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In this work, mineral sacrificial pastes (MSP) previously developed for standard thick-film technology (alumina substrates) are extended to LTCC in order to make a capacitive anemometer. Application of MSP materials on free-sintering (unconstrained and not zero-shrinkage) LTCC is challenging: shrinkage must be matched to that of the LTCC in order to avoid excessive deformation, or sufficiently compliant materials must be used. Here, different MSP materials / materials systems are described, evaluated and compared to their (standard) thick-film counterparts, with respect to their ability to form deformation-free intricate micromechanical structures and their release (by oxidation and chemical dissolution) characteristics. Finally, by using the more successful MSP materials, an application is proposed with a capacitive micro-force sensor serving as anemometer for an indoor slow flyer. Key words: LTCC, Sacrificial layers, Free-standing Structures, Mineral Paste, Capacitive Force Sensor
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Danick Briand, Ryan Mitchell van Dommelen, Xavier Aeby