Anodic gold corrosion in plastic encapsulated devices

Abstract Experimental results of gold metallization failures in semiconductor devices due to the corrosion of gold in the absence of a complexing medium or contaminants are reported. In particular we show the corrosion of anodically biased lines which was observed on unpassivated plastic encapsulated high-frequency transistors and on passivated linear integrated circuits operating at 85°C, 85% relative humidity (R.H.), for a few thousand hours. The anodic corrosion gives rise to the formation of a voluminous and conductive product, Au(OH) 3 , and leads to the short-circuiting of adjacent stripes.