_3, K_2SiO_3, and CaSiO_3. Silicate powders were transform into adequate inks that were added to aLow Temperature Cofire Ceramic (LTCC) substrates with thick film technology using screen printing whichcontinues to offer innovative and cost effective solutions to the increasing demands for higher circuit densities.These silicate sensors are low power-high temperature heated ceramic sensors to detect halogen gases. Everysensor responded to the gas showing stability and reproducibility. Phase diagrams for these silicates were used toproduce different combinations. The use of the eutectoid point in the phase diagrams was critical to reduce theoperating temperature. Testing and characterization of these silicate sensors is presented. The impact of variousparameters (e.g. materials design, structure, properties, performance and processing) for the sensors including theirrelationships for electronic packaging was reviewed and it was found critical to determine the microelectronicspackaging reliability and integrity. The fundamentals of the sensor behavior including the sensitivity as well asresponse and recovery times were also determined.