NTC THIN FILM THERMISTOR AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING AN NTC THIN FILM THERMISTOR

Abstract

An NTC thin film thermistor that includes at least a first thin film electrode, at least an NTC thin film, and at least a second thin film electrode. A further aspect relates to a method for producing an NTC thin film thermistor.

Claims

1. An NTC thin film thermistor comprising: at least one first thin film electrode, at least one NTC thin film electrode, at least one second thin film electrode.

2. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1, wherein the NTC thin film comprises a single crystalline or polycrystalline functional ceramic having a spinel structure or a perovskite structure.

3. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1, wherein the NTC thin film comprises at least one of Mn, Ni, Zn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zr, Y, Cr, Ca or Al.

4. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1, wherein the thin film electrodes consist of a conductive ceramic.

5. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1, wherein the thin film electrodes consist of one or more layers of metals, or Cu, Pt, Cr, Ni, Ag, Pd, Au, Ti, a mixture, or an alloy of these elements.

6. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1, wherein the first and second thin film electrodes are disposed on one surface of the NTC thin film.

7. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 6, wherein the first and second thin film electrodes are arranged in an interdigital comb structure.

8. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1, wherein the NTC thin film thermistor comprises a plurality of first and second thin film electrodes, and wherein a respective NTC thin film is disposed between each first thin film electrode and second thin film electrode.

9. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 8, wherein the first thin film electrodes overhang on a first side of the NTC thin film thermistor with respect to the NTC thin film and the second thin film electrodes are shortened on the first side with respect to the NTC thin film, and wherein the second thin film electrodes on a second side of the NTC thin film thermistor opposite to the first side overhang with respect to the NTC thin film, and the first thin film electrodes on the second side are shortened with respect to the NTC thin film.

10. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 9, wherein the first and second thin film electrodes, in a region where they overhang with respect to the NTC thin film, rest on a respective underlying first or second thin film electrode that overhangs with respect to the NTC thin film.

11. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 9, wherein the first and second thin film electrodes in a region where they overhang with respect to the NTC thin film are shorter than underlying first or second thin film electrodes that overhang with respect to the NTC thin film.

12. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 9, wherein portions of the first and second thin film electrodes overhanging at the first and second sides are reinforced with a metallized paste or other conductive medium.

13. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 9, wherein the NTC thin films overhang with respect to the thin film electrodes on a third and fourth side, which are perpendicular to the first and second side and are opposite to each other.

14. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 13, wherein the NTC thin films are shorter than underlying NTC thin films in a region where they overhang with respect to the thin film electrodes.

15. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1, wherein the NTC thin film thermistor is arranged on a carrier material.

16. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 15, wherein the carrier material is formed as a first electrode.

17. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 15, wherein a circuit or a microelectronic mechanical system is integrated in the carrier material, or the carrier material is a part of an electronic component.

18. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1, wherein the NTC thin film is thinner than 3 μm.

19. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1, wherein the thin film electrodes are thinner than 10 μm.

20. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1, wherein the entire NTC thin film thermistor is thinner than 100 μm.

21. The NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1, wherein the NTC thin film thermistor is suitable to be integrated into a substrate or a printed circuit board.

22. An arrangement comprising an NTC thin film thermistor according to claim 1 and a printed circuit board, wherein the NTC thin film thermistor is integrated in the printed circuit board.

23. An arrangement, comprising: a plurality of NTC thin film thermistors according to claim 1, wherein the NTC thin film thermistors are arranged in a matrix.

24. A method of manufacturing The NTC thin film thermistor comprising the steps of: a) providing a non-conductive carrier material; b) depositing at least one first thin film electrode; c) applying at least one NTC thin film d) applying at least one second thin film electrode, wherein step b) can be performed before or after step c).

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein in step b) the first thin film electrodes are also deposited in a first region where no NTC thin film underlies, and wherein in step d) the second thin film electrodes are also deposited in a second region in which no NTC thin film underlies, and wherein the first and second regions do not overlap with each other, and the method comprises a sequence of steps in which first a first thin film electrode is applied, subsequently an NTC thin film is applied, subsequently a second thin film electrode is applied, subsequently again an NTC thin film is applied, and subsequently again a first thin film electrode is applied.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the NTC thin films are deposited using a CSD method.

27. The method according to claim 24, wherein the first and second thin film electrodes and NTC thin films are deposited by a PVD, or CVD process.

28. The method according to claim 24, wherein in a further process step the NTC thin film thermistor is subjected to a sintering process.

29. The method according to claim 24, wherein in a further process step the layer stack consisting of first and second thin film electrodes and NTC thin films is detached from the carrier material, or the carrier material is thinned out or completely removed by means of a grinding process or etching process.

Description

[0050] The invention is described in more detail below with reference to schematic diagrams.

[0051] FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the present invention

[0052] FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a second embodiment, in which carrier material serves as a first electrode.

[0053] FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a third embodiment

[0054] FIG. 4 shows a schematic top view of the third embodiment example

[0055] FIG. 5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a fourth embodiment

[0056] FIG. 6 shows a spatial view of a fourth embodiment

[0057] FIG. 7 shows a spatial view of the fourth embodiment with additional contact pads

[0058] Identical elements, similar elements or elements that appear to be identical are marked with the same reference signs in the figures. The figures and the proportions in the figures are not to scale.

[0059] In FIG. 1, a cross-sectional view of an NTC thin film thermistor 1 is shown. A first thin film electrode 3a, an NTC thin film 2 above it and a second thin film electrode 3b above it are arranged on a carrier material 4.

[0060] In this embodiment example, the carrier material 4 is electrically insulating and flat. A certain thermal stability of the carrier material 4 is required for possible thermal process steps for the production of the thin films, in which temperature of more than 500° C. can be reached. Suitable insulating and thermally stable materials for the carrier material 4 are poly- or single crystalline ceramics, passivated semiconductors, polymers or a glass. The poly- or single-crystalline ceramics may be, for example, YSZ, AlN, ZnO, alumina or sapphire, the passivated semiconductors may be, for example, a single-crystalline silicon with a SiOx passivation, and the polymers may be, for example, a polyimide.

[0061] Preferably, the carrier material 4 is very thin, with a thickness of not more than 100 μm and not less than 1 μm, but it can also be much thicker. Here and in the following, thickness refers to the extent in the stacking direction, i.e., perpendicular to the surface of the layers. The first thin film electrode 3a, the NTC thin film 2 and the second thin film electrode 3b are stacked on top of each other in the stacking direction. The NTC thin film thermistor 1 can be detached from the carrier material 4 after fabrication, or the carrier material 4 can be thinned. Known etching or grinding processes can be used for this purpose.

[0062] In addition, the carrier material 4 may also have functional properties and may comprise, for example, an integrated circuit (IC) or a microelectrical mechanical system (MEMS). In this way, the NTC thin film thermistor 1 can be connected to at least one other electrical component, for example a pressure sensor or a piezoelectric sensor, and thus different functions can be combined in one electrical component.

[0063] The first and second thin film electrodes 3a, 3b are arranged above and below the active NTC thin film 2 in the embodiment example of FIG. 1. The thin film electrodes 3a, 3b are preferably very thin, with a thickness of less than 10 μm. Chemical and physical deposition processes for thin films, such as PVD, CVD, CSD or galvanic processes, are suitable for forming the thin film electrodes 3a, 3b depending on the material used. The electrodes can be composed of one or more layers and of the same or different materials. Different electrodes and electrode layers may or may not be made of the same material. Suitable conductive materials for the electrodes include metals, alloys, intermetallic compounds, or conductive ceramics. The metals may be, for example, Cu, Ni, Ag, Au, Pt, Mo or Wo. The alloys may be, for example, Cr/Ni/Ag or Cr/Au. The intermetallic compounds may be titanium, nickel or molybdenum silicides. The conductive ceramics may be, for example, LNO or ITO.

[0064] The NTC thin film 2 is thinner than 3 μm, preferably even thinner than 1 μm, and is applied via one or more coating steps as well as thermal process steps. A suitable coating process for NTC thin films 2 is a CSD process in which the film is applied via spin coating, dip coating, spray coating or ink jet printing, for example. Deposition of the NTC thin film 2 via a PVD process is also possible. The NTC thin film 2 consists of a single-phase or multi-phase functional ceramic having a spinel or perovskite structure. Suitable elements for an NTC thin film 2 with a spinel structure are Ni, Mn, Co, Fe, Cu and Zr. For example, 80 at % Mn with 20 at % Ni may be a suitable mixing ratio for a functional ceramic with spinel structure used as an NTC thin film 2. A perovskite structure can be realized with the elements Y, Cr, Ca, Al and/or Mn.

[0065] FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the invention, which is similar to the example in FIG. 1. In this example, too, three layers are applied on top of each other on a carrier material 4. In contrast to the first example, however, the carrier material 4 is here also simultaneously a first electrode or bottom electrode. An NTC thin film 2, a second thin film electrode 3b and a protective layer 5, are applied on top of each other on the carrier material 4, which also functions as a first electrode.

[0066] In this embodiment example, the carrier material 4 is sufficiently conductive to serve as a bottom electrode. Suitable materials are metals, alloys or highly doped semiconductors. Insulators coated with conductive material can also be used. In particular, the carrier material 4 can also be present as a conductive ceramic. Thus, it is particularly easy to connect the NTC thin film thermistor 1 to another electrical component which itself has a conductive ceramic. In this way, two or more functions of different components can be combined and integratively fused in one component.

[0067] The protective layer 5 is an electrical passive layer that protects the NTC thin film thermistor 1 from mechanical, chemical and other environmental influences. When the NTC thin film thermistor 1 is coated on one side with a protective layer 5, a thin film process can be used as for the other thin films, in particular also a PVD process. Alternatively, the NTC thin film sensor 2 can be bonded or welded in a film. Suitable materials for the protective layer 5 may be glass, silicone or other polymers. The protective layer 5 does not necessarily have to be applied to one side of the NTC thin film thermistor 1, as shown in FIG. 2, but can surround the NTC thin film thermistor 1. Particularly advantageous is an entire enclosure of the NTC thin film thermistor 1 in a protective layer 5, if this is detached from the carrier material 4 or has a particularly thin design.

[0068] FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of the invention, which is similar to the example in FIG. 2. Three layers are stacked on top of each other on a carrier material 4. In contrast to the previous example, however, the carrier material 4 is not conductive here and therefore does not act as an electrode. An NTC thin film 2 has been applied to the carrier material 4. Both, the first and second, thin film electrodes 3a, 3b were directly applied to the NTC thin film 2, although only one thin film electrode 3a, 3b is visible in FIG. 3. The thin film electrodes 3a, 3b and the NTC thin film 2 were also protected here against environmental influences by a protective layer 5.

[0069] FIG. 4 shows a top view of an NTC thin film thermistor 1 in which both electrodes are arranged on the NTC thin film 2 as in the embodiment example shown in FIG. 3. The first and second thin film electrodes 3a, 3b are arranged in an interdigitated comb structure. Since the thin film electrodes 3a, 3b are equidistant from each other, the same electric field acts between the thin film electrodes 3a, 3b when a measurement voltage is applied. Therefore, the measurement current of an NTC thin film thermistor 1 provided with thin film electrodes 3a, 3b having an interdigitated comb structure exhibits advantageous linearity with respect to an applied measurement voltage. The electrode structure can be realized either directly when depositing the thin film electrodes 3a, 3b on the NTC thin film 2 by means of a aperture mask or via a lithographic process afterwards. Depending on the desired resistance and the design of the NTC thin film thermistor 1, a different arrangement of the thin film electrodes 3a, 3b may be more appealing.

[0070] Thanks to the arrangement of the first and second thin film electrodes 3a, 3b on one surface of the NTC thin film 2, the NTC thin film thermistor 1 can be designed to be particularly thin with a thickness of less than 50 μm. In addition, the requirement for the quality of the NTC thin film 2 can be lower because the measurement current flows relatively far along the surface and vertical defects of the NTC thin film 2 have little influence on it.

[0071] FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment. In this example, the NTC thin film thermistor 1 is a multilayer component. The first and second thin film electrodes 3a, 3b have been alternately deposited on the non-conductive carrier material 4, with an NTC thin film 2 always sandwiched between them. In the edge regions of a first and second side, one type of the thin film electrodes 3a, 3b respectively overhangs with respect to the NTC thin film 2, whereas the other type is shortened with respect to the NTC thin film 2. In this way, the thin film electrodes 3a, 3b of one kind can be easily connected to each other and at the same time a short circuit with the counter thin film electrode can be prevented. Due to the form-fitting contact of the respective thin film electrodes 3a, 3b on each other, the electrical contacting is improved via the increased contact surface between the adjacent thin film electrodes and the risk of one of the thin film electrodes not being electrically contacted is reduced.

[0072] It may be advantageous to form the inner electrodes of the multilayer NTC thin film thermistor 1 from a conductive ceramic, since this adheres well to the functional ceramic NTC thin films 2 and the entire active element of the NTC thin film thermistor 1 is fully ceramic. In this case, it may still be advantageous to form a bottom electrode and a top electrode of the multilayer structure from a metal or other conductive material.

[0073] Due to the layered structure and the overhangs, a staircase shape is formed on a first and second side of the NTC thin film thermistor 1, which tapers the component in the thickness direction. The thin film electrodes 3a, 3b can be shortened in the region in which they overhang relative to the NTC thin film 2, relative to the underlying thin film electrode 3a, 3b. Thus, contact surface area of thin film electrodes 3a, 3b can be increased and contact resistance of NTC thin film thermistor 1 can be decreased. An NTC thin film thermistor 1 with low contact resistance is especially suitable for precise measurements in high temperature ranges, since an NTC resistance decreases with increasing temperature.

[0074] The area in the center where all three types of layers overlap is the active measurement area of the NTC thin film thermistor 1. The areas where only one type of thin film electrode alternates with the NTC thin film 2 are irrelevant from a measurement point of view and should be kept as small as possible. At the edges where the thin film electrodes 3a, 3b are brought together, the electrodes can be contacted.

[0075] FIG. 6 shows a spatial representation of an NTC thin film thermistor 1, which also has a multilayer structure like the NTC thin film thermistor 1 of FIG. 5 and is arranged on a carrier material 4. In this embodiment example, the NTC thin films 2 overhang opposite the thin film electrodes 3a, 3b on a third and fourth side, which are perpendicular to the first and second side. The overhanging NTC material forms downward slopes on the third and fourth sides in FIG. 6. The overhang of the NTC thin films 2 ensures that the first and second thin film electrodes 3a, 3b are also encapsulated from each other in the edge regions. This ensures that first and second thin film electrodes 3a, 3b do not short-circuit with each other despite the small distance between them. Since the thin film electrodes 3a, 3b are still very thin at the edges, even though several layers are overlaid, it is advisable to reinforce the electrodes with a metallic paste, contact pads, a screen printing process, a thin film process or an electroplating process. In FIG. 7, the NTC thin film thermistor 1 from FIG. 6 is shown with additional contact pads.

[0076] The described layer structure has the consequence that the measuring current in these embodiment examples, in contrast to the embodiment example in which the thin film electrodes 3a, 3b are arranged on one surface of the NTC thin film 2, flows vertically through the NTC layer. On the one hand, this increases the demand on the quality of the NTC thin film 2, since defects have a greater effect on the measurement current, and on the other hand, the measurement accuracy does not depend on the size of the surface of the NTC thin film 2. Therefore, the layer structure can be used to realize NTC thin film thermistors 1 which, with a base area whose side length is between 80 and 120 μm and a thickness of less than 100 μm, are not only exceptionally thin but also have a small surface area.

[0077] Sensors with such a small surface area can be used, for example, in location-resolving measurements. If a plurality of NTC thin film thermistors 1 are arranged in a matrix according to one of the embodiment examples, this arrangement can be used to perform spatially resolved temperature measurement. Furthermore, electrical components with such a small size are predestined to be connected to or integrated with other electrical components. In particular, the NTC thin film thermistors 1 according to the present invention can also be integrated into printed circuit boards, which frequently have a thickness of only a few 100 μm, and do not have to be mounted thereon.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0078] 1 NTC thin film thermistor

[0079] 2 NTC thin film

[0080] 3a first thin film electrode

[0081] 3b second thin film electrode

[0082] 4 carrier material

[0083] 5 protective layer