Towards the Limits of Thick-Film Resistors' Miniaturization

This paper presents results of investigations devoted to miniaturization of thick-film resistors with the aid of laser cutting. The investigations were aimed at miniaturization of two resistor dimensions, namely length and width. Test structures were based on various combination of conductive and resistive inks deposited on Al2O3, or LTCC substrates. Resistors made in standard screen printing process after being fired were patterned using laser beam in order to minimize their planar dimensions to tenths of millimeter and below. Prepared samples were subjected to number of electrical tests and some characteristic parameters, like temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) or pulse durability were calculated based on these measurements. Test samples were also exposed to long-term thermal ageing. The received parameters were compared to those exhibited by resistors with standard dimensions in order to evaluate differences in characteristics and to determine the current miniaturization limits of such components.