Thermomechanical reliability of a silver nano-colloid die attach for high temperature applications

Abstract The last several years have seen the advent of silicon carbide (SiC) power devices operating at temperatures well above 125 °C. These devices have the potential to provide higher switching speed and lower on-state losses with higher thermal conductivity. Developing reliable technologies for packaging is now the main hurdle to successful operation of SiC based power electronics at high temperature. This paper evaluates a novel silver nano-particle colloid material that has been suggested for use as a die attachment for high temperature environments. The material synthesis together with fundamental mechanical and electrical properties is presented relative to the low temperature sintering process. Using thermal fatigue data measured for this material, a low cycle fatigue curve for the silver nano-particle colloid was developed. A Coffin–Manson relationship was derived for the solder; which together with calculated strains in the joint, allows the low cycle fatigue life of the die attachment to be predicted.

[1]  Chin C. Lee,et al.  Advances in Bonding Technology for Electronic Packaging , 1993 .

[2]  Ryszard Kisiel,et al.  Die-attachment solutions for SiC power devices , 2009, Microelectron. Reliab..

[3]  J. B. Casady,et al.  A hybrid 6H-SiC temperature sensor operational from 25/spl deg/C to 500/spl deg/C , 1996 .

[4]  Andreas Schletz,et al.  Reliability assessment of sintered nano-silver die attachment for power semiconductors , 2010, 2010 12th Electronics Packaging Technology Conference.

[5]  Werner Engelmaier,et al.  Solder Attachment Reliability, Accelerated Testing, and Result Evaluation , 1991 .

[6]  Richard Ulrich,et al.  Advanced electronic packaging , 2006 .

[7]  J. Lau,et al.  Solder Joint Reliability: Theory And Applications , 2014 .

[8]  J.J. Shea,et al.  Electronic packaging materials and their properties , 2001, IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine.

[9]  L. Frey,et al.  Evolution of shear strength and microstructure of die bonding technologies for high temperature applications during thermal aging , 2010, 2010 12th Electronics Packaging Technology Conference.

[10]  C. Gobl,et al.  Low temperature sinter technology die attachment for power electronic applications , 2010, 2010 6th International Conference on Integrated Power Electronics Systems.

[11]  D. Das,et al.  The evaluation of copper migration during the die attach curing and second wire bonding process , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies.

[12]  K. Suganuma,et al.  Ag Nanoparticle Paste Synthesis for Room Temperature Bonding , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies.

[13]  Andreas Schletz,et al.  Power semiconductor joining through sintering of silver nanoparticles: Evaluation of influence of parameters time, temperature and pressure on density, strength and reliability , 2010, 2010 6th International Conference on Integrated Power Electronics Systems.

[14]  P. McCluskey,et al.  High Temperature Lead-Free Attach Reliability , 2007 .

[15]  Marc André Meyers,et al.  Mechanical Behavior of Materials (2nd ed.) , 2009 .

[16]  R. Campbell,et al.  High Temperature Electronics. , 1971 .

[17]  Guo-Quan Lu,et al.  Pressure-assisted low-temperature sintering of silver paste as an alternative die-attach solution to solder reflow , 2002 .

[18]  H. Schwarzbauer,et al.  Novel large area joining technique for improved power device performance , 1989, Conference Record of the IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting,.

[19]  K. Ngo,et al.  Thermal fatigue behaviour of Al2O3-DBC substrates under high temperature cyclic loading , 2010 .

[20]  Glenn Beheim,et al.  6H-SiC Transistor Integrated Circuits Demonstrating Prolonged Operation at 500 C , 2008 .

[21]  Guo-Quan Lu,et al.  A lead-free, low-temperature sintering die-attach technique for high-performance and high-temperature packaging , 2004, Proceedings of the Sixth IEEE CPMT Conference on High Density Microsystem Design and Packaging and Component Failure Analysis (HDP '04).

[22]  A. Lindemann,et al.  Double-sided low-temperature joining technique for power cycling capability at high temperature , 2005, 2005 European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications.