Dielectric Materials for Wireless Communication

CHAPTER TWELVE

LOW TEMPERATURE COFIRED CERAMICS

12.1 INTRODUCTION

In the past the microwave devices have been traditionally machined from metal, and co-axial RF connections were made with connectors generally leading to expensive heavy and bulky packages [1, 2]. Moreover, electronic circuits for the automotive industry, entertainment electronics and telecommunications have to handle today a steady increasing amount of functions occupying as minimal space as possible. In the development of complex miniaturized circuits, flexible glass ceramic tapes, known as low temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) tapes, play a decisive role as a base material. Recently, the LTCC has become crucial in the development of various modules and substrates [3–5]. In ...