Mechanical and Microstructural Analysis of an Ultra-Flexible Nano-Silver Paste Sintered Joint

Abstract

Soldering using common lead-free solder alloys is still one of the main die attach technology, in particular for applications in power electronics where high temperatures have to be met. However, some newly developed attach technologies promise to offer more interesting features in terms of both mechanical and thermal properties. Among these new methods, sintering of nano-silver particles allows to obtain a high thermal conductivity needed in the assemblies of electronic or optical components, as well as a relatively low elastic modulus for better stress accommodation and enhanced thermo-mechanical reliability. The sintering processing parameters, mainly the bonding pressure, the sintering temperature profile, and the sintering atmosphere, are known to have a critical effect on the properties of the sintered layer, such as its mechanical strength and electrical/thermal performances.In this study, copper substrates are fabricated and assembled by sintering using a nano-silver paste. The objective is to obtain a bonding joint with high mechanical flexbility, capable of addressing the thermomechanical stresses for systems operating under high temperatures. The measured mechanical properties of the sintered material show on the one hand low elastic modulus of the joint which is appropriate for strong difference in thermal expansion between components, and on the other hand sufficient mechanical strength for the assembly. Microstructure analyses reveal a highly porous silver network structure of the joint, with submicrometric silver grains and large micrometric porosities homogeneously distributed.