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What is Aluminum Oxide PCB

(Al2O3) ?
Aluminum oxide, commonly referred to as alumina or Al2O3, is the most
widely used ceramic substrate material in the electronics industry for
fabricating multilayer circuit boards. Alumina PCBs leverage thick film
printing technology to construct precision ceramic circuits capable of high
frequency operation at extreme temperatures.

Some of the key characteristics and benefits of alumina PCB technology

include:

 High thermal conductivity (>20 W/mK)

 Wide operating temperatures (-55 to 1000°C)

 Excellent electrical insulation (>15 kV/mm)

 Low RF losses for microwave performance

 Better heat dissipation than organic boards

 Withstands higher voltage operation

 Improved reliability and longer service life

 Hermetic, non-outgassing construction

These unique strengths, combined with continuing improvements in

fabrication technologies, make alumina an ideal PCB substrate for many
advanced applications.

Technical Background on Alumina Ceramics

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Al2O3 PCB

Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) is a ceramic compound consisting of aluminum (Al)

atoms bonded in a crystalline grid to oxygen (O) atoms. Very high purity
aluminum oxide powders are used in the manufacture of PCB substrates.

Chemical Composition

Alumina ceramics contain not less than 99% Al2O3 in modern electronics
grade formulations. The alumina may intentionally include tiny additions (<1%
wt) of other oxide compounds as sintering aids (e.g MgO, CaO). These enhance
densification during firing.

Crystal Structure

Alumina adopts a trigonal crystal structure at room temperature with a stable

alpha polymorph. This gives it higher strength and hardness than transitional
phases. The uniform lattice promotes transparency and improves electrical
characteristics.

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Electrical Properties

Aluminum oxide has excellent insulating qualities, with high resistivity (>1014
ohm-cm) and dielectric strength (>15kV/mm). It also exhibits low loss
tangents in radio frequency bands above 500MHz, which suits microwave
applications.

Thermal Properties

With thermal conductivity ranging from 20–30 W/mK, alumina ceramics

conduct heat much better than glass or polymer PCB materials. This heat
spreads evenly across the crystal structure. Alumina’s low CTE provides good
thermal shock resistance as well.

Mechanical Properties

The uniform crystalline nature of alumina makes it very hard and strong
mechanically. But like most ceramics, alumina exhibits fairly brittle tensile
behavior under loading. Microcracks can initiate fractures but compressive
strengths exceed 2 GPa.

Manufacturing Process of Alumina PCBs

Alumina PCB

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Modern alumina PCB fabrication relies on well-developed processes adapted

from the hybrid circuit industry. Here are the key manufacturing steps:

1. Tape Casting

Ceramic tapes with planar dimensions equivalent to each circuit layer are
produced by tape casting. This involves:

 Milling high purity Al2O3 powder into slurry

 Blending with binders and fluidifiers

 Casting slurry between moving doctor blades to form tape

 Drying in heated chamber

Tapes have precisely controlled thickness in the 5–10 mil range.

2. Via Punching

Tooling mechanically punches small holes through the ceramic tapes to create
vertical interconnect vias:

 Die set tooling uses sharp punches

 Via diameters from 10–25 mils typical

 Precise dimensional accuracy

Punched holes later get filled with conductive pastes.

3. Screen Printing

Thick film screen printing uses metallo-organic pastes to pattern wiring traces
on individual layers:

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 Screens define artwork patterns

 Silver, gold or copper pastes frequently used

 Multiple prints build up trace thickness

 Dried print thickness of 10–15 μm

Conductor pastes are matched to alumina’s sintering characteristics.

4. Lamination

Layers get precisely aligned, stacked and laminated before firing:

 Fixture aligns layers to ± 2 mils accuracy

 Uni-axial or iso-static pressing used

 Laminating prepregs bond layers

 Builds up multilayer board assembly

This stage sets the quality foundations for the fired board.

5. Co-firing

The last key step is co-firing of the unfired ceramic circuit assembly:

 Time-temperature profile optimized

 Temperatures from 1500°C to 1600°C

 Burns off organics in tapes and pastes

 Densifies and consolidates alumina

 Concurrently sinters metal traces

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 Cycle includes binder burnout and slow cooled

Firing transforms layers into a solid, high purity alumina circuit with
metallized traces and interconnects. The fired board then undergoes electrical
testing and post-firing processes like adding protective coatings or outer layer
circuitization.

Design Rules for Alumina PCB Layouts

To successfully implement designs with alumina PCB technology requires

adhering to fabrication constraints:

 Simpler layouts preferred whenever possible

 Limit board size to 6” x 6” or less when feasible

 Line widths/spaces ≥ 8 mils width/space

 Via diameters ≥ 10 mils with ≥ 16 mil pads

 Via spacing ≥ 20 mils center-to-center

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 Conductor thickness 16–21 μm (after firing)

 Minimize buried and blind vias

 Allow > 20 mil board edge keepout

Other useful design guidelines include:

 Place many separate vias under exposed pads

 Include thermal relief cutouts under large copper areas

 Use 45 degree trace angles instead of 90 degrees

 Verify material compatibility for conductors and components

 Eliminate right angle PCB corners

 Target ≥ 50 mil thick boards if possible

Consult closely with your alumina PCB manufacturer during design to validate
all specifications.

Alumina PCB Materials Overview

Alumina ceramic substrates utilize some of highest purity aluminum oxides

produced. They surpass 99% Al2O3 content with tight control of trace
elemental impurities. Auxiliary inorganic compounds constitute less than 1% of
the formulation and serve to enhance densification and optimize behavior
during firing.

Dielectric Constant

The dielectric constant of alumina lies between 9.0 and 10.1 across the
functional frequency spectrum from DC to microwave regions. This modest
value allows for effective electrical insulation between conductors while
avoiding excessive capacitance loading effects.

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Dissipation Factor

Alumina PCB materials demonstrate very low dissipation factors (dfn ≤ 0.002)
in radio frequencies above 500 MHz. This corresponds to low dielectric losses
during high frequency AC conduction. It supports excellent high speed
electrical performance.

DC Volume Resistivity

With DC volume resistivity exceeding 1014 ohm-cm at room temperature,

alumina delivers superb electrical insulation performance between voltage
carrying conductors. It maintains this insulation capacity up to extreme
temperatures near 1000°C as well.

Dielectric Strength

The electric field strength threshold at which alumina experiences dielectric

breakdown and arcing exceeds 15kV/mm. This high dielectric strength enables
alumina circuits to sustain elevated voltage differentials between adjacent
metallized traces without risk of failure.

Key Applications of Alumina PCB Technology

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Some of the leading application areas benefitting from aluminum oxide PCB
technology include:

IndustryApplicationsAerospace and DefenseRadars, guidance systems,

engine controls, satellite modulesEnergy and Power GenerationDownhole
logging tools, nuclear instrumentation, turbine instrumentation, high voltage
systemsTelecommunicationsCellular base stations, microwave data radios,
antenna RF circuitryAutomotiveEngine control units, traction motor
controllers, active suspension modules, sensorsMedicalSurgical instruments,
sterilization equipment, medical lasers, lab instrumentation

This list highlights the diversity of demanding environments served by alumina

PCB technology spanning temperatures from -55°C to beyond +300°C at
performance levels unachievable with conventional organic PCBs.

Comparison to Other PCB Materials

How does alumina PCB technology compare against other circuit substrate
choices like FR-4 and polyimide? Here’s a qualitative comparison:

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Comparison to Other PCB Materials

This comparison captures the superior high temperature and electrical

performance strengths of alumina PCB technology together with its lack of
moisture sensitivity. Challenges center on design constraints, high cost and
long fabrication lead times.

Summary of Alumina’s Benefits and Challenges

Aluminum oxide PCB technology clearly enables unprecedented temperature

withstand capabilities far exceeding organic circuit boards:

Key Benefits

 Withstands very high temperatures (>1000°C)

 Extremely low loss tangent at microwave frequencies

 Thermal expansion matched to silicon devices

 Hermetic encapsulation

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 No moisture absorption or outgassing

However realizing these benefits does come with difficulties:

Primary Challenges

 Narrow layout ground rules constrain complexity

 Small panel sizes with increased layer counts

 Process development for novel designs required

 Very high costs compared to FR-4 alternatives

 Long fabrication and assembly lead times

In scenarios where electrical or environmental performance pushes beyond the

limits of FR-4 PCBs, alumina ceramic should be evaluated as the substrate of
choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are typical prices for small volume alumina PCB

prototyping?

The specialized materials and processing used in alumina PCB manufacturing

carries higher costs than standard FR-4 circuit boards. For a simple two layer
board measuring 2" x 2" expect to pay $2000-$3500 for 5 piece prototypes.
Larger boards with more layers can reach $5000-$10000 in these low
volumes.

Does alumina PCB technology support embedded actives and

passives?

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Yes, technologies for embedding active ICs, discretes and passive components
like resistors and capacitors within multilayer alumina have been
demonstrated. This enables further miniaturization and enhanced electrical
performance. However, they add cost/complexity and remain a niche set of
offerings.

Can alumina boards support very fine trace geometries below 5

mils?

There are efforts to continually shrink the attainable line widths and spaces in
alumina circuits, but they have not reached the densities seen in other markets.
The material and fabrication process constraints encountered as geometries
dip below 5mil rapidly escalate. Until production yields improve significantly,
prevailing design rules stick to 8mil trace/space or wider.

What surface finishes are available on alumina PCBs?

Immersion silver and immersion tin represent popular surface finishes for
alumina PCBs targeted at solder assembly. Other terminal plating options
including nickel-gold, palladium-silver or organic solderability preservatives.
Thick film metallization pastes can also create direct attached gold or tin
surfaces.

Do alumina PCBs use blind and buried vias?

Alumina fabrication methods utilize via designs restricted to through hole vias
spanning all layers to avoid process complexity. Blind vias connecting a subset
of layers or buried vias entirely enclosed within the board do get used but
remain less common. When required they add cost through decreases in yield
and additional post-firing steps.

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