Alumina Based Substrates for Non-Thermal Plasma Research

The research effort in non-thermal plasma catalysts has created the need for a method of making flat substrates with buried conductors. The use of standard ceramic tape casting and screen-printing techniques has allowed the development of planar substrates with good dielectric properties which can handle 8kV at 600°C. Much of this work has been done on a multilayer alumina composite structure, with internal platinum electrodes, though other material sets are possible. These units can be laminated and fired into monolithic structures. The resultant structure is mechanically strong with good dielectric properties and allows the construction of very flat parallel cells, which can be stacked into multilayer substrates. The current use of platinum as a conductor for the prototypes allows the laminates to be co-fired in air at 1500-1560 °C, but a new conductor material is desired to reduce cost. The laminate may be constructed with internal metal filled vias so that single units can be assembled into stacks with buried series interconnects. The resulting stack will have imbedded electrodes and interconnects.