ABSTRACT
Multilayer ceramics represent a number of technologies that are capable of producing high-density electronic substrates with highly desirable properties. The high temperature cofired ceramic manufacturing process can be described in generic terms although the specific processes often must be adapted for each material. The multilayer ceramic process is fundamentally a parallel process in which each layer is fabricated separately and then combined to form a substrate. Ceramic substrates are typically composites of crystalline and noncrystalline phases. The composition of the substrate is, of course, a function of the inorganic components incorporated as raw materials. Lasers have been used for decades to cut ceramics, both in fired and unfired states. The intrinsic multilayer approach of cofired ceramic offers many advantages to designers. The development of high-mesh-count screens and microvias in multilayer ceramics has recently allowed for much higher densities of interconnects than was traditionally the case.
