Direct Plated Copper (DPC): DPC is recent development in the field of Ceramic Substrate PCBs and was the breakthrough that made ceramics much more viable to designers. DPC involves vacuum sputtering under high temperature and pressure conditions to plate the copper to the substrate. The addition of a thin film titanium (Ti) layer acts as a bonding interface between the copper and ceramic layers. DPC can only deposit very thin copper film onto the ceramic substrate, need to combine traditional plating process to reach thick copper thickness requirement.
Direct Bonded Copper (DBC): With DBC the copper is bonded to the Ceramic substrates on one or both sides using a high-temperature oxidation process. It offers options of heavy copper thickness -140μm (4oz)-350μm (10oz). The copper and substrate are heated in an atmosphere of nitrogen containing about 30ppm of oxygen; under these conditions, a copper-oxygen eutectic forms which bonds successfully both to copper and the oxides used as substrates. With DBC the copper layers can then be etched using standard PCB technology to form required circuit.
Ceramic substrate material we use.
| ALN | AL2O3 | |
| Thermal Conductivity | >=170W/m.K | >=24W/m.K |
| Breakdown Strength | >=17KV/mm | >=17KV/mm |
The material also can be：Si3N4, BeO, ZTA, Sapphire, Glass, Ferrite, Diamond etc.
Ceramic Manufacturing Capabilities.
| Property | DPC | DBC |
| Substrate Material | Al2O3/ALN | Al2O3/ALN |
| Substrate Thickness(mm) | 0.127,0.15,0.2,0.25,0.385,0.5,0.635,1.0,1.2,1.5,2.0 | |
| Panel Size(mm) | 50.8*50.8, 76.2*76.2, 110*110, 114.3*114.3, 120*120, 127*127, 130*140, 140*190 | |
| Copper Thickness (um) | 10-140 | 140-350 |
Applications of DBC ceramics:
1. Power semiconductor modules; semiconductor refrigerator, electronic heating device, power control circuits, power hybrid circuits
2. Smart power modules, high frequency switch, solid state relays
3. Automobile electronics, military, and aerospace electronics
4. Solar panel assemblies, telecommunication exchange and receiving system, laser electronics
Applications of DPC ceramics:
1. LED
2. Substrate for solar concentrating cells
3. Power semiconductor packaging including automotive motor control
4. Hybrid and electric automobile power management electronics
5. Packages for RF
6. Microwave device