Determination of electric and magnetic properties of commercial LTCC soft ferrite material

Abstract

This paper offers an effective, accurate, and simple method for permittivity and permeability determination of an LTCC (low temperature cofired ceramic) ferrite sample. The presented research can be of importance in the fields of ferrite component design and application, as well as for RF and microwave engineering. The characterization sample is a stack of LTCC tapes forming a toroid. Commercially available ferrite tape ESL 40012 was used and standard LTCC processing was applied for the sample fabrication. For the first time, the electrical properties of a ferrite toroid sample of ESL 40012 LTCC ferrite tape is presented at various frequencies. The electrical properties of LTCC ferrite materials, permittivity and specific resistivity, are shown in a frequency range from 10 kHz to 1 MHz using the capacitive method. The hysteresis properties of this material are also determined. B-H hysteresis loops were measured applying a maximum excitation of 2 kA/m and frequencies of 50 Hz, 500 Hz, and 1000 Hz. Permeability is determined in the frequency range from 10 kHz to 1 GHz and a characterization procedure is divided in two segments, for low and high frequencies. Low frequency measurements (from 10 kHz to 1 MHz) are performed using LCZ meter and discrete turns of wire, while a short coaxial sample holder and vector network analyzer were used for the higher frequency range (from 300 kHz to 1 GHz). In addition, another important factor required for the practical design of devices is presented, the temperature variation of the permeability dispersion parameters. Copyright © International Microelectronics and Packaging Society. Copyright © 2013 International Microelectronics and Packaging Society.