Reliability and failure analysis of Cu-Sn transient liquid phase sintered (TLPS) joints under power cycling loads

Moeini, S. Ali; Greve, Hannes; McCluskey, F. Patrick

doi:10.1109/wipda.2015.7369306

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In contrast to the findings in Ref. [19], the cracks did not propagate into the die at any location. Cracks were predominately concentrated in regions with large voids.…”

Section: Sample Preparation and Failure Analysiscontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, we predicted that the thermal conductivity of TLPS joints formed from these pastes is high [18]. Additionally, we demonstrated that they have good reliability under cyclic drop loads [25] but are susceptible to crack formation in the brittle IMC regions under power cycling conditions [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…This decouples the process completion time from the joint thickness, because the required IMC thickness is equal to the short distance between high-melting temperature particles. Because of these advantages, considerable research has been pursued on the Cu-Sn [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] and Ni-Sn [18,[23][24][25][26][27] material systems in the last years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prediction and Mitigation of Vertical Cracking in High-Temperature Transient Liquid Phase Sintered Joints by Thermomechanical Simulation

Greve

Moeini

McCluskey

et al. 2018

Journal of Electronic Packaging

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Transient liquid phase sintering (TLPS) is a novel high-temperature attach technology. It is of particular interest for application as die attach in power electronic systems because of its high-melting temperature and high thermal conductivity. TLPS joints formed from sinter pastes consist of metallic particles embedded in matrices of intermetallic compounds (IMCs). Compared to conventional solder attach, TLPS joints consist to a considerably higher percentage of brittle IMCs. This raises the concern that TLPS joints are susceptible to brittle failure. In this paper, we describe and analyze the cooling-induced formation of vertical cracks as a newly detected failure mechanism unique to TLPS joints. In a power module structure with a TLPS joint as interconnect between a power device and a direct bond copper (DBC) substrate, cracks can form between the interface of the DBC and the TLPS joint when large voids are located in the proximity of the DBC. These cracks do not appear in regions with smaller voids. A method has been developed for the three-dimensional (3D) modeling of paste-based TLPS sinter joints, which possess complex microstructures with heterogeneous distributions of metal particles and voids in IMC matrices. Thermomechanical simulations of the postsintering cooling process have been performed and the influence of microstructure on the stress-response within the joint and at the joint interfaces have been characterized for three different material systems (Cu þ Cu 6 Sn 5 , Cu þ Cu 3 Sn, Ni þ Ni 3 Sn 4 ). The maximum principal stress within the assembly was found to be a poor indicator for prediction of vertical crack formation. In contrast, stress levels at the interface between the TLPS joint and the power substrate metallization are good indicators for this failure mechanism. Small voids lead to higher joint maximum principal stresses, but large voids induce higher interfacial stresses, which explain why the vertical cracking failure was only observed in joints with large voids.

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“…In contrast to the findings in Ref. [19], the cracks did not propagate into the die at any location. Cracks were predominately concentrated in regions with large voids.…”

Section: Sample Preparation and Failure Analysiscontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prediction and Mitigation of Vertical Cracking in High-Temperature Transient Liquid Phase Sintered Joints by Thermomechanical Simulation

Greve

Moeini

McCluskey

et al. 2018

Journal of Electronic Packaging

Self Cite

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“…These technologies include sintering of Ag and Cu nanoparticles, coreshell nanoparticles, mixtures of coarser Cu with Ag nanoparticles, Ag-filled adhesives, Bi-Ag-X alloys, transient liquid phase sintering, and foil-based transient liquid phase bonding. [64][65][66][67][68][69][70] For an HTI to be an acceptable substitute for high-Pb solders in a given application, the HTI must: 1. Perform within an acceptable range of the electrical, thermal, and mechanical requirements for the application.…”

Section: High Temperature Interconnect Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[67,68,72] Samples were processed at a peak temperature of 300°C in an inert atmosphere for approximately 30 minutes using 0.2 MPa of applied pressure to reduce void formation. The resulting microstructures for NiSn and (Cu, Ni)-Sn contained few voids; pockets of Sn in cross-sections of the bonds indicated incomplete solidification.…”

Section: Liquid Phase Diffusion Bonding In the Cu-ni-sn Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in Pb-free Solder Microstructure Control and Interconnect Design

Reeve

Holaday

Choquette

et al. 2016

J. Phase Equilib. Diffus.

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New electronics applications demanding enhanced performance and higher operating temperatures have led to continued research in the field of Pb-free solder designs and interconnect solutions. In this paper, recent advances in the microstructural design of Pb-free solders and interconnect systems were discussed by highlighting two topics: increasing b-Sn nucleation in Snbased solders, and isothermally solidified interconnects using transient liquid phases. Issues in bSn nucleation in Sn-based solders were summarized in the context of Swenson's 2007 review of the topic. Recent advancements in the areas of alloy composition manipulation, nucleating heterogeneities, and rapid solidification were discussed, and a proposal based on a multi-faceted solidification approach involving the promotion of constitutional undercooling and nucleating heterogeneities was outlined for future research. The second half of the paper analyzed two different approaches to liquid phase diffusion bonding as a replacement for high-Pb solders, one based on the application of the pseudo-binary Cu-Ni-Sn ternary system, and the other on a proposed thermodynamic framework for identifying potential ternary alloys for liquid phase diffusion bonding. All of the concepts reviewed relied upon the fundamentals of thermodynamics, kinetics, and solidification, to which Jack Smith substantially contributed during his scientific career.

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Transient Liquid Phase Bonding

Holaday

Handwerker

2019

Die-Attach Materials for High Temperature Applications in Microelectronics Packaging

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Reliability and failure analysis of Cu-Sn transient liquid phase sintered (TLPS) joints under power cycling loads

Cited by 8 publications

References 13 publications

Prediction and Mitigation of Vertical Cracking in High-Temperature Transient Liquid Phase Sintered Joints by Thermomechanical Simulation

Prediction and Mitigation of Vertical Cracking in High-Temperature Transient Liquid Phase Sintered Joints by Thermomechanical Simulation

Advances in Pb-free Solder Microstructure Control and Interconnect Design

Transient Liquid Phase Bonding

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