Study of Intermetallic Growth and Kinetics in Fine-Pitch Lead-Free Solder Bumps for Next-Generation Flip-Chip Assemblies

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Tian ◽  
Justin Chow ◽  
Xi Liu ◽  
Yi Ping Wu ◽  
Suresh K. Sitaraman
Keyword(s):  
Flip Chip ◽  
Lead Free ◽  
Lead Free Solder ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Intermetallic Growth ◽  
Fine Pitch ◽  
Solder Bumps ◽  
Free Solder

Study on electromigration in flip chip lead-free solder connections with 40 μm or 30 μm diameter on thin film ceramic substrates

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 (1) ◽  
pp. 000799-000805
Author(s):  
Marek Gorywoda ◽  
Rainer Dohle ◽  
Bernd Kandler ◽  
Bernd Burger
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
High Stability ◽  
Flip Chip ◽  
Lead Free ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Organic Substrates ◽  
Lead Free Solder ◽  
Ceramic Substrates ◽  
Solder Bumps ◽  
Free Solder

Electromigration comprises one of the processes affecting the long-term reliability of electronic devices; it has therefore been the focus of many investigations in recent years. In regards to flip chip packaging technology, the majority of published data is concerned with electromigration in solder connections to metallized organic substrates. Hardly any information is available in the literature on electromigration in lead-free solder connections on thin film ceramic substrates. This work presents results of a study of electromigration in lead-free (SAC305) flip chip solder bumps with a nominal diameter of 40 μm or 30 μm with a pitch of 100 μm on silicon chips assembled onto thin film Al2O3 ceramic substrates. The under bump metallization (UBM) comprised of a 5 μm thick electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) layer directly deposited on the AlCu0.5 trace. The ceramic substrates were metallized using a thin film multilayer (NiCr-Au(1.5 μm)-Ni(2 μm) structure on the top of which wettable areas were produced with high precision by depositing flash Au (60 nm) of the required diameter (40 μm or 30 μm). All electromigration tests were performed at the temperature of 125 °C. Initially, one chip assembly with 40 μm and one with 30 μm solder bumps was loaded with the current density of 8 kA/cm2 for 1,000 h. The assemblies did not fail and an investigation with SEM revealed no significant changes to the microstructure of the bumps. Thereafter seven chip assemblies with 40 μm solder bumps and five assemblies with 30 μm bumps were subjected to electromigration tests of 14 kA/cm2 or 25 kA/cm2, respectively. Six of the 40 μm-assemblies failed after 7,000 h and none of the 30 μm-assemblies failed after 2,500 h of test duration so far. Investigation of failed samples performed with SEM and EDX showed asymmetric changes of microstructure in respect to current flow. Several intermetallic phases were found to form in the solder. The predominant damage of the interconnects was found to occur at the cathode contact to chip; the Ni-P layers there showed typical columnar Kirkendall voids caused by migration of Ni from the layers into the solder. Failure of the contacts apparently occurred at the interface between Ni-P and solder. In summary, the results of the study indicate a very high stability of lead-free solder connections on ceramic substrates against electromigration. This high stability is primarily due to a better heat dissipation and thus to a relatively low temperature increase of the ceramic packages caused by resistive heating during flow of electric current. In addition, the type of the metallization used in the study seems to be more resistant to electromigration than the standard PCB metallization as it does not contain a copper layer.

Thermally Activated Bumping Process using Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu Solder Powder for Low-Cost Interposers

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (1) ◽  
pp. 000420-000423
Author(s):  
Kwang-Seong Choi ◽  
Ho-Eun Bae ◽  
Haksun Lee ◽  
Hyun-Cheol Bae ◽  
Yong-Sung Eom
Keyword(s):  
Screen Printing ◽  
Flip Chip ◽  
Solder Bump ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Organic Substrate ◽  
Lead Free ◽  
Lead Free Solder ◽  
Thermally Activated ◽  
Fine Pitch ◽  
Free Solder

A novel bumping process using solder bump maker (SBM) is developed for fine-pitch flip chip bonding. It features maskless screen printing process with the result that a fine-pitch, low-cost, and lead-free solder-on-pad (SoP) technology can be easily implemented. The process includes two main steps: one is the thermally activated aggregation of solder powder on the metal pads on a substrate and the other is the reflow of the deposited powder on the pads. Only a small quantity of solder powder adjacent to the pads can join the first step, so a quite uniform SoP array on the substrate can be easily obtained regardless of the pad configurations. Through this process, an SoP array on an organic substrate with a pitch of 130 μm is, successfully, formed.

Experimental Study of Void Formation in Eutectic and Lead-Free Solder Bumps of Flip-Chip Assemblies

2005 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daijiao Wang ◽  
Ronald L. Panton
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Flip Chip ◽  
Void Formation ◽  
Lead Free ◽  
Void Volume ◽  
Lead Free Solder ◽  
Solder Bumps ◽  
Free Solder ◽  
High Lead

This paper reports the experimental findings of void formation in eutectic and lead-free solder joints of flip-chip assemblies. A previous theory indicated that the formation of voids is determined by the direction of heating. The experiments were designed to examine the size and location of voids in the solder samples subject to different heat flux directions. A lead-free solder (Sn-3.5Ag-0.75Cu) and a eutectic solder (63Sn37Pb) were employed in the experiments. Previous experiments [Wang, D., and Panton, R. L., 2005, “Experimental Study of Void Formation in High-Lead Solder Joints of Flip-Chip Assemblies,” ASME J. Electron. Packag., 127(2), pp. 120–126; 2005, “Effect of Reversing Heat Flux Direction During Reflow on Void Formation in High-Lead Solder Bumps,” ASME J. Electron. Packag., 127(4), pp. 440–445] employed a high lead solder. 288 solder bumps were processed for each solder. Both eutectic and lead-free solder have shown fewer voids and much smaller void volume than those for high-lead solder. Compared with lead-free solder, eutectic solder has a slightly lower void volume and a lower percentage of defective bumps. For both eutectic and lead-free solders, irrespective of the cooling direction, heating solder samples from the top shows fewer defective bumps and smaller void volume. No significant effect on void formation for either eutectic or lead-free solder was found via reversing the heat flux direction during cooling. Unlike high-lead solder, small voids in eutectic or lead-free solder comprised 35-88% of the total void volume. The final distribution of voids shows a moderate agreement with thermocapillary theory, indicating the significance of the temperature gradient on the formation of voids.

Next-Generation Copper, Nickel and Lead-Free Metallization Products for Next-Generation Devices and Applications

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 (DPC) ◽  
pp. 000611-000638
Author(s):  
Jonathan Prange ◽  
Yi Qin ◽  
Matthew Thorseth ◽  
Inho Lee ◽  
Masaaki Imanari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Flip Chip ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Lead Free ◽  
Lead Free Solder ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Copper Nickel ◽  
Microelectronic Devices ◽  
Architectural Features ◽  
Free Solder

Flip-chip interconnect and 3-D packaging applications must utilize reliable, high-performance metallization products in order to produce highly-efficient, low-cost microelectronic devices. As the market moves to shrinking device architectural features and increasingly difficult pattern layouts, more demand is placed on the plating performance of the copper, nickel and lead-free solder products used to create these interconnects. Additionally, the move from traditional C4 bumping processes with lead-free solder to capping processes utilizing copper pillars with lead-free solder requires metal interfaces that are highly compatible in order to avoid defects that could occur. In this paper, next-generation products developed for copper pillar, nickel barrier, and lead-free solder plating will be introduced that are capable of delivering high-performance and highly reliable metallic interconnects. The additive packages that were selected and optimized allowing for increased rate of electrodeposition, uniform height control with controllable pillar shape and smooth surface morphology will be discussed. Furthermore, compatibility will be shown for a lead-free solder cap electrodeposited onto copper pillar structures, both with and without nickel barrier layers, on large pore features (≥50 μm diameter) and micro pore features (≤20 μm diameter) for both bumping and capping applications.

Next-Generation Lead-Free Solder Plating Products for High Speed Bumping, Capping and Micro-Capping Applications

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (1) ◽  
pp. 000458-000460
Author(s):  
Jonathan Prange ◽  
Julia Woertink ◽  
Yi Qin ◽  
Pedro Lopez Montesinos ◽  
Inho Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Flip Chip ◽  
Lower Cost ◽  
Lead Free ◽  
Height Distribution ◽  
Lead Free Solder ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Organic Additives ◽  
Microelectronic Devices ◽  
Free Solder

Flip-chip interconnect and 3-D packaging applications must utilize reliable lead-free solder joints in order to produce highly efficient, advanced microelectronic devices. The solder alloy most commonly utilized for these applications is SnAg, which is typically deposited by electroplating due to lower cost and greater reliability as compared to other methods. The electroplating performance and robustness of SnAg products for bumping and capping applications is highly dependent on the organic additives used in the process. Here, next-generation SnAg products that improve the rate of solder electrodeposition without compromising key requirements such as tight Ag% control, uniform height distribution and smooth surface morphology will be discussed. These plated solders were then evaluated for compatibility with bumping, capping and micro-capping applications.

Novel flip-chip bonding technology for W-band interconnections using alternate lead-free solder bumps

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 372-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Onodera ◽  
T. Ishii ◽  
S. Aoyama ◽  
S. Sugitani ◽  
M. Tokumitsu
Keyword(s):  
Flip Chip ◽  
Lead Free ◽  
Lead Free Solder ◽  
Flip Chip Bonding ◽  
W Band ◽  
Solder Bumps ◽  
Bonding Technology ◽  
Free Solder

Wafer Bumping and Characterizations of Fine-Pitch Lead-Free Solder Microbumps on 12” (300mm) wafer for 3D IC Integration

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 (1) ◽  
pp. 000650-000656
Author(s):  
J. H. Lau ◽  
P-J Tzeng ◽  
C-K Lee ◽  
C-J Zhan ◽  
M-J Dai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Lead Free ◽  
Lead Free Solder ◽  
Sem Images ◽  
3D Ic ◽  
Fine Pitch ◽  
Solder Bumps ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Free Solder

In this study, the wafer bumping and characterization of fine-pitch lead-free solder microbumps on 300mm wafer for 3D IC integration are investigated. Emphasis is placed on the Cu-plating solutions (conformal and bottom-up). Also, the amount of Cu and solder (Sn) volumes is examined. Furthermore, characterizations such as shearing test and aging of the microbumps are provided and cross sections/SEM images of the microbumps before and after test are discussed. Finally, the process windows of applying the conventional electroplating wafer bumping method of the ordinary solder bumps to the microbumps are also presented.

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