Failure Analysis of Aluminum Wire Bonds in High Power Igbt Modules

1995 ◽  
Vol 390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus J. Dittmer ◽  
Max H. Poech ◽  
Frank W. Wulff ◽  
Martin Krumm
Keyword(s):  
High Power ◽  
Fracture Morphology ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Aluminum Wire ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Bonding Wire ◽  
Infrared Thermal Imaging ◽  
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor ◽  
Igbt Modules ◽  
Wire Bonds

ABSTRACTThe reliability of high power Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) modules is mainly limited by the aluminum wire bonds. Bond failure occurs due to fatigue fracture close to the welded interface inside the large bonding wire caused by thermal cycling at extreme operating conditions. This paper presents the results of the metallographic and electron microscopic examinations of the welded interface as well as fracture morphology investigations of failed parts after power cycling. Infrared thermal imaging and investigations of the stress/strain relationship analyze the differential expansion caused by temperature distribution and thermal expansion mismatch between large bonding wire and semiconductor.

Reliability Improvement of Aluminum Wirebonds in High‐Power Igbt Modules

1996 ◽  
Vol 445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujing Wu ◽  
Gene Thome ◽  
Timothy Scott Savage
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Crack Initiation ◽  
High Power ◽  
Fatigue Testing ◽  
Temperature Cycling ◽  
Grain Structure ◽  
Aluminum Wire ◽  
Significant Deterioration ◽  
Temperature Cycles ◽  
Igbt Modules

AbstractWirebonding is the weakest area of device packaging of power IGBT modules. Accelerated thermal fatigue testing causes cracks to form and propagate in the aluminum wirebond at the foot area. This study examined the relationship of the wirebond reliability and the aluminum wire grain structure, which can be affected by post‐wirebond heat treatment. A series of wirebonded IGBTs were annealed at a temperature range from 280°C to 400°C for up to 60 minutes. Wirebond shear strengths versus temperature cycles were examined. Cross‐sectional SEM was used to examine both aluminum grain size development by annealing and crack initiation and propagation in the wirebonds after temperature cycling. It was found that aluminum grain size was increased by post‐wirebond annealing. With temperature cycling, the wirebond shear strengths of the as‐wirebonded samples decrease rapidly, and lifted wirebonds were present after 1500 temperature cycles. The lifted wirebonds typically break within the aluminum wire near the wire/metallization interface. The shear strength of the wirebonds with post‐wirebond annealing showed no significant change even after 5000 temperature cycles, and there were no signs of significant deterioration of the wirebonds either. The wirebond crack initiation and growth rates were depressed substantially by larger aluminum grains. Annealing of the aluminum wire after wirebonding provided increased aluminum grain size resulting in improved reliability of the wirebonds of high power modules.

Degradation mapping in high power IGBT modules using four-point probing

2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
pp. 1196-1204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Bonderup Pedersen ◽  
Lotte Haxen Østergaard ◽  
Pramod Ghimire ◽  
Vladimir Popok ◽  
Kjeld Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
High Power ◽  
Igbt Modules

Reliability Evaluation of Cu-Al WB in High Temperature and High Current Applications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pradeep Lall ◽  
Sungmo Jung
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Copper Wire ◽  
Planck Equation ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Polarization Curves ◽  
Automotive Electronics ◽  
Wire Bonds ◽  
Chlorine Ions ◽  
Copper Aluminum

Abstract High reliability harsh environment applications necessitate a better understanding of the acceleration factors under operating stresses. Automotive electronics has transitioned to the use of copper wire for first level interconnects. A number of copper wire formulations have emerged including palladium coated copper and gold-flash palladium coated copper. The corrosion reliability of copper wire bonds in high temperature conditions is not yet fully understood. The EMC used to encapsulate chips and interconnects can vary widely in formulation, including pH, porosity, diffusion rate, composition of contaminants and contaminant concentration. To realistically represent the expected wirebond reliability, there is need for a predictive model that can account for environmental conditions, operating conditions, and exposure to EMCs. In this paper, different EMCs were studied in a high-temperature-current environment with temperature range of 60°C–100°C under current of 0.2A–1A. The diffusion kinetics based on the Nernst-Planck Equation for migration of the chlorine ions has been coupled with the Butler-Volmer equation for corrosion kinetics to create a Multiphysics model. Polarization curves have been measured for copper, aluminum and intermetallics under a number of pH values, and chlorine-ion concentrations. Tafel parameters have been extracted through measurements of the polarization curves.

scholarly journals An Aging-Degree Evaluation Method for IGBT Bond Wire with Online Multivariate Monitoring

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zilang Hu ◽  
Xinglai Ge ◽  
Dong Xie ◽  
Yichi Zhang ◽  
Bo Yao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Junction Temperature ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Monitoring Method ◽  
Bonding Wire ◽  
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor ◽  
Igbt Module ◽  
Bond Wire ◽  
Artificial Neural Network Ann ◽  
Multivariate Monitoring

The aging fracture of bonding wire is one of the main reasons for failure of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). This paper proposes an online monitoring method for IGBT bonding wire aging that does not interfere with the normal operation of the IGBT module. A quantitative analysis of aging degree was first performed, and the results of multivariate and univariate monitoring were compared. Based on the relationship between the monitoring parameters and the aging of the IGBT bonding wire, gradual damage of the IGBT bond wire was implemented to simulate aging failure and obtain the aging data. Moreover, the change of junction temperature was considered to regulate monitoring parameters. Then, the aging degree was evaluated by an artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm. The experimental results showed the effectiveness of the proposed method.

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