AiF-IGF-Project 19230 „ActivePower“ Final Report - Forschungsvereinigung Räumliche Elektronische Baugruppen 3-D MID e.V.

Summary of the final report of the research project: Development of a ceramic injection molded 3D circuit carrier for contacting and integration of power electronics by means of low-resistance active solder “Active Power

In the ActivePower project it was successfully demonstrated that active solders, which were previously only used for joining materials, can also function as electrical conductors on ceramic substrate materials. Fundamental research into this new technology for functionalizing ceramic circuit carriers will make it possible to realize high-temperature applications for 3D-MID in the future. Within the scope of the project, paste-based active solders were applied to additive-manufactured aluminum oxide circuit carriers using a dispersing unit. Due to the possibility of selective metallization by means of printing technologies, spatial circuit carriers, which can take over mechanical and electrical functions, can be manufactured extremely flexible and customer-specific. Common printing technologies such as screen or stencil printing are not suitable for three-dimensional substrates due to the bound planarity, which favors the application of additive printing processes. The use of already available copper thick-film pastes also turned out to be an excellent alternative for transferring electrical functions.

Furthermore, the production of three-dimensional circuit carriers was intensively investigated using the Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing (LCM) process, which is one of the most suitable for MID components due to the excellent quality of the producible components in ceramic 3D printing. By means of LCM, for example, conventional manufacturing methods such as Ceramic Injection Molding (CIM) can be substituted, enabling the tool-free production of customized three-dimensional ceramic substrates.

On the basis of the research results obtained, the portfolio of the already established MID technology can be expanded to include the material group of ceramics. Furthermore, the use of active solders as well as thick-film pastes allows significantly higher currents to be transferred due to the high electrical conductivity of the conductor paths melted and consolidated in the inert / evacuated firing process. This allows MIDs, with mostly sensor applications, to be supplemented by possible power electronic applications.

The IGF project 19230 N of the Research Association 3-D MID is funded via the AiF within the framework of the program for the promotion of Joint Industrial Research (IGF) by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy on the basis of a resolution of the German Federal Parliament.