Interfacial Diffusion Mechanism between ALD Al2O3 passivation/Cu in Direct Bonded Copper Substrate for Power Electronics

Abstract

Direct bonded copper(DBC) substrate requires surface treatments for oxidation prevention and adhesion enhancement to die-attachment. Conventional surface treatment, electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) has a cost and environmental problems, and immersion silver is sensitive to temperature and humidity. To solve these problems, this study presents the invention of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) passivation for DBC Cu pads, which meets the requirements of oxidation prevention and adhesion enhancement to die-attachment. Ultrathin Al2O3 passivation layers (~20nm) by atomic layer deposition(ALD) were coated on DBC Cu pads for replacing conventional ENIG and immersion silver surface finishes. This paper presents bondability and interfacial diffusion mechanism between ALD Al2O3 passivation/Cu in DBC substrate.