Strength and reliability of low temperature transient liquid phase bonded Cu-Sn-Cu interconnects

As power electronic devices have tendencies to operate at higher temperatures and current densities, the demand for reliable and efficient packaging technologies are ever increasing. This paper reports the studies on application of transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding of CuSnCu systems as a potential technology that could enable the realization of stacks with better thermal performance and reliability than those can be achieved using conventional soldering techniques. Low temperature TLP bonded CuSnCu samples are fabricated, and the strength of the achieved bonds is measured by shear testing. Micro-sectioning and optical microscopy studies of the samples reveal that the TLP bonds show good homogeneity with a small number of voids at the interface. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis is applied to examine at what rates Sn is converted into CuSn intermetallics since a full conversion is critical for achieving a strong and high temperature resistant bond. Finally, initial results from a thermal cycling test are presented and it is concluded that the achieved TLP bonding is a promising candidate for the fabrication of reliable interconnects in power electronics.