In a prospective study, 93 unselected consecutive uncemented hip arthroplasties were performed in 80 patients using the titanium-coated RM acetabular component and the CLS femoral component. The mean age of the patients at operation was 52 years (28 to 81). None were lost to follow-up. In the 23 patients who had died (26 hips) only one acetabular component had been revised. In the 57 living patients (67 hips), 13 such revisions had been performed. Of the 14 revisions, seven were for osteolysis, five for loosening and two for infection. Survival analysis of this implant showed a total probability of survival of 83% (95% confidence interval 73 to 90), with all revisions as the endpoint, and a probability of 94% (95% confidence interval 87 to 98) with revision for aseptic loosening as the endpoint, indicating reliable long-term fixation of the titanium-coated RM acetabular component.

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For the electronic packaging of sensor stable and cost-efficient fine-line printing technologies on LTCC and high frequency laminates are needed. Especially common technologies like screen printing and thin film techniques are unsuitable for fine structures or too expensive. In addition there is no direct write technology for 3D-LTCC-designs as well as for high reliability Co-firing structures. Closing this gap the aerosol printing technology is used to print high resolution conductors on planar and non-planar substrates. Aerosol printing is a direct write non-contact printing technology of functional layers. After a pneumatic atomization the ink is transformed into 1 to 5 μm droplets. The resulting, continuous aerosol stream is focused by a sheath gas in the printing head. Thus the long standoff distance between substrate and deposition tip of max. 5 mm allows the 3D-printing on non-planar substrates. With optimized inks and printing parameters line widths of 10 μm are achievable. This paper will present applications for aerosol printed functional layers on LTCC. These are, for example, aerosol printed films embedded in co-fired LTCC, fine line structures for high frequency applications and the evaluation of printed 3D-structures like LTCC-stairways. Furthermore the 90 degree contacting of unconventional sensor designs will be presented.

AbstractÀAerosol jet printing is a rather new technology for the deposition of thick film structures offering high line and space resolution. This method offers high potential for miniaturization for thick film structures. The advantages of this technology could be shown with inks carrying a single solid powder (e.g., silver, platinum, ceramic, or glass powder). One of the challenges in printing solid powder mixtures is the differences in the aerodynamic properties of different powders. Those differences result in changes of the mixing ratio within the aerosol jet and therefore poor reproducibility in the finished film.In this work, thick film resistors consisting of RuO 2 with particle size <1 mm as the conducting phase and different glass powders with particle size around 1 mm as the isolating phase were investigated. One glass had a density rather close to RuO 2 , the other glass significantly lower. Inks were made from RuO 2 /glass powder mixtures, a solvent, and organic additives. After manufacturing, the inks are printed on LTCC and the microstructures of the dried and the fired films were visualized by FIB preparation and SEM. The resistances as well as the temperature coefficients of the resistors were measured and compared with resistor films with an identical solid composition manufactured by conventional screen printing. The results of the obtained resistors are presented and discussed in terms of powder properties, ink dispersion, and printing parameters.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze a presentation of eddy current sensing coils for the turbo charger speed measurement, which were manufactured with the low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology. The goal is to be able to manufacture small robust coils with complex geometries and improved signal output. Design/methodology/approach A crucial element for its performance is the quality factor of the embedded coil. Thanks to the use of the developed LTCC manufacturing processes, the lateral wounding distance of the printed coils can be reduced to 30 µm, and simultaneously, the aspect ratio should be enlarged compared to standard LTCC technologies. By the use of a novel printed double-D coil design, the overall sensor characteristics will be improved. Findings The metallization thickness can be simultaneously enhanced that results in the internal resistance being reduced. Thus, the inductivity and the ohmic resistance achieve an obvious optimization that results in significant improvement of the quality factor of the novel coils when compared to standard technologies. Embedded micro coils have a sintered metallization aspect ratio of more than one and thus an optimal performance differing clearly from prior art. Their reliability was proven through temperature cycle tests of over more than 1,300 h. Research limitations/implications The developed LTCC coil technology will be introduced in the JAQUET sensor portfolio of TE Connectivity for the measurement of turbocharger speed on both passenger cars and trucks. The measurement and control of turbochargers speed enables the optimal regulation of airflow into the engine thereby improving the fuel economy and leading to a reduction of engine emissions. Originality/value This paper shows fabrication and performance of the original manufactured LTCC coil for turbocharger speed sensors and its optimized signal output by the novel design.