Non-destructive quantitative phase analysis of an LTCC material Kostja Makarovic ˇ Electronic Ceramics Department, Joz ˇef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia and CoE Namaste, Ljubljana, Slovenia Anton Meden Chair of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia and CoE Namaste, Ljubljana, Slovenia Marko Hrovat Electronic Ceramics Department, Joz ˇef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia and CoE Namaste, Ljubljana, Slovenia Darko Belavic ˇ HIPOT-RR, d.o.o., Otoc ˇec, Slovenia and CoE Namaste, Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Janez Holc and Marija Kosec Electronic Ceramics Department, Joz ˇef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia and CoE Namaste, Ljubljana, Slovenia Abstract Purpose – In this manuscript the purpose is to present and evaluate the developed non-destructive method for analysing the phase composition of LTCC Du Pont “Green Tape 951” material fired in the temperature range from 800 to 1,0008C using X-ray powder diffraction and Rietveld refinement. Design/methodology/approach – The method uses the crystalline Al2O3 which is already present in the material as an internal standard since its mass fraction was previously found to be constant in the described temperature range. Findings – The results of the non-destructive analyses and the classical destructive analyses are comparable and the estimated error of the destructive phase analyses and the calculated errors for the non-destructive phase analyses are of the same order. Practical implications – The described method can be used also for analysing another type of LTCC material. In this case it is necessary to check whether the mass fraction of any crystalline phase present in the sample is constant in the given temperature range, because only in this case can it be used as an internal standard for a determination of the phase composition. Originality/value – The non-destructive method is a fast and easy approach for analysing the fired samples and is also suitable for controlling the phase composition of LTCC materials on 3D complex structures without destroying them, just by using the X-ray diffraction patterns collected from their surface. Keywords LTCC, Glass-ceramic composite, X-ray powder diffraction, Phase analysis, Non-destructive, Chemical analysis, Materials Paper type Research paper Introduction The needs of miniature, high-performance electronics have led to the development of multilayer electronic packaging technology. This multilayer ceramic technology was developed because polymer circuits are not heat resistant and can lead to higher losses in circuits operating at higher frequencies. The important materials, mostly used as a substrate in multilayer ceramic technology, are low- temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC). These LTCCs are usually in the form of tapes and the applied multilayer technology can also be used for the fabrication of structures that integrate electronic circuits with buried channels and membranes, the so-called micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) structures. Such structures are used in the medical and automotive industries for pressure sensors, flowmeters, strain gauges, micro-reactors, temperature sensors and sensors for measuring the concentrations of some gases (Imanaka, 2005). The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1356-5362.htm Microelectronics International 30/2 (2013) 73–76 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1356-5362] [DOI 10.1108/13565361311314458] The authors wish to thank Mitja Jerlah (HIPOT-RR) for laminating and cutting the LTCC samples, and Edi Kranjc, univ. dipl. ing. (National Institute for Chemistry) for collecting the XRD patterns. The financial support of the Slovenian Research Agency for the projects “Ceramic materials for 3D structures and study of functional properties” (L2-2343) and the Young Researcher project 100-09-310145 is gratefully acknowledged. 73