Abstract
High-Pb solders have been used as die-attach and interconnect materials for decades in discrete power components. Because of the known harmful effects of Pb to human health and the environment, as well as the demand of the wide-band-gap SiC/GaN power devices serving under high power density and high junction temperature, alternative Pb-free solders/materials and solutions have been studied intensively. Pb-free alternatives to replace high-Pb solders are still in their infancy. The exemption of using high-Pb solders has been extended to 2021, although it may be terminated anytime if a new technology or material were to be accepted industry-wide. The potential high-temperature Pb-free materials, including solders (AuSn/AuSi/AuGe, ZnAl and BiAgX®), Ag-sintering material, and transient liquid-phase bonding (TLPB) material, are reviewed in this paper with an emphasis on BiAgX® solders. The extremely high cost of Au-based solders limits their applications, although they have been used in high-temperature electronics. Zn-Al has a high melting temperature, good mechanical properties, and good thermal performance. However, the high reactivity makes Zn-Al solders only available in wire and preform. BiAgX® solder (available in paste, wire and preform) has been developed to replace the high-Pb solders for use in low-power discrete components, with relatively low cost and better reliability than the high-lead counterpart. Ag-sintering material and TLPB material form joints by atomic diffusion (either solid diffusion for sintering or solid–liquid interdiffusion for TLPB). The challenges in mass-production and the cost have restricted their success to be widely used in industry. Although it is likely that none of these materials/technologies are ideal to satisfy all the requirements of the variety of high temperature Pb-free die attach applications in terms of processing/reliability/cost, each solution has the potential to satisfy a niche within this broader categorization.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J.W.R. Teo, F.L. Ng, L.S.K. Goi, Y.F. Sun, Z.F. Wang, X.Q. Shi, J. Wei, and G.Y. Li, Microelectron. Eng. 85, 512 (2008).
S. Tanimoto, K. Matsui, Y. Murakami, H. Yamaguchi, and H. Okumura, in Proceeding of 2010 International Conference and Exhibition of High Temperature Electronics, TA1, (2010)
A. Haque, B.H. Lim, A.S.N.A. Haseeb, and H.H. Masjuki, J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 23, 115 (2012).
M. Rettenmayr, P. Lambracht, B. Kempf, and C. Tschudin, J. Electron. Mater. 31, 278 (2002).
S. Tanimoto, K. Matsui, Y. Zushi, S. Sato, Y. Murakami, M. Takamori, and T. Iseki, Mater. Sci. Forum 717–720, 853 (2012).
G. Zeng, S. McDonald, and K. Nogita, Microelectron. Reliab. 52, 1306 (2012).
H. Zhang and N.C. Lee, U.S. Patent 9017446 B2
H. Zhang and N.C. Lee, U.S. Patent 9636784 B2
H. Zhang and N.C. Lee, SMTA J. 26, 28 (2013).
K.S. Siow, J. Electron. Mater. 43, 947 (2014).
R. Dudek, in Proceeding of 14th International Conference on Thermal, Mechanical and Multi-physics Simulation and Experiments in Microelectronics and Microsystems, (2013)
Z. Shen, R.W. Johnson, and M.C. Hamilton, IEEE Trans. Electron. Dev. 62, 346 (2015).
V.R. Manikam and K.Y. Cheong, IEEE Trans. Comp. Packag. Manuf. Technol. 1, 457 (2011).
L. Yin, in AREA Consortium Meeting, Binghamton, NY, March 2012.
J.R. Holaday and C.A. Handwerker, in High Temperature Die-Attach Materials for Microelectronics Packaging, ed. K.S. Siow (Springer, 2018) (in press)
H. Scholes, in AREA Consortium Spring Meeting, Binghamton, NY March 2014
S. Tanimoto, N. Hirama, K. Watanabe, H. Tanisawa, K. Matsui, and S. Sato, in Annual Spring Meeting of Applied Physics, Japan (2013)
Y. Takaku, L. Felicia, L. Ohnuma, R. Kainuma, and K. Ishida, J. Electron. Mater. 37, 314 (2008).
T. Yamaguchi, O. Ikeda, Y. Oda, S. Hata, K. Kuroki, H. Kuroda, and A. Hirose, J. Electron. Mater. 44, 751 (2015).
H. Zhang, R.S. Mao, N.C. Lee, and L. Yin, in TMS Annual Meeting, San Antonio, USA (2013)
F. Thummler and R. Oberacker, Introduction to Powder Metallurgy (London: Institute of Materials, 1993).
Y. Tan, X. Lin, G. Chen, Y. Mei, and X. Chen, J. Electron. Mater. 44, 761 (2015).
R. Khazaka, L. Mendizabai, and D. Henry, J. Electron. Mater. 43, 2459 (2014).
J.F. Li, P.A. Agyakwa, and C.M. Johnson, Acta Mater. 58, 3429 (2010).
H. Schwarzbauer, U.S. Patent 4810672, 1989
H. Schwarzbauer, US Patent 4903885, 1990
H. Schwarzbauer, U.S. Patent 5058796, 1991
J. Bai, Z.Z. Zhang, J.N. Calata, and G.-Q. Lu, IEEE Trans. Comp. Packag. Technol. 29, 589 (2006).
T.G. Lei, J.N. Calata, G.-Q. Lu, X. Chen, and S.F. Luo, IEEE Trans. Compon. Packag. Technol. V33, 98 (2010).
W.P. Liu and N.C. Lee, U.S. Patent 8348139 B2, 2013
N.A. Nikolic, U.S. Patent US2005/0137340A1
http://www.henkel-adhesives.com/die-attach-film-adhesives- 27373.htm
H. Baker, H. Okamoto, S.D. Henry, G.A. Davidson, M.A. Fleming, L. Kacprzak, and H.F. Lampman, in Alloy Phase diagram, ASM Handbook, Vol. 3 (1990), p. 2.26, 2.56, and 2.76
J.Z. Cui, R.W. Johnson, and M. Hamiton, IEEE Trans. Comp. Packag. Manuf. Technol. 7, 1598 (2017).
H.W. Zhang and N.C. Lee, in Proceeding of IMAPS Annual Meeting, Pasadena, USA (2018)
J.K. Mackenzie and R. Shuttleworth, Proc. Phys. Soc. Sect B. 62, 833 (1949).
S.J.L. Kang, Sintering: Densification, Grain Growth and Microstructure (New York: Elsevier, 2005).
S.P. Lim, B. Pan, H. Zhang, W. Ng, B. Wu, K.S. Siow, S. Sabne, and M. Tsuriya, in Proceeding of 2017 International Conference on Electronics Packaging, Yamagata, Japan, TA4-4, (2017)
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dr. Liang Ying from GE Research Center and Dr. Harry Schoeller from Universal Instrument Corporation for their work and discussion on BiAgX®. The authors would also like to acknowledge the colleagues of Indium Corporation for their continuous support and help on the HTLF Solder Project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, H., Minter, J. & Lee, NC. A Brief Review on High-Temperature, Pb-Free Die-Attach Materials. J. Electron. Mater. 48, 201–210 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-018-6707-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-018-6707-6