Effect of Heat, Water and Chloride Ions on the SilverFilled Epoxy on Bare Copper Interface in As-Bonded Semiconductor Die

Silver-filled epoxy die attach material is the state-of-theart in attaching the die containing the integrated circuit on a carrier for semiconductor devices requiring high thermal dissipation. Herein, we show that the moisture and chloride ions do not significantly affect the adhesive joint integrity, comprising of bare copper substrate and Ag-filled epoxy glue, in systems that are already bonded. However, the bare copper substrate manifests varying degrees of corrosion. The oxide layer growth is evident in the cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The observed effect of these surface treatments on the adhesive joint is rationalized by the strength of the epoxy/oxide interaction.