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Laminated transient liquid phase preform and bond characterization for high-temperature power electronics application

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Abstract

Transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding is a diffusion bonding process for joining metals using low temperature. Although, TLP is applicable to power electronics systems intended for high-temperature application, the brittle inter-metallic compounds formed at its inter-phase have low resistance to thermomechanical stresses experienced during the operational life of the device. Laminated TLP (L-TLP) bonding, which uses a preform with ductile core layer, has the potential to mitigate thermally induced stress. L-TLP performance depends on the quality of the preform, as well as processing parameters. However, little emphasis has been dedicated to the characterization of the preform and bond performance. In this work, variations in fabrication process and surface roughness were assessed in terms of final bond quality for varying core layer thicknesses. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal scanning acoustics microscopy (CSAM), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) and shear tests were used to evaluate the bond quality. Two preform fabrication processes comprising of electro-cleaning-dilute nitric acid-zincate (EHdZ) and alcohol-concentrated nitric acid-zincate (AHcZ) were considered. The results show that AHcZ produces superior performance. In addition, it is found that a rougher core layer resulted in better adhesion of plated layers. The bond shear force exceeded the relevant MIL-STD 883 acceptable threshold of 2.5 kg for shear area greater than 4.12 mm2 for core layers of 38 and 76 μm. Numerical simulation using ANSYS shows, that L-TLP bond, with thinner core layer thickness resulted in in higher thermally induced stress at the intermetallic compound (IMC) layer.

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The authors declares that this paper is an original work. Data will be made available on request.

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Acknowledgements

Funded through the Department of Energy’s Kansas National Security Campus, operated and managed by Honeywell Federal Manufaturing & Technonolgies, LLC under Contract Number DE-NA0002839.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    Ekene Gabriel Okafor, John Harris, Larry Marshall & David Ryan Huitink

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  1. Ekene Gabriel Okafor
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Contributions

OEG: Conceptualization, formal analysis, writing—review and editing. JH: Investigation, formal analysis, validation. LM: Sample preparation and data collection. DRH: Conceptualization, writing—review and editing, supervision, funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Ekene Gabriel Okafor.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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I Ekene Gabriel Okafor on behalf of the authors’, consciously assure that the manuscript entitled laminated transient liquid phase preform and bond characterization for high temperature power electronics application, is the authors’ own original work, which has not been previously published or currently being considered for publication elsewhere. The paper reflects the authors’ own research and analysis in a truthful and complete manner. Meaningful contributions of co-authors and co-researchers are clearly stated. The results are appropriately placed in the context of prior and existing research. All sources used are properly cited. All authors have been personally and actively involved in substantial work leading to the paper, and will take public responsibility for its content. I agree with the above statements and declare that this submission follows the policies of Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics as outlined in the submission guidelines and in the Compliance with Ethical Standards.

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Okafor, E.G., Harris, J., Marshall, L. et al. Laminated transient liquid phase preform and bond characterization for high-temperature power electronics application. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 891 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-10266-4

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