Sintering of Silver–Aluminum Nanopaste With Varying Aluminum Weight Percent for Use as a High-Temperature Die-Attach Material

Sintering of Ag<inf>80</inf>-Al<inf>20</inf> nanoalloy for high temperature die attach applications on silicon carbide-based power devices: The effects of ramp rate and dwell time

“…This was of course the value obtained for a bulk Ag-AI material, and the use of nanoscale Ag and Al would depict a depression in the melting point, which needed to be ascertained later in this research work. The average particle size for Ag and Al nanopowders were 40 ± 10 nm and 60 ± 20 nm, respectively [19][20][21][22]. During formulation of the Ag Al paste, EG was used to coat the nanoparticles via ultrasonic agitation before adding the resin binder, in order to avoid agglomeration of the nanoparticles.…”

“…Based on the experimental work and statistical analysis, the sintering profile for the Ag-AI nanopaste adopted a ramp rate of SOC/min and dwell time of 30 minutes at 380°C sintering temperature. Post-sintered Ag AI nanopaste samples formed compounds of Ag2AI and Ag3AI based on XRD analysis as depicted in Figure S [19][20][21][22]. Figure 6 depicts the post-sintered Ag-AI nanopaste with SiC dies attached to it.…”

“…Only available values were listed. The reduction in mechanical attribute values can be tied to the formation of pores in the sintered nanopaste [19][20][21][22]. A lower Young's modulus and hardness is important for die attach in particular for high temperature applications as it helps to reduce the thermo-mechanical stress build up in a die-die attach-substrate structure, whereby the varying CTE of each material during high temperature applications could cause reliability issues at the joint [12][13][14][15][16].…”

“…The investigation in this literature work concerns the ramp rate and dwell time during sintering which is crucial to aid in the organics burn off and promote solid-state fusion between the elements. The Agso-Al2o fonnulation was determined through our previous research works, which proved that this ratio gave the best thennal and electrical characteristics for high temperature use [19][20][21][22]. The resulting post-sintered Agso-AI20 die attach material's characteristics are also discussed with respect to high temperature applications.…”

“…XRD diffractogram for post-sintered Ag-AI nanopaste using the selected sintering profile[19][20][21][22].…”