Geometrical, electrical and stability properties of thick‐film and LTCC microcapacitors

Purpose – Capacitors are frequently used in electronic circuits. Thick‐film technology allows fabrication of such components in the case of small‐ and medium‐capacitance values. They can also be manufactured in LTCC structures. The paper seeks to investigate the electrical properties of thick‐film and LTCC capacitors for as‐fired and long‐term thermally aged test structures in a wide frequency and temperature range.Design/methodology/approach – Sandwich and interdigitated planar capacitors were fabricated on alumina or LTCC substrates using standard screen printing and laser shaping. Various dielectric inks and electrodes materials were used. The crystalline phases in thick‐film dielectric films were identified.Findings – Planar and sandwich LTCC and thick‐film capacitors were designed and fabricated. Different technology variations were tested. X‐ray analysis indicated that both used commercial compositions, compatible with LTCC substrates are based on barium and titatium compounds. The difference in the...