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28 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2026 C eramic packaging has quietly powered the electronics revolution for more than half a century. From the earliest thick- film hybrids to today's direct bond copper (DBC) substrates and metallized aluminum nitride, every step forward in ceramic technology has pushed the limits of reliability, power density, and performance. It's essential for every design engineer building the next generation of electronic systems to understand this evolution. The Beginning: Thick-Film Technology and the Birth of Reliability Thick-film was the original workhorse, the first real bridge between circuit design and materials science. In the 1960s and '70s, as electronics became smaller and more powerful, traditional printed wiring boards struggled to handle high temperature and voltage environments. Ceramics, particularly aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), offered a solution: They were strong insula- From Thick-Film to DBC Understanding the Evolution of Ceramic Packaging P OW E R I N G T H E F U T U R E BY B R I A N B U Y E A , R E M T EC I N C .