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Abstract
Thick film resistors (TFRs) are widely used in hybrid microelectronics. Currently most of the resistor paste products contain lead, which is potentially a major problem to the environment resulting from electronics disposal. The purpose of this study is to develop a lead-free thick film resistor that is compatible to the typical industry thick film processing and has comparable electrical properties as the lead bearing counterpart. The research started from and focused on evaluation and selection of suitable lead-free glass material, which is one of the most important ingredients in a thick film resistor. The fired resistors were characterized in terms of microstructure and material interaction and the electrical properties were tested. The sheet resistance of TFRs prepared using the selected glasses spanned from 400 ohms per square (Ω/□) to 0.4 mega-ohms per square (MΩ/□). The temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) fell in a range of ±350ppm/°C.