LTCC stands for a ceramic material system which is used as a low-cost substrate technology in electrical and electronic engineering. It accommodate an almost infinite number of layers stacked one on top of the other. The conductor paths are usually made of gold or silver thick film pastes. The metallization layers are printed layer by layer onto the unfired "green" ceramic tape using the silk-screen printing method. When the multilayer setup has been stacked and printed, it is then fired in the process oven. The sintering temperature used for LTCC is below 900°C. It is this relatively low temperature which allows the use of gold and silver conductive traces. LTCC technology has large benefits in microwave applications. Ceramic substrates as well as gold and silver conductive layers have excellent physical and electrical properties. Moreover, material and processing costs are competitive to other substrate systems like HTCC and printed circuit boards (PCB / PTFE) such as laminated substrates.

The advantages of LTCC:

• low permittivity tolerance

• good thermal conductivity

• low TCE (adapted to silicon and GaAs)

• excellently suited for multilayer modules

• integration of cavities and and passives such as R-, L-, and C-components
  

• very robust against mechanical and thermal stress (hermetically sealed)

• composeable with fluidic, chemical, thermal, and mechanical functionalities 

• low material costs for silver conductor paths

• low production costs for medium and large quantities

IMST -related LTCC -services:

• development of LTCC based modules, e.g. radar frontends
  

• development of planar LTCC array antenna structures

• LTCC prototyping & small volume manufacturing

• RF characterisation of LTCC substrate materials and circuits
  

• modelling, design and optimisation of LTCC components
  

• studies and research projects on LTCC advancements

• courses and seminars on LTCC design & manufacturing

• mediating between customers and LTCC component manufacturers or foundry services
  

• support from the product definition up to the production phase