Guidelines for small-scale production of thick-film hybrid microcircuits

Design guidelines and small scale production techniques for thick film hybrid microcircuits are presented. These results were obtained in the first phase of a development program to acquire prototype production capability. The study includes an evaluation of (commercially available) conductor and resistor inks. Tests were conducted to determine the effect of printing parameters such as squeegee hardness, squeegee pressure, snapoff, and ink viscosity on print thickness. Apparent resistivity as a function of resistor width and geometry is also presented. Following the design guidelines and fabrication techniques acquired, a high-frequency current-pulse amplifier was constructed using the thick film hybrid process. The hybrid design improved the rise time of the amplifier from 2.4 to 1.0 ns due to fewer parasitic capacitances and less lead inductance.