PEEK-based substrates for advanced microsystems 

Flexibility and efficiency with TECAWAFER and TECASUB 

PEEK-based substrates like TECAWAFER and TECASUB are an innovative alternative to traditional substrate materials such as silicon, ceramics, and glass, unlocking new possibilities in microsystems technology. Our plastic substrates offer beneficial properties that no other material offers, including high thermal and chemical resistance, enhanced design freedom and simplified processes, as well as industry-specific solutions.

Unlike conventional materials, which often present limiting properties and depend on global supply chains prone to delays and losses, TECAWAFER and TECASUB provide flexible design options while reducing both capital and production costs. Material availability and short supply chains minimise reliance on global networks. Replace traditional materials with innovative plastics to benefit from increased flexibility and optimised efficiency across various applications.

TECAWAFER and TECASUB bridge the gap to conventional materials, delivering cutting-edge solutions for your needs.

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Advanced Substrate Materials, Powered by PEEK

Optimised properties powered by PEEK

Our substrates not only offer a reliable alternative to traditional materials such as silicon and ceramics, they also excel with innovative properties. Perfectly suited for demanding applications in sensor and electronics technologies, they are setting new standards in microsystems engineering.

Optimised processes

Maximise efficiency and flexibility by reducing process steps and enabling greater design freedom, which results in lower investment costs. Our substrates support simple adapter and interposer solutions, improving the connection between ICs and PCBs.

Optimal industry solutions

Using the  high-performance plastic PEEK, our substrates are recyclable and enable the recovery of metals, contributing to a reduced carbon footprint. Short supply chains ensure reliable delivery times and high availability. Industry-specific solutions, e.g. for medical applications, are also part of our portfolio.

Substrate Comparison

When selecting the right material for your applications, whether for sensors, microsystems, or other high-precision technologies, you have various options, including silicon, ceramics, glass, and Ensinger Substrate Solutions. Each of these materials has specific properties and advantages that can be critical depending on the application:
  • Ensinger substrates combine numerous advantages and outperform many traditional materials. Our substrates provide outstanding surface quality, low roughness, and high planarity. They feature excellent flexibility, mechanical processability, and environmental resistance. Additionally, they are recyclable, making them a more eco-friendly option. Their high breakdown strength, optimal frequency behavior, and low thermal expansion make them particularly suitable for precise and demanding applications.
  • Silicon offers excellent electrical insulation and good frequency behavior, but it suffers from limited design freedom and restricted frequency performance. Its environmental resistance and recyclability are also limited, and handling issues along with the challenges of static charge can pose difficulties. Ensinger Substrate Solutions offer a reliable alternative with additional benefits such as higher design freedom and recyclability. TECAWAFER also excels with its surface qualities.
  • Ceramics offer high availability, thermal resistance, and exceptional breakdown strength. However, they have limitations in design flexibility, planarity, and surface roughness, and are more difficult to machine. Their recyclability and handling capabilities are also limited, and their flexibility and elasticity lag behind other options like our substrate solutions. 
  • Glass is characterised by high planarity and good surface adhesion, but it has limited flexibility options. It is typically more challenging to machine and offers limited design freedom. Another drawback of glass is that it is poorly structurable. Ensinger Substrate Solutions offer a great alternative for applications that use glass based substrates.

Ensinger Substrate Solutions

When choosing between TECASUB and TECAWAFER, it is essential to consider the specific requirements of your application. Learn more about Ensinger Substrate Solutions below or contact us for tailored advice to help you determine the right solution for your application.

TECAWAFER

TECAWAFER offers superior precision and excellent surface quality, making it the better choice for applications where high surface characteristics are critical.

Learn more about TECAWAFER

TECASUB

TECASUB is ideal for cost-efficient and flexible production without size limitations, making it particularly suited for various microsystem sizes.

Learn more about TECASUB

TECAWAFER: High-Quality Wafer Alternative for Microsystems Technology

TECAWAFER: Pushing the Boundaries of Substrate Technology with PEEK

TECAWAFER, our 4-inch wafer made from TECACOMP PEEK LDS, is offering a superior alternative to silicon, ceramic, and glass wafers and is compatible with existing process chains. Its LDS capability simplifies assembly and connection technology and offers benefitial properties such as low thermal conductivity, high elasticity, and resistance to aggressive environments. TECAWAFER optimises frequency behaviour, surpasses silicon in dielectric strength, and supports flexible machining methods like laser cutting. Made in Germany, it combines sustainability with innovation, featuring short supply chains and a low carbon footprint.

  • TECAWAFER has a particularly good surface roughness, achieved without any post-treatment. The standard surface roughness of TECAWAFER is at 20-30 nanometres Ra. For special applications, we can also realise roughnesses below 10 nanometres Ra. This allows us to achieve optimum surface qualities, suitable even for highly demanding applications such as those used in optics.

  • If desired, the TECAWAFER can be structured in advance and provide cavities that can give a solution to customer-specific challenges. Resolutions in the single-digit micrometer range can be achieved here. Complex etching processes such as Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) or similar processes used in silicon can be avoided. The polymer-based substrate TECAWAFER thus offers added value in terms of reducing steps in existing process chains.
  • A key advantage of EMST and TECAWAFER is the ability to build microsystems based on thin films. In this context, our PEEK-based wafer enables the realisation of customised coatings beyond gold, nickel and copper, as the thermal expansion coefficient of the bond to the substrate can be adapted to the metal used for the thin film. This allows innovative solutions to be created.
    Using standard processes such as PVD, TECAWAFER can be coated with customised thin films. In addition, we can produce highly complex thin film layouts using our patented Ensinger Microsystem Technology (EMST). These thin film systems can be used, for example, to produce sensors or actuators. Even highly sophisticated microsystems such as GMR sensors with their highly sensitive layers, some of which are only a few nanometres thick, can be realised on the TECAWAFER.

  •  TECAWAFER can be further processed by standard lithography, PVD or PECVD processes and structured by LDS processes. PVD coatings, CVD coatings and various other processes such as ALD or PECVD can applied for thin film systems. A combination of conventional lithography, PVD coating and now LDS structuring, known from 3D-MID technology, offers completely new possibilities for the assembly and interconnection of thin film based microsystems.

  • Unlike conventional wafers available on the market, TECAWAFER is also LDS compatible. This enables simple solutions in connection and interconnection technology (e.g. by applying LDS solder pads) or backside contacting through easy-to-implement VIAs (Vertical Interconnect Access). Furthermore, in the area of assembly and connection technology, it is worth mentioning that VIA contacting is particularly easy to implement in contrast to, e.g. silicon. In the area of packaging and interconnection technology, new approaches are possible. Joining the substrate with other polymer-based materials is possible using various processes such as laser welding, adhesive bonding or ultrasonic joining. This is a unique selling point compared to commonly known substrates such as ceramics or silicon, which cannot be joined using laser welding processes. 
  • Another special feature of TECACOMP PEEK LDS is that thin-wire bonding or thermo-compressive and conventional soldering processes can be carried out even on PVD thin-film systems. 

  • By using the high performance polymer PEEK, TECAWAFER is chemically and temperature resistant, and electrically insulating. PEEK is also not thermally conductive to the same extent as silicon, glass or ceramics. As a result, TECAWAFER offers additional material-specific advantages compared to the conventional wafers available on the market.

    Unlike conventional substrates, thermoplastic PEEK can be recycled. TECAWAFER is also much less energy intensive to produce than, for example, silicon, glass or ceramics. This also supports the sustainability goals of many applications and industries.

TECAWAFER PEEK LDS black
TECAWAFER PEEK LDS grey
All TECAWAFER Products

TECASUB: The Future of LDS-Enabled Films

TECASUB is the first PVD and LDS-compatible film that revolutionises microsystems and sensor technology. With low thermal conductivity, high elasticity, and exceptional acid resistance, it outperforms traditional materials like silicon and ceramics. Its high dielectric strength and optimal frequency performance make it ideal for demanding applications. TECASUB reduces process steps and investment costs through direct VIA integration and straightforward laser or mechanical processing. Sustainable, recyclable, and biocompatible options make TECASUB an environmentally friendly, precise, and flexible solution for your technical challenges.
TECASUB PEEK LDS black
TECASUB PEEK LDS grey
All TECASUB Products

Advanced Properties: Transforming MEMS applications

Our substrates combine low thermal conductivity, high elasticity, and exceptional acid resistance, making them ideal for demanding applications in sensor and electronics technology. Compared to conventional substrates, they offer additional advantages such as high dielectric strength and optimal frequency performance, surpassing silicon. Our TECAWAFER substrates also feature improved surface roughness and flatness compared to ceramic materials, ensuring a reliable solution for industrial processes and setting new benchmarks in microsystems technology. The added LDS capability opens up innovative approaches for interconnect technology (AVT), enhancing design possibilities and efficiency in advanced manufacturing processes.

  • Due to low thermal conductivity, our substrates are particularly suited for applications such as temperature sensors, flow sensors, and heating elements where minimal heat transfer is crucial.

  • Our substrates are ideal for use in pressure sensors and strain gauges, where flexibility and elasticity are essential.
  • Our PEEK-based substrates offer high chemical resistance and thus are resistant even to harsh environments, extending usability in demanding industrial applications.
  • Due to beneficial material properties, Ensinger Substrate Solutions offer advantages for applications requiring precise frequency behavior, compared to alternative materials such as silicon.
  • With high dielectric strength, our substrates outperform silicon in insulation capability, making them highly suitable for applications requiring VIAs.
  • The robustness of our substrates offers numerous advantages, including reduced waste and lower process costs thanks to improved handling strength.
  • TECAWAFER provides improved surface roughness, especially when compared to ceramic substrates.
  • Superior to ceramics, the high flatness of our substrates makes them particularly useful for comparable applications demanding high planarity.

Design Flexibility and Process Efficiency

Our substrates streamline production by minimising process steps, maximising design freedom, and reducing investment costs. They provide efficient adapter and interposer solutions, enabling easy realisation of VIAs and bridging the gap between ICs and PCBs with a simplified electrical infrastructure and straightforward interconnect technology (AVT).

These substrates offer extensive design freedom through laser cutting, simple mechanical processing such as milling and drilling, and options for welding or passivation with PEEK film substrates.

By eliminating the need for additional process steps such as insulation, grinding, and PVD coating, our solution enhances efficiency and reduces production complexity, resulting in lower equipment investment costs.

  • Our substrates eliminate the need for additional insulation layers, grinding, or adhesion promoters, significantly reducing the number of required process steps and lowering production costs.
  • Facilitates seamless integration between ICs and PCBs, reducing process complexity while enhancing design flexibility.
  • Enables innovative solutions in interconnect and packaging technologies (AVT), further improving production efficiency and design versatility.

  • Support flexible and precise customisation through laser cutting, milling, drilling, and options for welding or passivation with PEEK film.

Innovative Substrates For Advanced Industry Solutions

Our substrates are recyclable thanks to the use of high-performance plastics such as PEEK and enable the recovery of precious metals, contributing to a reduced carbon footprint. Short supply chains ensure reliable delivery times and high availability. Additionally, our portfolio includes industry-specific solutions, with the option of biocompatible materials suitable for the medical sector.

Biocompatibility

For the medical market, we offer substrates made from a biocompatible compound TECACOMP PEEK MED LDS grey, providing a suitable solution tailored to medical applications.

Recyclable materials

By utilising high-performance plastics like PEEK, the substrates can be recycled, and precious metals recovered, further enhancing their eco-friendly profile with a positive CO2 footprint.

Short supply chains

Local manufacturing ensures dependable delivery times and high availability, while further reducing environmental impact.

Services & EMST

With our innovative substrate materials, we also offer tailor-made solutions for your requirements in microsystems technology and sensor technology. 

In the area of conventional microsystems design and manufacturing, we offer additional services such as laser cutting, mechanical processing like milling and drilling, as well as passivation with PEEK film.  

Additionally, we also offer a new approach for completely individual applications: Ensinger Microsystems Technology (EMST) offers solutions that can be functionalised, integrated and fully customised, with a wide range of options, including sensor size and form, wafer and batch sizes and specific functionalisation, integration and packaging options.

Contact our experts for more information on our services.

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MEMS Applications with Ensinger Substrates: The Better Choice for Industry and Medicine

Our substrate solutions unlock exciting potential for both established and entirely new applications in microsystems technology. Explore inspiring use cases in our growing collection of case studies and application examples:
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Temperature sensor

made of TECACOMP PEEK LDS

Redefining temperature sensor manufacturing with EMST
EMST is redefining the way temperature sensors are made. Moving away from traditional materials, we are using TECACOMP PEEK LDS to unlock opportunities beyond conventional sensor manufacturing. With its lower thermal conductivity and versatile functionalisation capabilities, EMST offers solutions that are functional, integrable and customisable. Our substrate options meet a wide range of sensor requirements.
PEEK-Compounds-TECACOMP-PEEK-LDS-black

Pressure sensor

made of TECACOMP PEEK LDS

A new approach to pressure sensor manufacturing from EMST
EMST introduces a new approach to pressure sensor manufacturing. By using PEEK-based wafers, we simplify production processes and eliminate complex procedures and harsh chemicals. Our innovative processes deliver pressure sensors with increased functionality and customisation. EMST specialises in fully integrated differential pressure sensors and offers unrivalled flexibility for customer-specific solutions.
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