What are Ceramic PCBs?

Ceramic PCB boards are made from ceramic materials like Aluminum Nitride, Aluminum Oxide, Boron Nitride, Beryllium Oxide, and Silicon Carbide. The word ‘Ceramic’ refers to inorganic, metallic oxide, nitride, or carbide materials that are hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant. Ceramic PCBs are made of high-quality industrial materials with metal cores and have been playing a vital role in the development of miniaturized electronic products.

Classifications of the Ceramic PCBs

According to the manufacturing process, the ceramic PCBs can be classified as:

• High-temperature co-fired ceramic PCB (HTCC): This PCB is made by mixing Aluminum Oxide with adhesive, plasticizer, lubricant and solvent. Circuit tracing can be achieved through refractory metals like tungsten and molybdenum. 
• Low-temperature co-fired ceramic PCB (LTCC): This PCB is fabricated by mixing crystal glass, glass composite and non-glass with adhesive. The circuit tracing is implemented by gold paste with high conductivity. 
• Thick Film Ceramic PCB: For fabrication, the thick film gold paste and dielectric paste are repeatedly and alternately printed on the ceramic base, which is then placed at a temperature below 1000°C. This type of PCB is used in large-scale production. Its application is limited due to the high cost of gold.

Advantages of Ceramic Printed Circuit Boards:

• Ceramic PCBs offer higher thermal conductivity and a low expansion coefficient (CTE). Aluminum Oxide has 20 times higher conductivity than FR4, while Aluminum Nitride and Silicon Carbide are 100 times better in conductivity. Boron Nitride has the highest thermal conductivity so far.
• High temperature resistance and high electrical insulation performance
• Good mechanical strength and can withstand high loads including shock and vibration
• Good chemical stability and Low-Frequency loss
• High-impedance tracing can be implemented easily
• Useful in the production of multi-layer PCB boards
• Less expensive than metal (Cu/Al) core PCBs

Ceramic PCBs are used for a wide range of high-performance PCBs used for aerospace, automotive, medical devices, heavy machinery, solar panel arrays, power transmitter modules, and solid-state relays.

PCB Directory has listed Ceramic-based PCB manufacturers from all over the world. Click here to view the list.