Abstract
Cu pillar micro-bumps with polymer cores have been demonstrated to effectively reduce thermomechanical stress and improve joint reliability. Fabricating polymer cores by a printing approach was proposed to overcome the limitations in conventional fabrication process. Cylindrical polymer cores with diameter of 20 µm and height of 30 µm were successfully printed. Surface metallization was subsequently applied on the printed polymer cores and Cu pillar micro-bumps with printed polymer cores with diameter of 35 µm and height of 35 µm were eventually achieved. To study the reliability performance of the interconnect joints made of Cu pillar micro-bumps with printed polymer cores, flip-chip bonding technology was successfully introduced and the interconnect joints between a designed BT substrate and a silicon chip were formed. The interconnect joints made of conventional Cu pillars with identical dimensions were prepared for comparison. The reliability performance of the joints was investigated under temperature cycling condition and drop condition, respectively. Printed polymer cores increased the characteristic life by 32% in a temperature cycling test (0°C-100°C), while the drop test showed that printed polymer cores increased the characteristic life by 4 times due to the extra compliance provided by the printed polymer cores. It can be concluded that Cu pillar micro-bumps with printed polymer cores can effectively reduce stress and improve joint reliability.
Co-design/simulation of flip-chip assembly for high voltage IGBT packages
