Polymer thick-film sensors and their integration with silicon : a route to hybrid microsystems
Polymer thick-film sensors and their integration with silicon : a route to hybrid microsystems
Polymer thick-film sensors are investigated and the potential of combining polymer thick-film and silicon technologies for the creation of novel hybrid low-cost microsystems is assessed. Polymer thick-film pastes printed on silicon wafers can be used to implement transducers and the interconnection network between circuits and sensing elements. The low processing temperature of polymers reduces contamination of silicon wafers and facilitates the low-cost integration of silicon circuits with transducers. Only a few screen-printable polymer sensors have been presented in the literature. Therefore, it was decided to investigate further the sensing and actuating properties of these materials. The temperature and humidity sensitivity of commercial pastes was identified as well as their use as heating elements. Furthermore, novel piezoresistive and piezoelectric pastes were formulated and characterised. Theoretical models were developed to predict the behaviour of piezoresistive, piezoelectric and thermal sensors. These models took into account the films' material properties and the influence of the carrier substrate. After this, thick-film pastes were printed on silicon wafers covered with various passivation and metallisation layers. It was found that silicon wafers and polymer thick-films are compatible and generally the same design rules can be used on silicon or alumina substrates. In addition, a novel technology for the creation of polymer thick-film free-standing and free- supported structures on silicon or other substrates was discovered. This thesis answered fundamental questions related to the proposed hybrid technology, which is shown to be very promising for the rapid implementation of low-cost microsystems. Future work is suggested towards the development of new materials and the exploitation of the technology.
University of Southampton
Papakostas, Thomas
bdd304d9-d83e-4bcf-acf6-8d335d14b1ac
2001
Papakostas, Thomas
bdd304d9-d83e-4bcf-acf6-8d335d14b1ac
Papakostas, Thomas
(2001)
Polymer thick-film sensors and their integration with silicon : a route to hybrid microsystems.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Polymer thick-film sensors are investigated and the potential of combining polymer thick-film and silicon technologies for the creation of novel hybrid low-cost microsystems is assessed. Polymer thick-film pastes printed on silicon wafers can be used to implement transducers and the interconnection network between circuits and sensing elements. The low processing temperature of polymers reduces contamination of silicon wafers and facilitates the low-cost integration of silicon circuits with transducers. Only a few screen-printable polymer sensors have been presented in the literature. Therefore, it was decided to investigate further the sensing and actuating properties of these materials. The temperature and humidity sensitivity of commercial pastes was identified as well as their use as heating elements. Furthermore, novel piezoresistive and piezoelectric pastes were formulated and characterised. Theoretical models were developed to predict the behaviour of piezoresistive, piezoelectric and thermal sensors. These models took into account the films' material properties and the influence of the carrier substrate. After this, thick-film pastes were printed on silicon wafers covered with various passivation and metallisation layers. It was found that silicon wafers and polymer thick-films are compatible and generally the same design rules can be used on silicon or alumina substrates. In addition, a novel technology for the creation of polymer thick-film free-standing and free- supported structures on silicon or other substrates was discovered. This thesis answered fundamental questions related to the proposed hybrid technology, which is shown to be very promising for the rapid implementation of low-cost microsystems. Future work is suggested towards the development of new materials and the exploitation of the technology.
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Published date: 2001
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Local EPrints ID: 467024
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/467024
PURE UUID: f3bd7fdb-2154-4a2d-abc8-44ebb522a7c9
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 08:08
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 20:56
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Author:
Thomas Papakostas
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