This paper is intended to provide an initial resource for researchers and practitioners entering the isotropic conductive adhesive (ICA) field, but may also prove useful to those with prior experience. It presents an historical overview of the issues confronted in ICA development and use in various electronics packaging applications in place of soldering technology.

Drop test survival is a crucial element of isotropic conductive adhesive (ICA) reliability. Drop test data are presented for four different ICA materials, with varying cure profiles. Only one of the materials passes the ad hoc standard (including none of the "snap cure" formulations, although performance is improved by extended cure times). Drop test performance deteriorates when the sample has survived a series of smaller drops, leading to a cumulative damage model based on crack initiation at interface bubbles, and is improved by a pre-cure heat soak to drive off the bubbles.

Nominal PbSe nano-islands were grown in the Stranski-Krastanow mode on (111) oriented PbTe/BaF 2 pseudo-substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The morphology and number density of these islands were assessed by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to determine the strain state and crystallographic structure of these islands. On the basis of both AFM and TEM analyses, we distinguish between different groups of islands.

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Nominal PbSe nano-islands were grown in the Stranski-Krastanow mode on (111) oriented PbTe/BaF 2 pseudo-substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The morphology and number density of these islands were assessed by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to determine the strain state and crystallographic structure of these islands. On the basis of both AFM and TEM analyses, we distinguish between different groups of islands.