With the development of technology and electronics, ceramic substrates are more and more widely used. Compared with aluminum substrates, part of the original market is gradually replaced by ceramic substrates. So what are the outstanding advantages of ceramic substrates compared with aluminum substrates?
1. What is a ceramic substrate and what is an aluminum substrate
What is a ceramic substrate
Ceramic substrate refers to a special process board in which copper foil is directly bonded to alumina (Al2O3) or aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramic substrate surface (single-sided or double-sided) at high temperature. The ultra-thin composite substrate has excellent electrical insulation properties, high thermal conductivity, excellent solderability and high adhesion strength, and can be etched into various patterns like a PCB board, and has a large current carrying capacity. Therefore, ceramic substrates have become the basic materials for high-power power electronic circuit structure technology and interconnection technology.
What is an aluminum substrate
Aluminum substrate is a metal-based copper clad laminate with good heat dissipation function. Generally, a single-sided panel consists of three-layer structure, which are circuit layer (copper foil), insulating layer and metal base layer. For high-end use, there are also double-sided designs with a structure of circuit layer, insulating layer, aluminum base, insulating layer, and circuit layer. Very few applications are multi-layer boards, which can be made by laminating ordinary multi-layer boards with insulating layers and aluminum bases.
2. Comparison of composition and working principle of ceramic substrate and aluminum substrate
The ceramic substrate has the characteristics of insulation, so the ceramic substrate is composed of a circuit layer and a metal base layer, and the insulating layer is omitted. Its working principle is that the surface of the power device is mounted on the circuit board layer, and the heat generated by the device is directly transferred by the metal base layer, so as to dissipate the heat of the device.
The aluminum substrate is composed of a circuit layer, an insulating layer and a metal base layer. The surface of the device is mounted on the circuit layer, and the heat generated during the operation of the device is transferred from the insulating layer to the metal base layer, and then the metal base layer transfers the heat out, thereby realizing the heat dissipation of the device.
3. Property comparison of ceramic substrate and aluminum substrate
Surface Finishing
OSP, ENIG, GP, immersion silver,
immersion Tin, NiPdAu, platinum
HASL, immersion Tin,
immersion silver
single-sided, double-sided,
multi-sided
Copper Layer
Thickness
Min. Line Distance
Processing Technic
0.25mm, 0.38mm, 0.5mm,
0.635mm, 1.0mm, 2.0mm
Item
Ceramic Substrate
Aluminum Substrate
Material
Alumina, Aluminum Nitride
Aluminum, Copper, Iron
Layer Qty.
single-sided, double-sided
1-500um
35-240um
0.1um
0.1um
Deformation
no deformation
≤0.5%
DBC/DPC/AMB/HTCC/LTCC
HTCC/LTCC/DBC
Bonding
not easy peeled off
easy peeled off
Plate Thickness
0.3-5.0mm
Size
customized
5*5mm-1185*480mm
4. Performance comparison of ceramic substrate and aluminum substrate
good size precision,
can do multi-layer plating
excellent insulating property
low dielectric constant
In an environment with high temperature
and high humidity, chemical and physical
changes are prone to occur, performance
is not stable
high temperature resistant
corrosion resistant
high thermal conductivity
good thermal conductivity, but thermal
property is largely affected after insulating
layer added during packaging
good chemical stability
easy to get metalized with complicated
path and good bonding
chemical corrosion resistant
low radiation rate
no moisture
no pollution
rich in raw material
mature techinical process
cheap price
Item
Ceramic Substrate
Aluminum Substrate
Mechanical Performance
good mechanical durability
Electrical Property
low dielectric loss
Thermal Property
Other Properties
5. Advantages of ceramic substrate and aluminum substrate
reduce solder layers, reduce thermal resistance,
reduce space, and improve production yield
reduce product operating temperature,
improve product power density and reliability,
and extend product life
under the same current carrying, the copper
foil line width of 0.3mm thick is only 10% of
that of ordinary printed circuit boards
reduce product size
reduce hardware and assembly costs
excellent thermal conductivity makes the package
of the chip very compact, which greatly increases
the power density and improves the reliability of
the system and device
high insulation withstand voltage, ensuring life safety
and equipment protection ability
enables new packaging and assembly methods for
highly integrated and compact products
Ceramic Substrate
Aluminum Substrate
coefficient of thermal expansion close to that of silicon
meet requirement of ROHS
Not easy to break, good mechanical durability
6. Applications of ceramic substrate and aluminum substrate
high-power power semiconductor modules;
semiconductor refrigeration amplifiers,
audio amplifiers, preamplifiers, power appliances,
electronic heaters; power control circuits,
power hybrid circuits.
Audio equipment: input, output amplifiers,
balanced amplifiers, audio amplifiers, preamplifiers
Intelligent power components;
high frequency switching power supplies,
solid state relays
power supply equipment: switching regulator,
DC/AC to relay converter, SW adjustment period, etc.
automotive electronics
aerospace and military electronics
communication electronic equipment: high frequency
booster, filter, transmission circuit
solar panel components;
telecommunications professional exchange
receiver, receiving system;
industrial electronics such as laser
automotive: Electronic regulators, ignitions,
power controllers
power modules: rectifiers, solid state relays,
rectifier bridges, etc.
Ceramic Substrate
Aluminum Substrate
medical equipment, sensor field
computer: CPU floppy disk drive, power supply unit
Due to the ceramic's resistance to pressure, heat, abrasion, and corrosion., UNIPRETEC uses ceramics instead of SUS to make cylinder liners for reciprocating pumps. We are specialized in making ceramic cylinder liners that meet customers' needs in terms of roundness, straightness, surface roughness, etc., and improving work efficiency, product lifetime, and precision.
Zirconium dioxide, also known as zirconia and zirconium oxide, is a crystalline metal oxide that has found its way into the technical advanced ceramics industry. It is characterised by its high thermal resistivity, mechanical resistance, and abrasive properties.
Due to the ceramic's resistance to chemicals, heat, abrasion, and its low thermal expansion, etc., UNIPRETEC uses zirconia ceramic instead of SUS to make the plungers (pistons) for high pressure waterjet pump intensifier parts. We are specialized in making ceramic plungers that meet customers' needs in terms of roundness, straightness, surface roughness, etc., and improving work efficiency, product lifetime, and precision.
Due to the ceramic's resistance to chemicals, heat, abrasion, and its low thermal expansion, etc., UNIPRETEC uses ceramics instead of SUS to make plungers (pistons) for high pressure plunger pumps, automatic filling machines, medical controlled volume pumps, syringe pumps, etc. We are specialized in making ceramic plungers that meet customers' needs in terms of roundness, straightness, surface roughness, etc., and improving work efficiency, product lifetime, and precision.
Zirconium dioxide, also known as zirconia and zirconium oxide, is a crystalline metal oxide that has found its way into the technical advanced ceramics industry. It is characterised by its high thermal resistivity, mechanical resistance, and abrasive properties.
The ceramic pistons are made using the advanced aluminum oxide ceramic material that possesses high hardness, wear resistance, high temperature resistance, and corrosion resistance, ensuring consistent material performance.
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