Abstract
This paper is focused on a new copper-nickel thick film resistive paste which was designed and experimentally developed for the realization of low-ohmic power resistors. This copper-nickel paste has been designed for use in combination with thick printed copper conductors and in comparison with conventional ruthenium-based thick film resistor pastes allows firing in a nitrogen protective atmosphere. The copper-nickel paste was prepared from copper and nickel microparticles, glass binder particles and a combination of organic solvents optimized for its firing in a nitrogen atmosphere. This paper covers a detailed description of copper-nickel paste composition and its thermal properties verified by simultaneous thermal analysis, a description of the morphology of dried and fired copper-nickel films, as well as the electrical parameters of the final printed resistors. It has been proven by electron microscopy with element distribution analysis that copper and nickel microparticles diffused together during firing and created homogenous copper-nickel alloy film. This film shows a low temperature coefficient of resistance ±45 × 0−6 K−1 and low sheet resistance value 45 mΩ/square. It was verified that formulated copper-nickel paste is nitrogen-fireable and well-compatible with thick printed copper pastes. This combination allows the realization of power substrates with directly integrated low-ohmic resistors.
Highlights
Resistors made by well-known thick film technology have been used in various applications in electronics for decades [1]
Thick film resistors can be used in the form of discrete components or in the form of directly integrated components on electronic substrates
These resistors in principle consist of a ceramic substrate with two printed conductive terminals and printed resistive film which is located between these terminals
Summary
Resistors made by well-known thick film technology have been used in various applications in electronics for decades [1]. Resistive and conductive pastes used for thick film resistors are determined for firing in belt furnaces under oxidative atmosphere usually at a dwell temperature of 850 ◦C [12,13]. This fact complicates the direct integration (printing) of passive components such as resistors because standard and commercially available resistive thick film pastes are intended only for firing in an oxidative atmosphere.
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