A transaction card includes a card body that may comprise a card body comprising a ceramic material, the card body including a primary surface and a first mating surface. A card backer comprises a metallic material and includes a secondary surface and a second mating surface. A portion of the first mating surface and a portion of the second mating surface are coupled together.

A power electronic substrate includes a metallic baseplate having a first and second surface opposing each other. An electrically insulative layer also has first and second surfaces opposing each other, its first surface coupled to the second surface of the metallic baseplate. A plurality of metallic traces each include first and second surfaces opposing each other, their first surfaces coupled to the second surface of the electrically insulative layer. At least one of the metallic traces has a thickness measured along a direction perpendicular to the second surface of the metallic baseplate that is greater than a thickness of another one of the metallic traces also measured along a direction perpendicular to the second surface of the metallic baseplate. In implementations the electrically insulative layer is an epoxy or a ceramic material. In implementations the metallic traces are copper and are plated with a nickel layer at their second surfaces.

The present invention provides a power module substrate including an insulating substrate, a circuit layer which is formed on one surface of the insulating substrate, and a metal layer which is formed on the other surface of the insulating substrate, in which the circuit layer has a first aluminum layer made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy which is bonded to the insulating substrate and a first copper layer made of copper or a copper alloy which is bonded to the first aluminum layer by solid-phase diffusion, the metal layer has a second aluminum layer made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and a relationship between a thickness t.sub.1 of the circuit layer and a thickness t.sub.2 of the second aluminum layer of the metal layer satisfy t.sub.1<t.sub.2.

A method of joining a metal-ceramic substrate having metallization on at least one side to a metal body by using metal alloy is disclosed. The metal body has a thickness of less than 1.0 mm and the metal alloy contains aluminum and has a liquidus temperature of greater than 450° C. The resulting metal-ceramic module provides a strong bond between the metal body and the ceramic substrate. The resulting module is useful as a circuit carrier in electronic appliances, with the metal body preferably functioning as a cooling body.

A joined body 10 includes a ceramic body 12, a metal member 14, and a joint portion 15 that joins the ceramic body 12 and the metal member 14 together. The joint portion 15 includes a first joint layer 16 joined to the ceramic body 12 and a second joint layer 18 joined to the metal member 14. The first joint layer 16 is disposed on the ceramic body 12 side and contains an alloy that contains Fe and Cr as main components, and a compound having a thermal expansion coefficient of 4.0×10.sup.−6 (/° C.) or lower is dispersed in the first joint layer 16. The second joint layer 18 is disposed on the metal member 14 side, contains an alloy that contains Fe and Cr as main components, and has a larger thermal expansion coefficient than the first joint layer 16.

A method of preparing a substrate having a wetting surface, including confirming the presence of an open, interconnected pore network in a ceramic substrate to be wetted with a first metal, filling the open, interconnected pore network with a second metal,

exuding the second metal to coat the surface of the substrate, and wetting the substrate with the first metal. The ceramic substrate is not decomposed by the first metal and the ceramic substrate is not decomposed by the second metal.

A power module substrate 10 is provided with: an insulating substrate 1; and a metal sheet 2 that is joined to the insulating substrate 1 via a brazing material 3, wherein regarding the surface roughness, in the thickness direction, of the lateral surface of the metal sheet 2, the surface roughness of a corner 2a farthest from the center of the metal sheet 2 is larger than the surface roughness of plane parts 2b, which bound the corner, in at least a plan view. Also provided is a power module 100 which is formed by mounting an electronic component 40 on this power module substrate 10.

There are provide a metal/ceramic bonding substrate wherein the bonding strength of an aluminum plate bonded directly to a ceramic substrate is higher than that of conventional metal/ceramic bonding substrates, and a method for producing the same. The metal/ceramic bonding substrate is produced by a method including the steps of: arranging a ceramic substrate 10 in a mold 20; putting the mold 20 in a furnace; lowering an oxygen concentration to 25 ppm or less and a dew point to −45° C. or lower in the furnace; injecting a molten metal of aluminum into the mold 20 so as to allow the molten metal to contact the surface of the ceramic substrate 10; and cooling and solidifying the molten metal to form a metal plate 14 for circuit pattern of aluminum on one side of the ceramic substrate 10 to bond one side of the metal plate 14 for circuit pattern directly to the ceramic substrate 10, while forming a metal base plate 12 of aluminum on the other side of the ceramic substrate 10 to bond the metal base plate 12 directly to the ceramic substrate 10.

To prevent braze stain and improve solder bondability of a semiconductor chip without deteriorating bondability between a metal plate and a ceramic substrate: a producing method of a power-module substrate by braze-bonding a metal plate which is blanked by press working on a metal raw-plate on one surface of a ceramic substrate: in the metal plate, a height of burrs is 0.021 mm or smaller, a thickness of a fracture surface is 0.068 mm or larger; the metal plate is stacked on the ceramic substrate so as to stack a surface thereof on a side at which the burrs are generated is in contact with the one surface of the ceramic substrate and brazed.

There is provided an aluminum/ceramic bonding substrate having a ceramic substrate, an aluminum plate of an aluminum alloy which is bonded directly to one side of the ceramic substrate, an aluminum base plate of the aluminum alloy which is bonded directly to the other side of the ceramic substrate, and a plate-shaped reinforcing member which has a higher strength than that of the aluminum base plate and which is arranged in the aluminum base plate to be bonded directly to the aluminum base plate, wherein the aluminum alloy contains 0.01 to 0.2% by weight of magnesium, 0.01 to 0.1% by weight of silicon, and the balance being aluminum and unavoidable impurities.