Electroless Copper Bonding with Local Suppression for Void-Free Chip-to-Package Connections

Abstract

The effect of bis-(3-sulfopropyl)-disulfide (SPS) on the void-free electroless pillar-to-pillar bonding process has been investigated. Two dome-shaped Cu pillars were joined using electroless copper deposition with the addition of a suppressor to achieve solid, compliant Cu-to-Cu bonding without high temperature or pressure. SPS was added to the electroless copper plating bath which has strong suppression to the electroless plating in order to avoid the creation of an unbonded seam between the two Cu structures being bonded. The bath suppresses the deposition of copper near the entrance of the gap between the two pillars, while allowing high deposition rate in the geometrically restricted area between the copper structures being bonded. This phenomenon is due to diffusion of SPS through the narrow gap between the pillars being bonded. At adequate concentration of SPS, the two pillars were successfully joined without any remaining seam between the joined structures, by growth of copper from the center of the gap to the outside.