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Reliability of Ag Sinter-Joining Die Attach Under Harsh Thermal Cycling and Power Cycling Tests

  • Electronic Packaging and Interconnections 2021
  • Published:
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Abstract

Silver (Ag) sinter-joining is an ideal connection technique for wide bandgap (WBG) power electronics packaging due to its excellent high-temperature stability and excellent thermal conductivity. In this work, we applied Ag sinter-joining to die attach for a WBG power module and focused reliability of Ag sinter-joining under harsh thermal and power cycling conditions. The die attach structure using a Ag flake paste had an initial shear strength of over 45 MPa due to the excellent sinter-joining ability of the paste. Variation of die attach shear strength and failure mode under a harsh cycling condition (−50~250 °C) have also been systematically discussed. Thermal diffusivity of sintered Ag and thermal resistance of the die attach structure were also measured, showing a superior thermal performance to solder materials. Meanwhile, a simple SiC diode module was assembled via Ag sinter-joining and aluminum (Al) ribbon-bonding for evaluation of Ag sinter-joining reliability during a severe power cycling condition. A power cycling test with a high junction temperature of 200 °C was conducted to evaluate the reliability of Ag sinter-joining. It is found that the main failure of the SiC diode module was located at ribbon-bonding rather than the Ag sinter-joining layer degradation, based on the variation of forward voltage and junction to case thermal resistance. This investigation indicates that the Ag sinter-joining has a long lifetime under a severe operating condition of power electronics.

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Acknowledgments

This paper is based on results obtained from a project (JPNP14004) commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The author acknowledges the Network Joint Research Centre for Materials and Devices, Dynamic Alliance for Open Innovation Bridging Human, Environment and Materials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (SANKEN), Osaka University, Mihogaoka 8-1, Ibaraki, Osaka, 567-0047, Japan

    Zheng Zhang, Chuantong Chen, Aiji Suetake, Ming-Chun Hsieh & Katsuaki Suganuma

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  1. Zheng Zhang
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  2. Chuantong Chen
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  3. Aiji Suetake
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  4. Ming-Chun Hsieh
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  5. Katsuaki Suganuma
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Correspondence to Zheng Zhang.

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Zhang, Z., Chen, C., Suetake, A. et al. Reliability of Ag Sinter-Joining Die Attach Under Harsh Thermal Cycling and Power Cycling Tests. J. Electron. Mater. 50, 6597–6606 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-021-09221-y

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