Evaluation of conductive adhesives for industrial SMT assemblies

Microelectronics assemblies realized with different isotropic conductive adhesives as an alternative for solder are evaluated. The cure schedule is optimized by physical/chemical analyses. Electrical measurements show the evolution of the adhesive joints during accelerated life tests, and SEM observations reveal the failure mechanisms. Finite element simulations confirm the experimental results and permit, by varying parameters, to define the more reliable assembly configurations.