Patent ID: 8561270

Claim:
A method of making a composite ceramic structure including at least two ceramic elements comprising the steps of: a) providing a wafer of ceramic material including opposed first and second surfaces; b) making a plurality of cuts through the wafer to form a wafer including a base and a plurality of spaced-apart ceramic elements extending away from the base and defining a plurality of spaced-apart recesses surrounding the plurality of ceramic elements; c) filling the plurality of recesses with an encapsulation material; d) grinding away a portion of the first and second opposed surfaces of the wafer to expose first and second opposed ends of the plurality of ceramic elements which terminate in the first and second surfaces of the wafer; e) covering the first surface of the wafer with a layer of conductive material to ground the first ends of the plurality of ceramic elements; f) covering only the second ends of the plurality of ceramic elements with a layer of conductive material to electrically isolate the second ends of the plurality of ceramic elements; g) poling the wafer; and h) making one or more cuts through the encapsulation material to form the composite ceramic structure.