Characterization of Bulk and Thin Film Fracture in Electronic Packaging

2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay Subramanian ◽  
Kyle Yazzie ◽  
Tsgereda Alazar ◽  
Bharat Penmecha ◽  
Pilin Liu ◽  
...  

As semiconductor packaging technologies continue to scale, it drives the use of existing and new materials in thin layer form factors. Increasing packaging complexity implies that materials in thin layers are subject to nontrivial loading conditions, which may exceed the toughness of the material, leading to cracks. It is important to ensure that the reliability of these low-cost materials is at par or better than currently used materials. This in turn leads to significant efforts in the area of material characterization at the lab level to speed up the development process. Methods for testing and characterizing fracture-induced failures in various material systems in electronic packaging are investigated in this paper. The learnings from different test methods are compared and discussed here. More specifically, different fracture characterization techniques on (a) freestanding “thin” solder-resist films and (b) filled “bulk” epoxy materials such as underfills and epoxy mold compounds are investigated. For thin films, learnings from different test methods for measuring fracture toughness, namely, uniaxial tension (with and without an edge precrack) and membrane penetration tests, are discussed. Reasonably good agreement is found between the various thin film toughness test methods; however, ease of sample preparation, fixture, and adaptability to environmental testing will be discussed. In the case of filled epoxy resin systems, the single-edge-notched bending (SENB) technique is utilized to obtain the fracture toughness of underfills and mold compounds with filler materials. Learnings on different methods of creating precracks in SENB samples are also investigated and presented.

Author(s):  
Vijay Subramanian ◽  
Tsgereda Alazar ◽  
Kyle Yazzie ◽  
Bharat Penmecha ◽  
Pilin Liu ◽  
...  

As semiconductor packaging technologies continues to scale, it drives the use of existing and new materials in thin layer form factors. Additionally, packaging technologies continue to increase in complexity such as multi-chip packages, 3D packaging, embedded dies/passives, and system in package. This increasing packaging complexity implies that materials in thin layers are subject to non-trivial loading conditions, which may exceed the toughness of the material, leading to cracks. Furthermore, the continued focus on cost leads to a growing interest in novel, low-cost materials. It is important to ensure that the reliability of these low-cost materials is at par or better than currently used materials. This in turn, leads to significant efforts in the area of material characterization at the lab level to speed up the development process. The chosen test methods must not only provide accurate and consistent data, but they must also be applicable across a suitably wide range of materials to aid in the optimization process. Methods for testing and characterizing fracture induced failures in various material systems in electronic packaging are investigated in this paper. The learnings from the different tests methods are compared and discussed here. More specifically, different fracture characterization techniques on (a) freestanding ‘thin’ solder resist films, and (b) filled ‘bulk’ epoxy materials like underfills and epoxy mold compounds are investigated. For thin films, learnings from different test methods for measuring fracture toughness, namely, uniaxial tension (with and without an edge pre-crack) and membrane penetration tests, are discussed. The test methods are compared by characterizing several different thin films, to gauge how well each method could distinguish differences in material (and thickness). Reasonably good agreement was found between the various thin film toughness test methods; however, ease of sample preparation, fixture, and adaptability to environmental testing will be discussed. In the case of filled epoxy resin systems, the single-edge-notch bending (SENB) technique is utilized to obtain the fracture toughness of underfills and mold compounds with filler materials. Learnings on different methods of creating pre-cracks in SENB samples are also investigated and presented. Two methods are explored in this study, namely, razor blade and laser milling. Good agreement in fracture toughness values was obtained with the two precracking methods, along with considerations about ease of sample preparation and consistency of pre-crack dimensions also examined. Morphology of the pre-cracks obtained by these methods, and their effects on fracture toughness measurements, are also discussed.


Coatings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Massabò ◽  
Konstantin Ustinov ◽  
Luca Barbieri ◽  
Christian Berggreen

The decohesion of coatings, thin films, or layers used to protect or strengthen technological and structural components causes the loss of their functions. In this paper, analytical, computational, and semi-analytical 2D solutions are derived for the energy release rate and mode-mixity phase angle of an edge-delamination crack between a thin layer and an infinitely deep substrate. The thin layer is subjected to general edge loading: axial and shear forces and bending moment. The solutions are presented in terms of elementary crack tip loads and apply to a wide range of material combinations, with a large mismatch of the elastic constants (isotropic materials with Dundurs’ parameters − 1 ≤ α ≤ 1 and − 0.4 ≤ β ≤ 0.4 ). Results show that for stiff layers over soft substrates ( α → 1 ), the effects of material compressibility are weak, and the assumption of substrate incompressibility is accurate; for other combinations, including soft layers over stiff substrates ( α → − 1 ), the effects may be relevant and problem specific. The solutions are applicable to edge- and buckling-delamination of thin layers bonded to thick substrates, to mixed-mode fracture characterization test methods, and as benchmark cases.


Author(s):  
Jinhwa Park ◽  
Sagar Shrestha ◽  
Sajjan Parajuli ◽  
Younsu Jung ◽  
Gyoujin Cho

Abstract Current Si-based technologies have reached their intrinsic limits in meeting the demands of flexible electronics where free-form factors and low cost are critical for successful applications. For this reason, roll-to-roll (R2R) gravure printing has been considered a way to achieve the free-form factor and the low cost. However, the R2R gravure systems (servomechanism, electronic ink, printing process, and device design) could not integrate a number of thin-film transistors (TFTs) with small threshold voltage (Vth) variations. Therefore, we designed a 4-bit code generator by combining one ring oscillator, 6 NAND gates, and one OR gate based on 37 p-type single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) TFTs as a concept devices to test the R2R gravure system. First, ring oscillators with different physical dimensions were printed on a poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) roll using the R2R gravure. Then, we extracted important factors (channel length, channel width, and SWCNT network density) to optimize the Vth variation and demonstrated a 4-bit code generator integrated with 37 p-type TFTs. This work will be further extended in the near future to develop R2R gravure printed Near-Field Communication labels for smart packaging.


Author(s):  
T. P. Nolan

Thin film magnetic media are being used as low cost, high density forms of information storage. The development of this technology requires the study, at the sub-micron level, of morphological, crystallographic, and magnetic properties, throughout the depth of the deposited films. As the microstructure becomes increasingly fine, widi grain sizes approaching 100Å, the unique characterization capabilities of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have become indispensable to the analysis of such thin film magnetic media.Films were deposited at 225°C, on two NiP plated Al substrates, one polished, and one circumferentially textured with a mean roughness of 55Å. Three layers, a 750Å chromium underlayer, a 600Å layer of magnetic alloy of composition Co84Cr14Ta2, and a 300Å amorphous carbon overcoat were then sputter deposited using a dc magnetron system at a power of 1kW, in a chamber evacuated below 10-6 torr and filled to 12μm Ar pressure. The textured medium is presently used in industry owing to its high coercivity, Hc, and relatively low noise. One important feature is that the coercivity in the circumferential read/write direction is significandy higher than that in the radial direction.


Author(s):  
Gyeung Ho Kim ◽  
Mehmet Sarikaya ◽  
D. L. Milius ◽  
I. A. Aksay

Cermets are designed to optimize the mechanical properties of ceramics (hard and strong component) and metals (ductile and tough component) into one system. However, the processing of such systems is a problem in obtaining fully dense composite without deleterious reaction products. In the lightweight (2.65 g/cc) B4C-Al cermet, many of the processing problems have been circumvented. It is now possible to process fully dense B4C-Al cermet with tailored microstructures and achieve unique combination of mechanical properties (fracture strength of over 600 MPa and fracture toughness of 12 MPa-m1/2). In this paper, microstructure and fractography of B4C-Al cermets, tested under dynamic and static loading conditions, are described.The cermet is prepared by infiltration of Al at 1150°C into partially sintered B4C compact under vacuum to full density. Fracture surface replicas were prepared by using cellulose acetate and thin-film carbon deposition. Samples were observed with a Philips 3000 at 100 kV.


Alloy Digest ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  

Abstract AISI 1030 is a plain carbon steel containing nominally 0.30% carbon. It is used in the hot-rolled, normalized, oil-quenched-and-tempered or water-quenched-and-tempered conditions for general-purpose engineering and construction. It provides medium strength and toughness at low cost. Among its many uses are axles, bolts, gears and building sections. All data are on a single heat of fine-grain steel. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, elasticity, and tensile properties as well as fracture toughness. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, joining, and surface treatment. Filing Code: CS-94. Producer or source: Carbon and alloy steel mills.


Alloy Digest ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  

Abstract AISI 1040 is a medium-carbon steel used in the hot-rolled, normalized, oil quenched and tempered or water quenched and tempered condition for general purpose engineering and construction. It provides medium strength and toughness at low cost. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, elasticity, and tensile properties as well as fracture toughness and fatigue. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, joining, and surface treatment. Filing Code: CS-41. Producer or source: Carbon and alloy steel mills.


Alloy Digest ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  

Abstract SAE 1037 is a carbon steel that provides medium strength and medium toughness at low cost. It is used in the hot-rolled, normalized, oil-quenched-and-tempered and water-quenched-and-tempered conditions. This medium-carbon steel is used for construction and for general-purpose engineering. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, elasticity, and tensile properties as well as fracture toughness. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, joining, and surface treatment. Filing Code: CS-76. Producer or source: Carbon steel mills.


Alloy Digest ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  

Abstract SAF 1039 steel can be used in the hot-rolled, normalized, oil-quenched-and-tempered or water-quenched-and-tempered condition for general-purpose construction and engineering. Its manganese content is a little higher than some of the other standard carbon steels with comparable carbon levels; this gives it slightly higher hardenability and hardness. It provides medium strength and toughness at low cost. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, elasticity, and tensile properties as well as fracture toughness. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, joining, and surface treatment. Filing Code: CS-66. Producer or source: Carbon steel mills.


Alloy Digest ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  

Abstract Duracorr is low-cost, utilitarian 11% Cr stainless steel with more corrosion resistance and life-cycle cost advantages than weathering steels. The steel may be used where a combination of abrasion and corrosion resistance is required. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, microstructure, hardness, tensile properties, and bend strength as well as fracture toughness. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as joining. Filing Code: SS-680. Producer or source: Lukens Steel Company.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document