Relieving the current crowding effect in flip-chip solder joints during current stressing

Three-dimensional simulations for relieving the current crowding effect in solder joints under current stressing were carried out using the finite element method. Three possible approaches were examined in this study, including varying the size of the passivation opening, increasing the thickness of Cu underbump metallization (UBM), and adopting or inserting a thin highly resistive UBM layer. It was found that the current crowding effect in the solder bump could be successfully relieved with the thick Cu UBM or with the highly resistive UBM. Compared to the solder joint with Al/Ni(V)/Cu UBM, for instance, the maximum current density in a solder bump decreased dramatically by a factor of fifteen, say from 1.11 × 105 A/cm2 to 7.54 × 103 A/cm2 when a 20-μm-thick Cu UBM was used. It could be lowered by a factor of seven, say to 1.55 × 104 A/cm2, when a 0.7-μm UBM of 14770 μΩ cm was adopted. It is worth noting that although a resistive UBM layer was used, the penalty on overall resistance increase was negligible because the total resistance was dominated by the Al trace instead of the solder bump. Thermal simulation showed that the average temperature increase due to Joule heating effect was only 2.8 °C when the solder joints with UBM of 14770 μΩ cm were applied by 0.2 A.

Damages and Microstructural Variation of High-lead and Eutectic SnPb Composite Flip Chip Solder Bumps Induced by Electromigration

The electromigration behavior of the high-lead and eutectic SnPb composite solder bumps was investigated at 150 °C with 5 × 103 A/cm2 current stressing for up to 1711 h. The diameter of the bumps was about 125 μm. The underbump metallization (UBM) on the chip side was sputtered Al/Ni(V)/Cu thin films, and the Cu pad on the board side was plated with electroless Ni/Au. It was observed that damages occurred in the joints in a downward electron flow (from chip side to the substrate side), while those joints having the opposite current polarity showed only minor changes. In the case of downward electron flow, electromigration damages were observed in the UBM and solder bumps. The vanadium in Ni(V) layer was broken under current stressing of 1711 h while it was still intact after current stressing of 1000 h. The electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) elemental mapping clearly shows that the Al atoms in the trace migrated through the UBM into the solder bump during current stressing. Voids were found in the solder bump near the UBM/solder interface. The Sn-rich phases of the solder bumps showed gradual streaking and reorientation upon current stressing. This resulted in the formation of uniaxial Sn-rich phases in the middle of the solder bump, while the columnar and fibrous Sn-rich phases were formed in the surrounding regions. The formation mechanism of electromigration-induced damage to the UBM structure and solder bump were discussed.

Effects of substrate metallizations on solder/underbump metallization interfacial reactions in flip-chip packages during thermal aging

Effects of Ni and Au from Ni/Au substrate metallizations on the interfacial reactions of solder joints in flip-chip packages during long-term thermal aging were systematically investigated. It was found that both Au and Ni influenced the solid-state interfacial reactions, underbump metallization (UBM), and intermetallic compound (IMC) evolution. Because large amounts of Ni could incorporate into IMC to form a multicomponent (Cu, Ni)6Sn5 phase during assembly reflow, while Au could only affect the reaction during thermal aging through the reconfiguration of AuSn4 phase, Ni had stronger effects on solid-solution type Ni–V UBM consumption than Au. It was found that the UBM consumption process was faster in the eutectic SnPb solder system than that in the SnAgCu solder system during aging. A porous structure was formed in the UBM layer after Ni in UBM was consumed. Electrical resistance of flip-chip packages increased significantly after the porous structure reached certain extents. The results showed that the diffusion process of Ni from UBM and Sn from solder in the presence of (Cu, Ni)6Sn5 or (Ni, Cu)3Sn4 phase at solder joint interfaces could be much faster than that in the case of binary Cu6Sn5 or Ni3Sn4 IMC.

Maskless, Direct Deposition of Copper onto Aluminum Bond Pads for Flip Chip Applications

ABSTRACTFlip chip interconnection of integrated circuits (IC) for packaging applications such as direct chip attachment use Pb-Sn solders as the connection between the die and the substrate. Underbump metallization is typically used to transition from the non-solderable Al bond pad on the IC to a solderable surface such as copper using traditional blanket metal deposition, photolithography and etching procedures. In this study, we report for the first time the use of a novel process for selectively depositing adherent copper directly onto aluminum thin films, eliminating the need for adhesion promoting transition layers and additional patterning steps. Utilizing copper bearing organic solutions and standard electroless and electrolytic copper plating baths, as-deposited and annealed sputter deposited Al-x%Cu (x = 0 to 2) thin films were coated with metallic copper. An increase in the organically deposited copper nucleation site density was observed with increasing copper concentration in the sputtered aluminum/copper thin films. Preliminary results using focused ion beam microscopy indicated that dissolution of the aluminum oxide surface and subsequent deposition of copper by cementation occurs in the non-conducting organic solution at sub-micron reaction lengths. Qualitative adhesion testing of samples resulted in the majority of films passing the tape test. Demonstration of the process using 50 micron diameter vias in BCB coated flip chip test vehicles from MCNC will be presented.

Flip Chip Metallurgies for Lead-Free Solders

ABSTRACTThe most commonly used lead-free solders contain large amounts of tin, which makes them incompatible with the conventional Cu-based underbump metallization (UBM) schemes. The tin in the solder reacts with the copper layer of the UBM, depleting the UBM of copper and causing loss of adhesion and a weak interface. Use of new under bump metallization schemes with Ni or CuNi alloys as the solderable layer were investigated in this study. Instead of Cr, a Tibased adhesion layer was used to decrease the amount of stress in the CuNi layer. Flip chip solder joints were made in which three Sn-Bi-Ag based lead-free solders were reflowed to several UBM pads of different compositions. The resulting interfacial microstructures were examined by SEM/EDX analysis of cross-sectioned samples. The joints were also mechanically tested in fatigue and shear to assess the quality and reliability of the interface.