CoLink | Cooling Solution

Discover Our Cooling Solution▽▼

ZTA (Zirconia Toughened Alumina)

ZTA, a versatile mixed ceramic, is composed of aluminum oxide ceramic that has been reinforced with zirconium oxide particles. This unique blend enhances the inherent qualities of pure aluminum oxide, resulting in notable improvements. The amalgamation imparts heightened fracture toughness, flexural strength, and dielectric strength to the substrate, rendering it highly resilient against mechanical strains.

Remarkably, ZTA boasts a thermal conductivity exceeding 27 W/mK and an impressive flexural strength of 700 MPa. Its exceptional thermal conductivity, temperature resistance, and insulating capabilities position it as an optimal choice for applications in passive components and chip resistors.

ZTA Specification

Using a ZTA (Zirconia Toughened Alumina) substrate compared to an Al2O3 (alumina) substrate offers several advantages in certain applications due to the unique properties of ZTA. Here are some reasons why you might choose a ZTA substrate over an Al2O3 substrate:

▽ Enhanced Toughness:

ZTA substrates combine the toughness of zirconia with the hardness of alumina. This enhanced toughness makes ZTA more resistant to cracks and fractures compared to pure alumina, which can be particularly advantageous in applications where mechanical stress or impact resistance is important.

▽ Improved Thermal Shock Resistance:

ZTA substrates typically have better thermal shock resistance compared to pure alumina. This means they can withstand rapid temperature changes without cracking or failing, which can be critical in applications involving sudden thermal fluctuations.

▽ Better Fracture Resistance:

The presence of zirconia in ZTA contributes to its ability to resist crack propagation. This property is particularly valuable in applications where the substrate may be subjected to cyclic or repeated loading.

▽ Reduced Brittleness:

While alumina is a relatively brittle material, the addition of zirconia in ZTA helps reduce its brittleness. This reduction in brittleness can make ZTA substrates more forgiving in applications where stress concentrations may occur.

▽ Higher Flexural Strength:

ZTA substrates generally have higher flexural strength compared to pure alumina. This strength can be beneficial in applications requiring high load-bearing capacity, such as structural components or components subject to bending forces.

▽ Potential Weight Reduction:

ZTA substrates with improved toughness and mechanical properties might allow for the design of thinner and lighter components compared to using pure alumina, without sacrificing performance.

▽ Tailored Material Properties:

The composition of ZTA can be adjusted to achieve specific material properties, allowing for customization based on the requirements of the application. This flexibility can be advantageous in meeting diverse application needs.

▽ Wear Resistance:

ZTA substrates often exhibit good wear resistance due to their hardness and toughness, making them suitable for applications where abrasive or erosive wear is a concern.

AIN (Aluminium Nitride)

Aluminium nitride (AlN) substrates stand out for their remarkable thermal and electrical attributes. Enhanced flexural strength coupled with prolonged durability, particularly under thermocycling conditions, underscores their robustness. These substrates exhibit an impressive thermal conductivity of 170~230W/mK, alongside exceptional resistance to wear and oxidation. These characteristics collectively render AlN exceedingly compatible with high-performance electronics, finding applications in diverse sectors such as trains, railways, and high power density modules.
The strategic adaptation of the coefficient of expansion to align with chip materials further underscores AlN’s utility as an insulating material within the realm of power modules. Moreover, the notably heightened thermal conductivity exhibited by aluminium nitride substrates, in conjunction with their superior temperature resistance and insulation capabilities compared to conventional PCB materials, positions them ideally for integration into high-power LEDs and passive components, including chip resistors.

AlN Specification

Aluminum Nitride (AlN) substrates offer several advantages, making them widely sought after in various applications. Here are some key benefits of Aluminum Nitride substrates:

▽ Excellent Thermal Conductivity:

Aluminum Nitride exhibits remarkable thermal conductivity, surpassing that of many other engineering ceramics. This makes AlN substrates highly suitable for applications requiring efficient heat dissipation, such as high-power electronic devices and LED packaging.

▽ Outstanding Insulating Properties:

Aluminum Nitride demonstrates excellent electrical insulation properties, rendering it applicable to electronic devices that require electrical insulation, like high-frequency circuits and power modules.

▽ Low Thermal Expansion Coefficient:

The thermal expansion coefficient of Aluminum Nitride is similar to that of silicon. This property is valuable in certain electronic packaging applications as it helps mitigate mechanical stress arising from thermal expansion mismatch.

▽ High-Temperature Stability:

Aluminum Nitride maintains its physical and mechanical properties in high-temperature environments, making it suitable for high-temperature electronic devices and aerospace applications.

▽ Good Chemical Stability:

Aluminum Nitride exhibits good stability in many chemical environments, making it suitable for applications that require corrosion resistance.

▽ Low Dielectric Loss:

Aluminum Nitride features low dielectric loss, making it appropriate for manufacturing high-frequency electronic devices such as microwave and radio frequency circuits.

▽ Good Mechanical Properties:

While Aluminum Nitride is relatively less hard, its higher toughness reduces the risk of fracture under mechanical stress. This makes AlN substrates suitable for applications that require resistance to mechanical vibration and impact.

▽ Biocompatibility:

Aluminum Nitride demonstrates biocompatibility in certain biomedical applications, making it useful for manufacturing biosensors, medical instruments, and more.

In summary, these advantages of Aluminum Nitride substrates contribute to their potential value across diverse fields. However, as with any material, the choice of Aluminum Nitride substrates should be balanced against specific application requirements, cost-effectiveness, and feasibility.

Aluminum Nitride (AlN) substrates have a wide range of applications across various industries due to their unique properties. Here are some common applications of AlN substrates:

▽ High-Power Electronics:

AlN substrates are widely used in high-power electronic devices, such as high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) and high-power diodes. Their excellent thermal conductivity helps dissipate heat generated by these devices efficiently, enabling stable operation at high power levels.

▽ LED Packaging:

AlN substrates are used in the packaging of high-brightness LEDs. Their superior thermal conductivity allows for better heat dissipation, leading to improved LED performance and longevity.

▽ Radio Frequency (RF) Components:

AlN substrates find use in RF components, including microwave integrated circuits (MICs), RF power amplifiers, and filters. Their low dielectric loss and high thermal conductivity are advantageous for high-frequency applications.

▽ Power Electronics:

In power electronic modules, AlN substrates are employed to enhance heat management. They are used as base materials for power modules, converters, inverters, and other high-power applications.

▽ Semiconductor Wafer Processing:

AlN substrates are used as carrier substrates during the fabrication of semiconductor wafers. Their thermal stability and flatness help maintain the integrity of wafer structures during processing.

▽ MEMS Devices:

AlN substrates are utilized in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) devices, such as resonators and sensors, due to their excellent piezoelectric properties and stability under varying temperatures.

▽ Optoelectronics:

AlN substrates can be used in optoelectronic applications like photodetectors and laser diodes. Their combination of high thermal conductivity and good electrical insulation properties is beneficial in these devices.

▽ Thermal Management Solutions:

AlN substrates are used as heat spreaders and heat sinks in various thermal management applications, such as in high-performance CPUs, power amplifiers, and high-power density components.

▽ Aerospace and Defense:

The high-temperature stability of AlN substrates makes them suitable for aerospace applications, including radar systems, satellite communications, and military electronics.

▽ Medical Devices:

AlN substrates can be found in medical devices like ultrasound transducers and biosensors due to their biocompatibility and piezoelectric properties.

▽ Ceramic Substrates:

AlN substrates can be used as base materials for multi-layer ceramic substrates (MLCs) in electronics manufacturing.

▽ Automotive Electronics:

AlN substrates are used in automotive applications for power management, engine control systems, and lighting components due to their reliability in high-temperature and high-vibration environments.

These applications highlight the versatility of AlN substrates in various industries, where their unique combination of thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties offers solutions for challenging engineering requirements.

AlSiC

MMC product is widely used in high-speed rail, subway, aerospace, new energy vehicles, wind power and consumer electronics. Existing IGBT packages often use copper or aluminum backplanes. IGBT packaging products using aluminum silicon carbide backplanes have the following advantages over existing common backplane materials, which can greatly improve the reliability of power devices, matched thermal expansion, the thermal expansion coefficient is well matched to semiconductor wafers and ceramic substrates.

▽ Thermal cycle performance: Compared with the thermal cycle of the copper base, the module still works well after tens of thousands of thermal cycles.
▽ AlSiC have low density and light weight: Only 1/3 of copper (about 8.9g/cm³ of copper).
▽ Excellent mechanical properties and high specific strength/high specific modulus.
▽ Low process cost: Casting solution with ready-made slots and holes.
▽ Pin casting: Multi-tooth design, conical, diamond, oval and other shape designs.
▽ Various surface treatments: The surface can be plated with matte nickel, bright nickel, etc., and can be used as a solder mask after plating.

Advantages of AlSiC

Application

▽ Silicon Photonics Carrier

The application level of silicon photonics technology mainly covers the entire computing, transmission and sensing industries. In the next generation, for high-speed communication links, data centers or supercomputers may need to be scattered around buildings. In order to create a highly immersive visual effect, the home entertainment market and business video conferencing will use a 3D screen as large as a whole wall. These demands indicate that the next generation of research and development will focus on high-speed and large-scale data transmission.

▽ IGBT Baseplate

Aluminum silicon carbide base plate is currently recognized as the material that can provide the best thermal expansion coefficient, and can be designed into needle-shaped and arc-shaped, etc. different sizes to meet customer needs.

▽ Stiffener Ring Type

The flexural strength and modulus of aluminum silicon carbide material are superior to other materials, and the process design can achieve net shape. The use of stiffener ring has the advantages of improving packaging yield and so on. The thermal expansion coefficient of aluminum silicon carbide is similar to that of the substrate. Compared with copper and stainless steel, it is a better choice, and the thermal expansion coefficient of aluminum silicon carbide can be adjusted. Optimized material matching. The surface can be plated with nickel/gold and other various treatments, which can further enhance the reliability of the product.