M.P. Gladysheva1, E.V. Kolpakova2, V.E. Sergeev3, D.E. Orekhov4
1–4 FSUE RFNC “All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics” (Sarov, Russia)
1 gladmarinapet@mail.ru, 2 kelv1964@mail.ru, 3 sergeev1980sergeev@yandex.ru, 4 orehovdima80@yandex.ru

The technology of manufacturing multilayer ceramic boards by low temperature co–firing LTCC is currently one of the promising areas in the field of creating devices for microwave technology. The route of the standard technology for manufacturing multilayer ceramic boards includes the following technological operations: punching of transition holes and cavities, filling of transition holes with conductive paste, screen printing of conductor elements, bundling and lamination of ceramic blanks, cutting and firing of modules.
A feature of the standard LTCC technology is the shrinkage of ceramics during the firing process. Shrinkage occurs in three dimensions X, Y, Z: in X, Y up to 10–15%, in Z up to 10-45%. Its value depends on many factors:

consistency in the system of materials: conductive pastes and ceramics;

the number of layers in the board;

uniformity of the placement of the topological pattern over the area of the layer;

the size and number of transition holes in the layer, including the presence of end metallization;

the presence, type and location of cavities.

Based on the above, the "shrink-free" technology for manufacturing multilayer ceramic boards is of great interest, which makes it possible to eliminate the influence of the above factors and produce products with "zero" shrinkage. This solves the problem of ensuring accurate dimensional characteristics according to the design documentation.

The article discusses the possibility of using shrink-free technology for manufacturing LTCC boards using special materials, the so-called fAST layers.

During the isostatic lamination process, this material is attached to the LTCC billet from the front and back sides, which makes it possible to restrain shrinkage during firing, thereby minimizing changes in the geometric dimensions of the sample during firing. During firing, it collapses. As a result, the samples have a shrinkage of 1–2%, the so-called "zero" shrinkage.

Thus, the dimensions of the samples after firing are close to the dimensions specified in the design documentation. This fact makes it possible to exclude from the technological process operations related to the determination of the shrinkage coefficient for a specific design of a multilayer ceramic board and the system of materials used.

As a result of the work carried out:

a route for manufacturing multilayer ceramic boards using shrink-free technology has been developed;

samples of boards with linear shrinkage along the X and Y axes not exceeding 1% and a non-flatness of less than 50 microns were made.

The developed "shrink-free" technology for manufacturing LTCC boards is recommended for creating promising microwave devices.

Gladysheva M.P., Kolpakova E.V., Sergeev V.E., Orekhov D.E. Applications of shrinkage-free technology for manufacturing multilayer ceramic LTCC boards for creating microwave devices // Achievements of modern radioelectronics. 2026. V. 80. № 8. P. 74–79. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18127/j20700784-202608-10

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