Material characterization of a high-dielectric-constant polymer-ceramic composite for embedded capacitor for RF applications

Embedded capacitor technology can improve electrical performance and reduce assembly cost compared with traditional discrete capacitor technology. Polymer–ceramic composites have been of great interest as embedded capacitor materials because they combine the processability of polymers with the desired electrical properties of ceramics. We have developed a novel nanostructure polymer–ceramic composite with a very high dielectric constant (εr ≈ 150, a new record for the highest reported εr value of a nanocomposite) in a previous work. RF applications of embedded capacitors require that the insulating material have a high εr at a high frequency (in the gigahertz range), low leakage current, high breakdown voltage, and high reliability. A set of electrical tests were conducted in this study to characterize the electrical properties of the novel high‐εr polymer–ceramic nanocomposite developed in‐ house. The results show that this material had a fairly high εr in the RF range, low electrical leakage, and high breakdown voltage. An 85°C/85% thermal humidity aging test was been performed, and it showed that this novel high‐K material had good reliability. An embedded capacitor prototype with a capacitance density of 35 nF/cm2 was manufactured with this nanocomposite with spin‐coating technology. This novel nanocomposite can be used for the integral capacitors for RF applications. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 2228–2231, 2004