Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Analyses and design for electrochemical migration suppression by alloying indium into silver

  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Silver electrochemical migration (ECM) is a serious reliability issue for fine pitch as well as power electronic devices that employ silver as interconnection materials. In this study, a method to suppress the ECM behavior of silver was proposed and implemented. Solid solutions of Ag–In and intermetallic compounds were fabricated and their ECM properties were studied through the water drop test (WDT). The WDT was performed on alumina substrate in deionized water at 3 V, where the leakage current was measured. The results show that Ag–In alloy samples have considerably longer lifetime before reaching short circuit than pure silver samples. As indium concentration in Ag–In solid solution increases, the resistance to ECM also increases. The migration process is completely inhibited when the indium concentration reaches 19 at.%. The morphologies of the dendrites and surfaces of the anode and cathode were also investigated. A model was established to explain the anti-ECM mechanism of Ag–In alloys. By forming indium oxide on the surface of the anode under electric field in a humid environment, the anode gets passivated and the silver dissolution path is completely blocked, and thus inhibiting the ECM process. It was discovered that the quality of electrode surfaces is essential in realizing the full potential of the inherent anti-ECM ability of Ag–In alloys. In conclusion, the results of this investigation have shown that Ag–In alloys can be promising and valuable candidates for conductors, metallization, and interconnect materials in fine pitch and high power electronic devices.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. B. Medgyes, B. Illes, G. Harsanyi, Electrochemical migration behaviour of Cu, Sn, Ag, and Sn63/Pb37. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 23, 551–556 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  2. M.S. Jung, S.B. Lee, H.Y. Lee, C.S. Ryu, Y.G. Ko, H.W. Park, Y.C. Joo, Improvement of electrochemical migration resistance by Cu/Sn intermetallic compound barrier on Cu in printed circuit board. IEEE Trans. Dev. Mater. Reliab. 14(1), 382 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. D.Q. Yu, W. Jillek, E. Schmiitt, Electrochemical migration of Sn–Pn and lead free solder alloys under distilled water. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 27, 219–227 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  4. J.W. Yoon, B.I. Noh, S.B. Jung, Electrical properties and electrochemical migration characteristics of directly printed Ag patterns with various sintering conditions. Microelectron. Reliab. 54, 410–416 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. T. Takemoto, R.M. Latanision, T.W. Eagar, A. Matsunawa, Electrochemical migration tests of solder alloys in pure water. Corros. Sci. 39, 1415–1430 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. J.C. Lin, J.Y. Chan, On the resistance of silver migration in Ag-Pd conductive thick films under humid environment and applied d.c. field. Mater. Chem. Phys. 43, 256–265 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. J.C. Lin, J.Y. Chuang, Resistance to silver electrolytic migration for thick-film conductors prepared from mixed and alloyed powders of Ag-15Pd and Ag-30Pd. J. Electrochem. Soc. 144(5), 1652–1659 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. C.A. Yang, C.R. Kao, H. Nishikawa, Development of die attachment technology for power IC module by introducing indium into sintered nano-silver joint. In The IEEE 67th Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), San Diego, 2017

  9. C.A. Yang, C.R. Kao, H. Nishikawa, C.C. Lee, High reliability sintered silver-indium bonding with anti-oxidation property for high temperature applications. In The IEEE 68th Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), San Diego, 2018

  10. C.A. Yang, S. Yang, X. Liu, H. Nishikawa, C.R. Kao, Enhancement of nano-silver chip attachment by using transient liquid phase reaction with indium. J. Alloys Compd. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2018.05.254

    Google Scholar 

  11. Y.Y. Wu, D. Nwoke, F.D. Barlow, C.C. Lee, Thermal cycling reliability study of Ag-In joints between Si chips and Cu substrates made by fluxless processes. IEEE Trans. Compon. Packag. Manuf. Technol. 4(9), 1420–1426 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Y. Huo, J. Wu, C.C. Lee, Study of anti-tarnishing mechanism in Ag–In binary system by using semi-quantum-mechanical approach. J. Electrochem. Soc. 164(7), C418–C427 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. B.I. Noh, S.B. Jung, Characteristics of environmental factor for electrochemical migration on printed circuit board. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 19, 952–956 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  14. B.I. Noh, J.B. Lee, S.B. Jung, Effect of surface finish material on printed circuit board for electrochemical migration. Microelectron. Reliab. 48, 652–656 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. G.Q. Lu, W. Yang, Y.H. Mei, X. Li, G. Chen, X. Chen, Mechanism of migration of sintered nano-silver at high temperatures in dry air for electronic packaging. IEEE Trans. Dev. Mater. Reliab. 14(1), 311–317 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. T. Kawanobe, K. Otsuka, Metal migration in electronic components. In IEEE Transactions on Components, Hybrids, and M. Technology, CHI-781, pp. 220–228 (1982)

  17. Z. Bahari, J. Rivet, B. Legendre, J. Dugué, Study of the Ag-In-Te ternary system. II. Description of the quadrilateral Ag-Ag2Te-In2Te3-In. J. Alloys Compd. 289, 99–115 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. D.C. Harris, Quantitative Chemical Analysis, 7th edn. (W.H. Freeman, Company, New York, 2006), (APPENDIX H)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The financial supports of Ministry of Education of Taiwan through grant 107L9006 and Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan through grants 107-3017-F-002-001 and 104-2221-E-002-040-MY3 are acknowledged. The Advanced Research Center of Green Materials Science and Technology is supported by the Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project of Taiwan. The authors would like to thank Prof. Peter Burke of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in University of California, Irvine for providing the pico-ammeter equipment, and Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan for providing the nano-silver paste.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

    C. A. Yang & C. R. Kao

  2. Advanced Research Center of Green Materials Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

    C. R. Kao

  3. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    C. A. Yang, J. Wu & C. C. Lee

Authors
  1. C. A. Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. C. C. Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. C. R. Kao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. R. Kao.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yang, C.A., Wu, J., Lee, C.C. et al. Analyses and design for electrochemical migration suppression by alloying indium into silver. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29, 13878–13888 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-9520-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-9520-3

Search

Navigation