Polymer-Ceramic composites of 0-3 connectivity for circuits in electronics: A review

Abstract

Composite technology, where a novel artificial material is fabricated by combining, for example, ceramic and polymer materials in an ordered manner or just by mixing, was earlier used widely for sonar, medical diagnostics, and NDT purposes. However, in recent decades, large numbers of ceramic-polymer composites have been introduced for telecommunication and microelectronic applications. For these purposes, composites of 0-3 connectivity (a three-dimensionally connected polymer phase is loaded with isolated ceramic particles) are the most attractive from the application point of view. Composites of 0-3 connectivity enable flexible forms and very different shapes with very inexpensive fabrication methods including simply mixing and molding. In this brief review, we gather together the research carried out within 0-3 ceramic-polymer composites for microwave substrates, also including embedded capacitor, inductor, or microwave-absorbing performances.