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In this contribution, the design and integration of a piezoelectric vibrating device into low-temperature, co-fired ceramic (LTCC) structures are presented and discussed. The mechanical vibration of the diaphragm was stimulated with a piezoelectric actuator, which was integrated onto the diaphragm. Three different methods for the integration were designed, fabricated and evaluated.

The vibrating devices were designed as an edge-clamped diaphragm with an integrated piezoelectric actuator at its centre, whose role is to stimulate the vibration of the diaphragm via the converse piezoelectric effect. The design and feasibility study of the vibrating devices was supported by analytical methods and finite-element analyses.

The benchmarking of the ceramic vibrating devices showed that the thick-film piezoelectric actuator responds weakly in comparison with both the bulk actuators. On the other hand, the thick-film actuator has the lowest dissipation factor and it generates the largest displacement of the diaphragm with the lowest driving voltage. The resonance frequency of the vibrating device with the thick-film actuator is the most sensitive for an applied load (i.e. mass or pressure).

Research activity includes the design and the fabrication of a piezoelectric vibrating device in the LTCC structure. The research work on the piezoelectric properties of integrated piezoelectric actuators was limited.

Piezoelectric vibrating devices were used as pressure sensors.

Piezoelectric vibrating devices could be used not only for pressure sensors but also for other type of sensors and detectors and for microbalances.

The purpose of this study is to design, fabricate and investigate low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) structures with integrated microfluidic elements. Special attention is paid to the study of fluid properties of micro-channels and microvalves, which are important constitutive parts of both, microfluidic systems and individual microfluidic devices.

Several test patterns of fluid channels with different geometry and different types of valves were designed and realized in LTCC technology. All test structures were tested under the flow of two fluids (liquids): water and isopropyl alcohol. Flow rates at different applied pressure were measured and hydrodynamic resistance and diode effect were calculated.

The investigation of the channels showed that viscosity of fluidic media has significant influence on the hydrodynamic resistance in channels with rectangular cross-section, while this effect is small on channels with square cross-section. The viscosity also has a decisive influence on the diode effect of different shape of valves, and therefore, it is important in the selection of the valve in practical applications.

In this work, the investigation of hydrodynamic resistance of channels and diode effect of passive valves is limited on selected geometry and only on two fluidic media and two applied pressures. All these and some other parameters have a significant influence on fluidic properties, but this will be the topic of the next research work, which will be supported by numerical modelling.

The presented results are useful in the future designing process of LTCC-based microfluidic devices and systems.

Microfluidic in the LTCC structures is an unconventional use of this technology. Therefore, the fluid properties are relatively unsearched. On the other hand, the global use of microfluidic devices and systems is growing rapidly in various applications. They are mostly made by polymer materials, however, in more demanding applications; ceramic is a useful alternative.

The purpose of this study is the design, fabrication and evaluation of a miniature ozone generator using the principle of electric discharge are presented.

The device was fabricated using a low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) technology, by which a multilayered ceramic structure with integrated electrodes, buried channels and cavities in micro and millimeter scales was realized.

The developed ozone generator with the dimensions of 63.6 × 41.8 × 1.3 mm produces approximately 1 vol. % of ozone in oxygen flow of 15 ml/min, at an applied voltage of 7 kV.

A miniature ozone generator, manufactured in LTCC technology, produces high amount of ozone and more than it is described in the available references or in datasheets of commercial devices of similar size.

Pressure‐sensor miniaturization requires high‐density packaging. This means that designers are constantly faced with all kinds of challenging, and sometimes impossible, requirements. In this paper we will present three examples with specific technologies and aspects of miniaturization and packaging. The first example is a pressure switch, the second a pressure sensor and the third a smart pressure sensor.

The purpose of this paper is to present the research activity and results to research and development society on the field of ceramic microsystems.

The chemical reactor was developed as a non-conventional application of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) and thick-film technologies. In the ceramic reactor with a large-volume, buried cavity, filled with a catalyst, the reaction between water and methanol produces hydrogen and carbon dioxide (together with traces of carbon monoxide). The LTCC ceramic three-dimensional (3D) structure consists of a reaction chamber, two inlet channels, an inlet mixing channel, an inlet distributor, an outlet collector and an outlet channel. The inlet and outlet fluidic barriers for the catalyst of the reaction chamber are made with two “grid lines”.

A 3D ceramic structure made by LTCC technology was successfully designed and developed for chemical reactor – methanol decomposition.

Research activity includes the design and the capability of materials and technology (LTCC) to fabricate chemical reactor with large cavity. But further dimensions-scale-up is limited.

The technology for the fabrication of LTCC-based chemical reactor was developed and implemented in system for methanol decomposition.

The approach (large-volume cavity in ceramic structure), which has been developed, can be used for other type of reactors also.

The successful use of piezoceramic thick films in sensors and actuators requires a thorough understanding of their electrical and electromechanical characteristics. Since these characteristics depend not only on the material's composition but also on its compatibility with various substrates and a number of processing parameters, accurate measurements of the material's parameters are essential. Here, the aim of this paper is to present a procedure for characterising lead‐zirconate‐titanate (PZT) thick films on pre‐fired low‐temperature co‐fired ceramic (LTCC) substrates performed in order to determine the material parameters for numerical modelling.

Owing to the lack of standard procedures for measuring the elastic and piezoelectric properties of the films, the compliance parameters were evaluated from the results of nano‐indentation tests, and a substrate‐flexure method was used to evaluate the transverse piezoelectric coefficients.

The validation of the material model and the finite‐element (FE) analysis of the demonstrator sensor/actuator structures are shown to be in agreement with the FE model, even if not an exact fit.

This paper focuses on a characterisation of PZT thick films screen‐printed on pre‐fired LTCC substrates.

The purpose of this paper is to consider a capacitive pressure sensor fabricated using low‐temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) materials and technology as a candidate for an energy‐autonomous sensor application. Designing the 3D capacitive sensor structure, with the cofired thick‐film electrodes inside the narrow air gap in the LTCC substrate, was a challenging task, particularly due to the presence of the parasitic elements influencing the sensor's characteristics.

In this work, different design variants for the thick‐film electrodes of the capacitive sensing structure were studied and compared. The test sensors were designed for the pressure range 0‐10 kPa and manufactured with readout electronics based on a capacitance‐to‐digital conversion.

The typical sensitivity obtained was 4 fF/kPa, and the temperature coefficient of the sensitivity was 0.03%/°C. The design variant with the guard‐ring electrode showed the best rms resolution of 50 Pa. One drawback of the application could be the sensitivity to atmospheric humidity and the influence of the different media.

This paper focuses on the design of a capacitive gas‐pressure sensor in a 3D LTCC structure. The present study provides a good basis for further optimisation of the design of the cofired electrodes in the capacitive sensing structure.

Strain gauges can be realised by printing and firing thick‐film resistors on ceramic substrates that are usually based on alumina. However, sensing elements made on some other substrates – tetragonal zirconia or stainless steel – would exhibit some improved characteristics, either due to a lower modulus of elasticity or a higher mechanical strength. As thick‐film resistors are developed for firing on alumina substrates their compatibility and possible interactions with other kinds of substrates have to be evaluated. The sheet resistivities and noise indices of the resistors were comparable, whereas the gauge factors were lower for the dielectric‐on‐steel substrates. The temperature coefficients of resistivity (TCR) of the resistors on the ZrO₂ and dielectric‐on‐steel substrates were higher than the TCRs on the alumina substrates, which was attributed to the higher thermal expansion coefficient of the tetragonal zirconia and the stainless steel.

In this manuscript the purpose is to present and evaluate the developed non‐destructive method for analysing the phase composition of LTCC Du Pont “Green Tape 951” material fired in the temperature range from 800 to 1,000°C using X‐ray powder diffraction and Rietveld refinement.

The method uses the crystalline Al2O3 which is already present in the material as an internal standard since its mass fraction was previously found to be constant in the described temperature range.

The results of the non‐destructive analyses and the classical destructive analyses are comparable and the estimated error of the destructive phase analyses and the calculated errors for the non‐destructive phase analyses are of the same order.

The described method can be used also for analysing another type of LTCC material. In this case it is necessary to check whether the mass fraction of any crystalline phase present in the sample is constant in the given temperature range, because only in this case can it be used as an internal standard for a determination of the phase composition.

The non‐destructive method is a fast and easy approach for analysing the fired samples and is also suitable for controlling the phase composition of LTCC materials on 3D complex structures without destroying them, just by using the X‐ray diffraction patterns collected from their surface.

The European Commission has decided that from the second half of 2006 only lead‐free solder pastes will be permitted for use in the electronics industry. Earlier results of testing showed that lead‐free solder pastes may not be appropriate for both printed‐circuit‐board (PCB) and hybrid‐circuit applications, because of the materials' compatibility with the soldering process and with the solder pads. The basic properties of the investigated pastes show which of the tested solder pastes can be used for both applications. After selection of the appropriate solder pastes, reliability tests were conducted. The surface insulation resistance was tested for both the hybrid circuits and PCBs, whereas the mechanical strength of the soldered joints of components was only tested for the PCBs.