Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Metallurgical Interconnections for Extreme High and Low Temperature Environments

Published

Author(s)

George G. Harman

Abstract

The material properties and requirements for wire bond and flip chip interconnections that can be used in packaging chips for extreme high and low temperature environments [from +460 'C (HTE) down to -200 'C (LTE)] are described. The most commonly used Au-Al wire bonds should be avoided in the HTE range, along with any other metallurgical interfaces that form brittle intermetallics and/or Kirkendall voids. Gold-gold bonds improve with time and temperature. Thus, a clear preference is given for gold (or other noble metals) in the HTE environment for both wire and flip-chip bonds. For LTE and intermediate temperature ranges, such as on Mars and most earth satellites, conventional interconnections (Au and Al wire bonds) to Al chip metallization (bond pads) are acceptable. Also, normal flip-chip solder bumps are acceptable, but without plastic under-fill. Information and techniques for using extreme temperature range materials, such as CTE matching between chip and substrate, high temperature polymers, etc., are presented. Unusual failure mechanisms, such as possible electromigration of wire interconnections in HTE, are described. It is concluded that, with proper selection of materials, interconnections can be reliable in both extreme environments.
Citation
Micro- and Opto-Electronic Materials and Structures and Reliability
Publisher Info
Kluwer-Springer (merged),

Keywords

Corrosion., high temperature reliability, Interconnections, Low temperature, Metallurgical fatigue, Wire bonding, flip chips

Citation

Harman, G. (2007), Metallurgical Interconnections for Extreme High and Low Temperature Environments, Kluwer-Springer (merged), (Accessed March 28, 2024)
Created June 1, 2007, Updated January 27, 2020