*** 9761618 Law This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to synthesize a new, high capacitance polyimide-barium titanate polyamic acid which will be patterned by contact photolithography to produce a polyimide composite network having an order of magnitude higher capacitance than current polyimide composite materials. The next generation of electronic packaging requires the replacement of discrete passive devices with embedded material to achieve the necessary gains in component density, performance, and cost reductions. Of the three passive components, resistors, inductors, and capacitors, it is capacitors that are used in the highest quantities, and have received the smallest amount of integration research. Current capacitive materials for MCM-L substrates lack the dielectric properties which will be required for future performance improvements. A composite dielectric material composed of a newly synthesized photo-active and high polarity polyimide with nanometer scale ceramic powder will be able to meet the performance, thermal, and processing requirements required for developing embedded capacitance devices. The total North American printed circuit board market is currently at $6 billion, with no integrated passive components. By the year 2007, total PC board estimates are at $13 billion, with approximately one quarter of that expected to be generated by boards employing integrated passive devices. Current discrete passive component costs are $0.10 per component, plus an additional $0.03 for insertion. Even with a slight premium for developing new embedded materials, the savings involved in eliminating insertion costs are substantial. ***
