Overview
A useful thick film glossary controls technical meaning rather than collecting search synonyms. The entries below are current site-controlled usage, not verbatim IEC definitions. this guide separates fired ceramic thick film, polymer thick film and carbon ink, thin film deposition, substrates, functional films, process conditions, measured properties, design targets, and acceptance terms so that drawings, RFQs, technical pages, and translations do not silently change the manufacturing route.
Engineering review matrix
Each row links a design variable to evidence that can support a drawing or release decision.
| Variable | Control question | Verification route |
|---|---|---|
| Thick film | Use with a route qualifier. On this site, fired ceramic thick film refers to a named printed-paste and firing route on ceramic; the deposition or printing method, material, and construction must still be stated. The term alone does not define geometry, performance, or supplier capability. | Treat this as site-controlled usage unless a cited source and revision support a narrower definition; confirm the drawing stack and process record before applying the term to a product. |
| Polymer thick film and carbon ink | Describe low-temperature cured polymer-based printed functional materials separately from fired ceramic thick film, even when both use screen printing. | Check substrate, binder or material family, cure route, and application interface. |
| Thin film | Reserve for a deposited and patterned film route such as a reviewed sputtered or evaporated stack; do not use it as a synonym for a physically thin printed film. | Match the term to the deposition, patterning, material, and inspection records. |
| Ceramic substrate and ceramic circuit | A ceramic substrate is the base material; a ceramic circuit includes a defined functional stack. Neither phrase by itself proves thick film, thin film, DPC, DBC, AMB, LTCC, or HTCC construction. | Read the complete construction drawing and layer specification. |
| Firing temperature and operating temperature | Firing temperature is a manufacturing-process condition for a named material route. Operating temperature describes service exposure at a stated location and must be validated for the complete construction. | Keep the process record and application validation record separate and scope-qualified. |
| Sheet resistance and resistance | Sheet resistance characterizes a uniform film per square under stated conditions; finished resistance also depends on effective geometry, terminals, processing, trim, and measurement method. | Record specimen geometry, contact arrangement, temperature, instrument, and processed state. |
| TCR and resistance tracking | Temperature coefficient of resistance describes a defined change over a stated temperature interval and reference basis; network tracking is a separate relationship between elements. | Specify calculation convention, temperatures, stabilization, channel matching, and acceptance method. |
| Laser trimming | Laser trimming is a measured material-removal step used to adjust an electrical result; it does not by itself guarantee final tolerance, stability, power handling, or lifetime. | Link trim geometry and target to pre-trim, post-trim, post-protection, and stability records. |
| By drawing and by application review | By drawing means a released drawing controls the value. By application review means system conditions remain part of the decision; neither phrase is a hidden universal specification. | Identify the responsible document, reviewer, open input, and release state. |
Controlled terminology method
The order makes assumptions and ownership visible before a result is promoted to a requirement.
- 01
Capture the term in context
Record the exact word or abbreviation, the sentence or drawing field where it appears, the source language, the intended decision, and any competing meanings before assigning a definition.
- 02
Attach a process-route qualifier
State whether the term belongs to fired ceramic thick film, polymer thick film or carbon ink, deposited thin film, ceramic substrate processing, assembly, testing, or another explicitly separate route.
- 03
Bind values to conditions
For resistance, sheet resistance, TCR, thickness, temperature, voltage, power, adhesion, or geometry, record symbol, unit, specimen, measurement location, method, and reference condition.
- 04
Resolve aliases and prohibited shortcuts
Choose one preferred term, list only useful aliases, and document misleading shortcuts such as treating firing temperature as operating temperature or treating every ceramic circuit as a thick film circuit.
- 05
Release and cross-link the definition
Assign an owner, reviewer, revision, affected pages and locales, canonical explanation, and reopen rule. Update linked content when the controlled meaning changes rather than leaving conflicting definitions live.
Failure controls
These are review prompts, not evidence that every risk applies or that every test is available.
- A
Thick film, thin film, and polymer thick film being treated as interchangeable process names
- B
Ceramic PCB being used to hide whether the construction is thick film, thin film, DPC, DBC, AMB, LTCC, or HTCC
- C
A firing peak or cure condition being published as a product operating-temperature rating
- D
Sheet resistance, finished resistance, TCR, tolerance, and stability being quoted without reference conditions
- E
Marketing aliases changing the technical scope of a drawing or RFQ
- F
A translated term selecting a different material or process route from the locked English owner
- G
An obsolete definition remaining on a linked page after the controlled term is revised
Reference boundary
Public method sources
These sources support the engineering method and terminology used in this technical guide. They do not establish a ThickFilmPCB material list, capability limit, customer result, certification, or finished-product specification.
- 01IEC 60194-2:2025 — Electronic assembly, design and circuit boards vocabulary
Supports using a controlled vocabulary for electronic assembly, design, and circuit boards only. The listing does not make any entry on this page a quoted IEC definition; each route-specific term still needs its own source, revision, and context qualification.
- 02NIST Guide to the SI, Chapter 4 — SI units and prefixes
Supports standard names and symbols for resistance, voltage, current, power, and temperature units only; it provides no process or product performance claim.
- 03NIST Guide to the SI, Chapter 7 — Expressing values of quantities
Supports unambiguous formatting of quantity values, units, symbols, and qualifiers in technical prose and tables only; it does not define an acceptance limit or ChipSimple capability.
- 04Vishay — Basics of Linear Fixed Resistors
Supports the terminology distinction between deposited metal-film and screen- or stencil-printed thick-film resistor routes and their trim and protection context; supplier comparisons are not ChipSimple process or performance evidence.
- 05NIST Technical Note 1295 — thick-film terminology and sheet resistivity
Supports the unit and uniform-sheet boundary for sheet resistivity or sheet resistance only; it does not define the other site-controlled terms or establish a ChipSimple material or measurement capability.
Inputs for a practical review
Unknown values may be labelled unknown. The review should convert uncertainty into an explicit decision or validation task.
Send Drawings- 01
Exact term or abbreviation and the sentence, table, drawing note, or requirement where it appears
- 02
Intended construction route, substrate, functional layer, and process family
- 03
Preferred source language, required locale, and any customer-controlled terminology
- 04
Symbol, unit, reference condition, measurement location, specimen, and test method
- 05
Whether the term is a target, nominal value, limit, process condition, measured result, or acceptance criterion
- 06
Drawing and specification revision plus the document that owns the definition
- 07
Known aliases, prohibited wording, and the decision that could change if the term is misunderstood
- 08
Reviewer, approval state, affected pages or products, and required change-control record