Ceramic-based circuit board assemblies formed using metal nanoparticles

A method comprising:

• providing a ceramic substrate;
• forming one or more conductive traces upon the ceramic substrate by consolidating metal nanoparticles thereupon;
• and
• forming a multi-layer printed circuit board by adhering two or more ceramic substrates together;
• and
• wherein the one or more conductive traces in a first ceramic substrate layer are in electrical communication with at least one second ceramic substrate layer adjacent thereto;
• wherein one or more through-plane vias extend through the ceramic substrate, the method further comprising the steps of:
• filing the one or more through-plane vias with a conductive material, wherein the conductive material comprises metal nanoparticles;
• and
• consolidating the metal nanoparticles with the one or more through-plane vias to form the conductive material therein as a metal plug;
• and
• wherein the metal nanoparticles are consolidated to form the one more conductive traces and the metal plug within the one or more through-plane vias at substantially the same time.