Cost-effective fabrication of customized LTCC devices with multilayer using multi-material 3D printing

Low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) devices have been widely used in the defense, automotive, medical, and aerospace industries. However, the traditional manufacturing process of LTCC devices is hardly suitable for cost-effective, fast design and customization requirements. In this work, we propose a multi-material integrated 3D printing technology for LTCC. LTCC slurry was configured using homemade borosilicate glass powder and Al 2 O 3 powder, and the influence of printing parameters on the printed effect was investigated. The shrinkage of the ceramics sintered at 850 °C for 15 min was 14.82 ± 0.47 % in the XY direction and 13.7 ± 0.26 % in the Z direction, comparable to that of commercial LTCC. Wireless sensing multilayer LED circuit and passive humidity sensor were fabricated, where the sensor with a sensitivity of 0.132 MHz/%RH. These cases demonstrate that the proposed technology can rapidly produce LTCC devices and meet the demand for custom LTCC devices in high-end manufacturing.