Both DPC ceramic substrates and LTCC ceramic substrates are ceramic-based circuit boards with good thermal conductivity, high insulation and high air tightness. In various fields of application products, what is the difference between DPC ceramic substrates and LTCC ceramic substrates?
一、The production process of DPC ceramic substrate and LTCC ceramic substrate is different
1.DPC ceramic substrate and process characteristics
The DPC ceramic substrate adopts the DPC manufacturing process. DPC ceramic substrates are metallized by surface deposition processes such as evaporation and magnetron sputtering because of the direct copper plating (DPC) process. First, sputter titanium, chromium, and then copper particles under vacuum conditions, and finally increase the thickness by electroplating; then complete the circuit production by ordinary pcb process, and finally increase the thickness of the circuit by electroplating/electroless deposition.
DPC ceramic substrate adopts DPC – magnetron sputtering + electroplating process: high precision and high equipment cost. DBC process – copper is sintered directly to the ceramic board, direct printing – thick film process: cheap equipment, mature technology, high precision, good flatness, good bonding force, can be through holes. The disadvantage is that this technology can only produce thin plates (thickness < 300μm), and its high cost and limited production, resulting in often not shipped on time.
The DPC process is more suitable for ceramic circuit boards with precision circuits, more holes, and smaller line width and line spacing. It is in line with the requirements of miniaturization, high integration and intelligence in the future development of science and technology. Generally, DPC is more suitable for making single-sided and double-sided ceramic substrates, one side is metallized on the other side, or double-sided circuits and double-sided metal copper layers.
2.Process introduction and features and advantages of LTCC ceramic substrates
The LTCC ceramic substrate adopts the LTCC process, which is a low-temperature co-fired ceramic process. Generally, double-sided or multi-layer ceramic substrates are used. The process is relatively complex, the production process is difficult, and the yield rate is low. Low-temperature co-fired ceramic substrates have lower thermal conductivity due to low-temperature sintering. But LTCC ceramic substrate has its own advantages:
- ① It can adapt to the requirements of high current and high temperature resistance, and has better thermal conductivity than ordinary PCB circuit substrates;
- ② The use of metal materials with high electrical conductivity as conductor materials is conducive to improving the quality factor of the circuit system;
- ③Good temperature characteristics, such as small thermal expansion coefficient, small temperature coefficient of dielectric constant, can make circuit substrates with extremely high layers, and can make thin line structures with line widths less than 50μm.
- ④ Passive components can be embedded in the multi-layer circuit substrate, which is beneficial to improve the assembly density of the circuit;
- ⑤ The non-continuous production process allows inspection of green substrates, thereby improving yield and reducing production costs.
It can be seen that the production process of DPC and LTCC ceramic substrates is different, and the advantages are also different. Multi-layer ceramic substrates generally use LTCC process or htcc process, DPC can only make thin plates at present, and multi-layer ceramic substrates are limited.
3.The thermal conductivity of DPC ceramic substrate and LTCC substrate is different
The DPC ceramic substrate is processed by the DPC electroplating process, and the thermal conductivity of the plate is not affected. The DPC ceramic substrate is widely used in the field of products that require high thermal conductivity and heat dissipation. However, the LTCC ceramic substrate adopts a low-temperature co-firing process, and the sintering temperature of LTCC is generally below 1000°C. LTCC uses metals such as Au, Ag, and Cu with high conductivity and low melting point as conductor materials. Low loss performance at high frequencies makes it ideal for use in RF, microwave and millimeter wave devices. Mainly used in high-frequency wireless communication, aerospace, memory, driver, filter, sensor and automotive electronics and other fields.
4.The processing process of DPC ceramic substrate and LTCC substrate is different
The DPC processing process is simpler than the LTCC processing process, the yield is higher, and the delivery time is faster. The production process of LTCC substrate is more complicated, the cost is higher, and the delivery time is longer.
To sum up, LTCC is low temperature sintering, generally used for multi-layer interconnection, and is very popular in the field of high frequency communication. The DPC ceramic substrate has high precision and outstanding thermal conductivity, and is mostly made into single and double panels.
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