Photolithographic Processes for Creating a Proximity Sensor in Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic Tapes NSF Summer Undergraduate Fellowships in Sensor Technology (SUNFEST)

This paper describes two photolithographic processes for patterning Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic (LTCC) tapes. The processes involve the use of two types of LTCC tape. In one case photoformable tape is used, and in the other, DuPont 951 tape coupled with DuPont Riston 9015, a dry photoresist, is used. Although a full 8-layer sensor was not completed using either method, single spirals were fabricated and compared to past sensors fabricated using other methods. The parasitic resistance of a single spiral fabricated by the photolithographic methods was 20% of that found in spirals fabricated using screen-printing. The process steps used in creating the spirals as well as important parameters are discussed, and suggestions for improvements in the process are made.