High Temperature Die Attach by Low Temperature Solid-Liquid Interdiffusion

Author(s):  
Rogie I. Rodriguez ◽  
Dimeji Ibitayo ◽  
Pedro O. Quintero

There is a need for electromechanical devices capable of operating in high temperature environments (>200°C) for a wide variety of applications. Today’s wide-bandgap semiconductor based power electronics have demonstrated a potential of operating above 400°C, however they are still limited by packaging. Our group has been conducting research in novel interconnect technologies to develop reliable electronic packaging for high temperature environments. Among the most promising alternative is the Au-Sn eutectic solder (80 wt.% Au - 20 wt.% Sn), which have been widely used due to its excellent mechanical and thermal properties. However, the operating temperature of this metallurgical system is still limited to ∼250°C owing to its melting temperature of 280°C. Therefore, a higher temperature resistant system is much needed, but without affecting the current processing temperature of ∼325°C typically exhibited in most high temperature Pb-Free solders. This paper presents the development and characterization of a fluxless die attach soldering process based on gold enriched solid liquid inter-diffusion (SLID). A low melting point eutectic Au-Sn was deposited in the faces of two substrates, followed by the deposition of a subsequent layer of high melting point material, gold in this instance, in one of the substrates. Deposition of all materials was performed using Jet Vapor Deposition (JVD) equipment where thicknesses were controlled to achieve specific compositions in the mixture. Sandwiched coupons where isothermally processed in a vacuum reflow furnace. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to reveal the microstructural evolution of the samples in order to study the interfacial reactions of this fluxless bonding process. EDS analysis was used to identify the intermetallic formation and to characterize the joint in an attempt to study the kinetics of this diffusion couple. Post-processed samples confirmed the inter-diffusion mechanism evidenced by the formation of sound joints between the two substrates. As expected, it was observed that the Au was dissolved into the eutectic Au-Sn as the reflow time and temperature were increased.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 (HITEC) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogie I. Rodriguez ◽  
Dimeji Ibitayo ◽  
Pedro Quintero

There is a need for electromechanical devices capable of operating in high temperature environments (>200°C) for a wide variety of applications. Today's wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor based power electronics have demonstrated a potential of operating above 400°C, however they are still limited by packaging. Among the most promising alternative is the Au-Sn eutectic solder, which have been widely used due to its excellent mechanical and thermal properties. However, the operating temperature of this metallurgical system is still limited to ∼250°C owing to its melting temperature of 280°C. Therefore, a higher temperature resistant system is much needed, but without affecting the current processing temperature of ∼325°C typically exhibited in most high temperature Pb-Free solders. This paper presents the development and characterization of a fluxless die attach soldering process based on gold enriched solid liquid inter-diffusion (SLID). A low melting point material (eutectic Au-Sn) was deposited in the face of a substrate, whereas a high melting point material, gold in this instance, was deposited in its mating substrate. Deposition of all materials was performed using a jet vapor deposition (JVD) equipment where thicknesses were controlled to achieve specific compositions in the mixture. Sandwiched coupons where isothermally processed in a vacuum reflow furnace. SEM and EDS were employed to reveal the microstructural evolution of the samples in order to study the interfacial reactions of this fluxless bonding process. Mechanical characterization of the each individual intermetallic phase was achieved by nanoindentation. Differential scanning calorimetry demonstrated the progression of the SLID process by quantifying the remaining low melting point constituent as a function of time and temperature. Post-processed samples confirmed the inter-diffusion mechanism as evidenced by the formation of sound joints that proved to be thermally stable up to ∼490°C after the completion of the SLID process.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 000387-000392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sri Krishna Bhogaraju ◽  
Omid Mokhtari ◽  
Jacopo Pascucci ◽  
Fosca Conti ◽  
Hiren R Kotadia ◽  
...  

Abstract High temperature power electronics based on wide-bandgap semiconductors have prominent applications, such as automotive, aircrafts, space exploration, oil/gas extraction, electricity distribution. Die-attach bonding process is an essential process in the realization of high temperature power devices. Here Cu offers to be a promising alternative to Ag, especially because of thermal and mechanical properties on par with Ag and a cost advantage by being a factor 100 cheaper than Ag. With the aim to achieve a low-pressure Cu sintering process, a low cost wet chemical etching process is developed to selectively etch Zn from brass to create nano-porous surface modifications to enhance sinterability, enabling sintering with low bonding pressure of 1MPa and at temperatures below 300°C. However, high tendency of Cu to oxidize poses a major challenge in realizing stable interconnects. For this purpose, in this contribution, we present the use of polyethylene-glycol 600 as reducing binder in the formulation of the Cu sintering paste. Finally, we propose a multi-pronged approach based on three crucial factors: surface-modified substrates, nanostructured surface modifications on micro-scale Cu-alloy particles and use of a reducing binder in the Cu particle paste.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-15
Author(s):  
Hannes Greve ◽  
F. Patrick McCluskey

Low temperature transient liquid phase sintering (LT-TLPS) can be used to form high-temperature joints between metallic interfaces at low process temperatures. In this paper, process analyses and shear strength studies of paste-based approaches to LT-TLPS are presented. The process progression studies include DSC analyses and observations of intermetallic compound (IMC) formation by cross-sectioning. It was found that the sintering process reaches completion after sintering times of 15 min for process temperatures approximately 50°C above the melting point of the low temperature constituent. For the shear studies, test samples consisting of copper dice and copper substrates joined by sintering with a variety of sinter pastes with different ratios of copper and tin have been assessed. A fixture was designed for high temperature enabled shear tests at 25°C, 125°C, 250°C, 400°C, and 600°C. The influence of the ratio of the amount of high melting-point constituent to the amount of low melting-point constituent on the maximum application temperature of the sinter paste was analyzed. Ag20Sn and Cu50Sn pastes showed no reduction in shear strength up to 400°C, and Cu40Sn pastes showed high shear strengths up to 600°C. It was shown that LT-TLPS can be used to form high temperature stable joints at low temperatures without the need to apply pressure during processing.


2015 ◽  
Vol 830-831 ◽  
pp. 421-424
Author(s):  
T. Venkateswaran ◽  
M. Agilan ◽  
D. Sivakumar ◽  
Bhanu Pant

Transition metal diborides, especially zirconium and hafnium diboride are potential ceramic material for ultra high temperature applications above 1800°C. These borides are characterized by high melting point, formation of high melting point oxides, good oxidation resistance and excellent thermo-mechanical properties. In this present exploration, zirconium diboride (ZrB2) has been selected for its moderate density (6.09 gm/cc) and better oxidation resistance compared to high density hafnium diboride (11.2 gm/cc). The developed ZrB2 composite in the present study contains 10 wt. % SiC and 10 wt. % MoSi2 as sintering additives. SiC and MoSi2 were added to improve the thermal shock resistance and sinterability of the ultra high temperature ceramics (UHTCs). Vacuum hot pressing was carried out at 1800°C for a holding period of 30 minutes and applied pressure of 30 MPa. Attractive feature of this ZrB2 composite is good machinability due to better electrical conductivity and complicated shapes can be realized easily through electro discharge machining (EDM) process. Detailed XRD phase analysis and microstructural investigation of the polished and fractured composites was carried out using SEM. Mechanical and thermal properties tests have been carried out for the optimized ZrB2 composite material.


2014 ◽  
Vol 809-810 ◽  
pp. 384-389
Author(s):  
Lang He ◽  
Yu Tang

High temperature thermoplastic of 50Mn2V casting slab was tested by Gleeble-1500 thermal simulator machine. The morphology, microstructure and composition of fracture surfacewere observed and analyzed by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS).The results show that, there are two brittle temperature zones of 50Mn2V casting slab at the temperature of 600~950°C and 1300~1465°C, respectively, The section shrinkaging rate is less than 60%. The fracture mode changes from mixed one dominated by intergranular to toughness transgranular one with the increase of temperature at the range of 600~1250°C. However, the fracture is along with the solid-liquid phase at the range of 1300°C~ melting point.


Author(s):  
Paola Rivera Soto ◽  
Pedro O. Quintero ◽  
Mellyssa Mulero ◽  
Dimeji Ibitayo

Solid liquid inter diffusion (SLID) is an interconnection technique for electronic packaging, particularly beneficial for high power and harsh environments conditions. It consists of the bonding of two materials with different melting points at a low processing temperature to achieve a high melting point interconnection. The materials investigated in this work are a gold-tin bond attaching a SiC diode to an AlN direct-bond-copper (DBC) substrate. Gold (Au) is the high melting point constituent while the eutectic gold-tin (80 wt.% Au-20 wt.%Sn) offers the low melting point (280°C). This work is aimed at the microstructural evaluation of the joints at different bonding and aging conditions in an effort to get the insights of this interconnection technology from a metallurgical perspective. Four different bonding conditions were used: 315°C-5min, 315°C-10min, 340°C-1min and 340°C-5min; from which a base-line as built condition was assessed by means of metallographical analysis. Furthermore, the samples were aged at 250°C from 1000 to 4000 hours in increments of 1000hrs to study and quantify the microstructural stability and intermetallic (IMC) growth at the interface. This aging experiment has been designed to obtain accelerated information on the kinetics of this reaction so that predictive models can be developed for the real application conditions. The samples were diced, polished and analyzed following standard metallographical techniques; both optical and electronic microscopy (SEM-EDS) was employed. The as-built samples, for the four bonding conditions, presented differences in IMC growth with the thickest layers appearing at the harshest processing conditions. After aging the IMC kept growing and the formation of a new IMC layer was discovered and investigated, furthermore, cracks started to show in some of the samples. It was observed that after 4000 hours some of the cracks extended across the whole interface.


2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro O. Quintero ◽  
F. Patrick McCluskey

The demand for electronics capable of operating at temperatures above the traditional 125°C limit continues to increase. Devices based on wide band gap semiconductors have been demonstrated to operate at temperatures up to 500°C, but packaging remains a major hurdle to product development. Recent regulations, such as RoHS and WEEE, increase the complexity of the packaging task as they prohibit the use of certain materials in electronic products such as lead (Pb), which has traditionally been used in high temperature solder die attach. In this investigation, an Ag-In solder paste is presented as a die attach alternative for high temperature applications. The proposed material has been processed by a transient liquid phase sintering method resulting in an in situ alloying of its main constituents. A shift of the melting point of the system, confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry, provided the basis for a breakthrough in the typical processing temperature rule. The mechanical integrity and reliability of this novel attachment material is discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (1) ◽  
pp. 000088-000098
Author(s):  
Hongwen Zhang ◽  
Ning-Cheng Lee

Abstract High lead solders have been used as die-attach and interconnect materials in discrete power packages. Due to the demand of SiC devices serving the high-power market and the harmful effects of Pb to human health and the environment, alternative Pb-free solders, novel bonding materials, as well as solutions have been studied extensively in recent years. The exemption of using high-Pb solders has been extended again to 2021, although it could be terminated at any time if a new technology or material were to be accepted by the industry. This paper presents potential materials and technologies for high-temperature Pb-free die-attachment, focusing on alternative solders. Sintering materials and transient liquid phase bonding (TLPB) materials have been briefly covered as well. AuSn, AuSi, and AuGe solders have shown to be exceptionally high in cost, which limited their application. BiAg- and BiCu-based solders—the BiAgX® family including solder paste, solder wire, and solder preform—improved wetting and exhibited remelting temperatures of 262°C and 270°C, respectively. The acceptable reliability performance on temperature cycling and thermal aging, as well as low material cost, has made them the most competitive candidates for low-power discrete die-attach devices. SnSbAgCu, with well-designed compositions in recent studies, offers a remelting temperature above 320°C. SnSbAgCu is targeted in markets for mid-to-high power devices. Reliability testing for other recently designed SnSbAgCu pastes for various die-attach vehicles is being studied. ZnAl has a remelting temperature above 380°C and an extremely low material cost (comparable to or even lower than the high-lead solders). Although the bonding process is stringent, the excellent thermomechanical behavior and the superior thermal/electrical conductivity have allowed ZnAl to be a potential candidate for high-temperature/high-power die-attach that is competitive with AuSi and AuGe solders. Sintering materials form bonds through solid state interdiffusion, while TLPB materials create a joint through solid-liquid interdiffusion, in which the remelting temperature is enhanced by forming massive IMCs. The desired high thermal/electrical/mechanical/melting performances, as well as the relatively low processing temperature (<350°C), are shining the sintering materials (especially Ag-sintering materials). The intrinsic high porosity (>20%) and the evolution of pores from pressureless sintering may overshadow the reliability. In addition, the immaturity of the processing (time/temperature/pressure/atmosphere/equipment availability, etc.) may deter the industrial adoption of sintering materials. So far, none of these materials or technologies is ideal to satisfy all the requirements of the variety of high-temperature, Pb-free die-attach applications in terms of processing, reliability, and cost. However, each material and solution has the potential to be a niche within this broader categorization.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (HITEN) ◽  
pp. 000246-000253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes Greve ◽  
F. Patrick McCluskey

Low temperature transient liquid phase sintering (LT-TLPS) can be used to form high-temperature joints between metallic interfaces at low process temperatures. In this paper, process analysis and shear strength studies of paste-based approaches to LT-TLPS are presented. The process progression studies include DSC-analyses and observations of intermetallic compound (IMC) formation by cross-sectioning. It was found that the sintering process reaches completion after sintering times of 15 minutes for process temperatures around 50°C above the melting point of the low temperature constituent. For the shear strength studies, test samples consisting of copper dice and copper substrates joined by sintering with a variety of pastes having different ratios of copper and tin have been assessed. A fixture was designed for high temperatures enabled shear tests at 25°C, 125°C, 250°C, 400°C, and 600°C. The influence of the ratio of the amount of high melting-point constituent to the amount of low melting-point constituent on the maximum application temperature of the sinter paste was analyzed. Ag20Sn and Cu50Sn pastes showed no reduction in shear strength up to 400°C, Cu40Sn pastes showed high shear strengths up to 600°C, and extended curing further increased the joint strength. It was shown that LT-TLPS can be used to form high temperature stable joints at low temperatures without the need of applying pressure during processing.


Alloy Digest ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  

Abstract CRM MOLYBDENUM-50 RHENIUM is a high-melting-point alloy for applications such as electronics tube components, electrical contacts, thermionic converters, thermocouples, heating elements and rocket thrusters. All products are produced by powder metallurgy. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, elasticity, and tensile properties as well as creep. It also includes information on high temperature performance and corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, joining, and surface treatment. Filing Code: Mo-11. Producer or source: Chase Brass & Copper Company Inc..


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