Company
Our previous post covered the fundamentals of ceramic PCB technology — materials, geometry, metallization options. Here we go further and talk about how this translates to real RF and microwave hardware, and how we work with the teams who build it.
INCERAM manufactures precision ceramic microcircuits for RF, microwave, and mmWave applications. We work with alumina (96% and 99.6%), aluminum nitride, ferrites, fused silica, sapphire and other materials, and we cover the full process chain in-house: substrate preparation, metallization, photolithographic patterning, laser trimming, via formation, cavity machining, dicing, and final finishing.
We serve defense, space, telecom, and industrial electronics programs across India and internationally. Our engineers bring deep applied experience from ceramic microcircuit development for demanding programs.
The range of technologies we offer is broad: thin film, thick film, DBC, and combinations thereof. Different applications — and often different sub-assemblies within the same system — call for different approaches. We'd rather have the full toolkit and match it to each project than push every customer toward a single preferred process.
In most electronics, the substrate is infrastructure. In RF and microwave circuits, it's part of the design.
Dielectric constant determines transmission line geometry for a given impedance target. Loss tangent defines how much signal energy is dissipated in the substrate — at millimeter-wave frequencies even modest differences between materials show up in measured insertion loss. Surface roughness affects conductor loss because current concentrates in a thin skin layer at high frequencies. Thermal conductivity determines whether a power device operates within spec or gradually degrades.
Ceramic materials — alumina, sapphire, AlN, ferrites, fused silica, high-K dielectrics — address all of these simultaneously, in ways that organic laminates cannot. That's why ceramic-based hybrid microwave circuits have been the standard in defense and space electronics for decades, and why the engineering community keeps returning to them as frequency and power requirements push upward.
Phased array TR modules — across L, S, C, X, Ku, Ka band — pack power amplification, low-noise receiving, phase shifting, and switching into a tight volume, often with bare MMIC dies integrated directly on the substrate. The substrate has to handle signal routing, die attach and wire bonding, and thermal management simultaneously.
For these applications we work with both thin film and thick film, often within the same program. Thick film is a proven workhorse for microwave work — functional up to 40 GHz, with screen-printed conductor systems (Au, Pt/Au, Ag, and others) and optional Ni/Au finish, integrated resistors laser-trimmed to tight tolerances, inductors, couplers, and multi-layer dielectric structures all on the same substrate. Multiple conductor layers, solid-fill vias, wrap-over-edge and end-face metallization, and castellations for SMT integration are all within standard capability — making thick film the right choice when circuit density, higher-power and high-current paths, integrated passives, and cost efficiency are the priority.
Thin film delivers the next level of precision when the circuit demands it. Using vacuum deposition and photolithographic patterning, conductor lines, resistive elements, and functional layers are defined with micron control — enabling high-density layouts and stable performance at mmWave frequencies. Metallization systems based on Cr/Cu/Ni/Au, Ti/Au, and others are available depending on bonding and assembly requirements; resistors are laser-trimmed to ±0.1%, and precision MMIC cavities are held to ±5 µm for flush die integration.
Wideband EW hardware — warning receivers, DIFM units, jammers — operates from below 1 GHz to 40 GHz within a single module. This demands stable impedance over a wide frequency range, mixed-function integration, and a mix of power levels across the same assembly.
In practice, these systems often combine different technologies at different levels: thick film microcircuits with high integration density; thin film substrates for the highest-frequency signal paths; ferrite ceramics for circulators and isolators in the signal chain. Managing all of this through one supplier simplifies coordination and reduces program risk.
GaN and other wide-bandgap power devices dissipate heat from very small junctions. Aluminum nitride — with thermal conductivity of 170–230 W/m·K depending on grade — is the standard substrate material here. It removes heat efficiently and provides a good CTE match to GaAs and silicon, which directly affects long-term reliability under thermal cycling. We process AlN with various metallization systems depending on circuit complexity and frequency requirements.
Being in the same country and same regulatory environment as our customers means faster responses, easier site visits, and no friction around program documentation, import logistics, or export controls. When a drawing needs to be reviewed urgently or a design question comes up mid-development, a conversation happens the same day.
For procurement and program managers: we offer competitive pricing, flexible minimum order quantities, and clear lead times. Ceramic microcircuits are often perceived as expensive and difficult to source — we work actively to change that, through efficient processes and genuine interest in long-term relationships rather than one-off transactions.
For engineers: we engage early. We review drawings, flag manufacturability issues before they become rework problems, and suggest modifications — to geometry, via configuration, metallization system, or material choice — that can meaningfully reduce cost or improve reliability without affecting performance. That kind of collaboration is easier when both sides are in the same market.
We are exhibiting at SES 2026 in Bengaluru, July 23–24 — come by and talk through what you are working on with us directly.
Show us the application. A drawing, a set of parameters, a description of what you're trying to achieve — whatever you have at this stage. We'll come back with a technical perspective and, where relevant, suggest approaches worth considering. The earlier in the design process we are involved, the more room there is to get things right.
Strategic Electronics Summit · BIEC, Bengaluru
Book a slot to speak with our engineers at the booth.
