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Electromigration in Sintered Nanoscale Silver Films at Elevated Temperature

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Abstract

Sintered nanoscale silver is a promising interconnection material for semiconductor devices because it provides improved joint properties compared with solder and wire bonds. It has higher electrical and thermal conductivity and is capable of higher operating temperature. Joints with die shear strength above 20 MPa can be formed at around 250°C even without applied pressure. Sintered silver joints were also found to be an order of magnitude more reliable than solder joints and wire bonds. In this work, the electromigration behavior of sintered nanosilver material under conditions of high applied current density and elevated temperature was investigated. Thin strips of sintered nanosilver formed on ceramic substrates were tested under current densities exceeding 150 kA/cm2 at temperatures of 150°C and above. Results based on the percentage change in sample resistance showed that the sintered silver lasted at least ten times longer than aluminum wire bonds. Examination of failed strips revealed that hairline cracks formed during sintering were the main cause of failure. Otherwise, defect-free samples exhibited a 10-fold increase in lifetime over wire bonds under similar conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Jesus N. Calata & Guo-Quan Lu

  2. Center for Power Electronics Systems, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Jesus N. Calata, Guo-Quan Lu & Khai Ngo

  3. Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Guo-Quan Lu & Khai Ngo

  4. Texas Instruments, Santa Clara, CA, 95052, USA

    Luu Nguyen

Authors
  1. Jesus N. Calata
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  2. Guo-Quan Lu
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  3. Khai Ngo
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  4. Luu Nguyen
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Correspondence to Jesus N. Calata.

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Calata, J.N., Lu, GQ., Ngo, K. et al. Electromigration in Sintered Nanoscale Silver Films at Elevated Temperature. J. Electron. Mater. 43, 109–116 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-013-2783-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-013-2783-9

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