The effect of temperature ramp rate on flip-chip joint quality and reliability using anisotropically conductive adhesive on FR-4 substrate

In this work, the effect of temperature ramp rate on flip-chip anisotropically conductive adhesive joint quality and reliability has been studied. The experiments were performed on bumped and unbumped die. They were assembled onto bare ITO-glass and FR-4 substrates. The reason for using the transparent glass substrate is that the particle deformation and settlement can be visualised without destroying the assembled module. The temperature ramp rates studied ranged between 8.1 and 65.7°C/s. The experiments show that the best joint quality is obtained when a slow temperature ramp rate is applied to unbumped dies. A good joint is achieved when many particles have been entrapped on the die pad and when there is a significant degree of particle deformation. A large degree of deformation of particles results in a large contact area for the electrical conduction path. When a high temperature ramp rate is applied, there is a risk that the adhesive is already cured before full compression is reached. This will prevent the particles in the adhesive from contacting the bonding surface. When assembling bumped die, the temperature ramp rate does not seem to have a significant influence on the result. The joint quality evaluation has been performed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Optical Microscopy (OM). Furthermore, temperature cycling between -40 to +125 °C, 1000 cycles, has been performed to characterise the joint reliability under the optimum temperature ramp rate conditions. The electrical resistance has been measured continuously. A theoretical simulation of the influence of the temperature ramp rate on the adhesive joint quality has been performed using the same test module conditions as for the experimental work. The results coincide with the experimental results, particularly in the range of low bonding pressure value

Computational modelling of the anisotropic conductive adhesive assembly process

Previously developed analytical models of the anisotropic adhesive assembly process have successfully predicted the time for adhesive resin flow out and whether this can be successfully achieved before resin cure. Computational Fluid Dynamics models have also provided significant insights into the effects of the component and substrate bond pad geometry on the resin flow distribution and hence on the resulting final conductive particle distribution. These computational models have however used Newtonian, i.e. non-shear thinning, flow properties for the adhesive materials. This paper will present initial results from the development of more sophisticated models, which include both the non-Newtonian and the temperature dependent flow of the adhesive. Such models can be used to allow a much more detailed investigation of the interactions of the adhesive resin flow characteristics, the component and substrate materials and geometry, and the assembly process parameters. These models, once fully developed and validated, will therefore lead to a better understanding of the assembly process and facilitate establishment of design rules for different application

Control of Nanoplane Orientation in voBN for High Thermal Anisotropy in a Dielectric Thin Film: A New Solution for Thermal Hotspot Mitigation in Electronics

High anisotropic thermal materials, which allow heat to dissipate in a preferential direction, are of interest as a prospective material for electronics as an effective thermal management solution for hot spots. However, due to their preferential heat propagation in the in-plane direction, the heat spreads laterally instead of vertically. This limitation makes these materials ineffective as the density of hot spots increases. Here, we produce a new dielectric thin film material at room temperature, named vertically ordered nanocrystalline h-BN (voBN). It is produced such that its preferential thermally conductive direction is aligned in the vertical axis, which facilitates direct thermal extraction, thereby addressing the increasing challenge of thermal crosstalk. The uniqueness of voBN comes from its h-BN nanocrystals where all their basal planes are aligned in the direction normal to the substrate plane. Using the 3ω method, we show that voBN exhibits high anisotropic thermal conductivity (TC) with a 16-fold difference between through-film TC and in-plane TC (respectively 4.26 and 0.26 W·m^–1·K^–1). Molecular dynamics simulations also concurred with the experimental data, showing that the origin of this anisotropic behavior is due to the nature of voBN’s plane ordering. While the consistent vertical ordering provides an uninterrupted and preferred propagation path for phonons in the through-film direction, discontinuity in the lateral direction leads to a reduced in-plane TC. In addition, we also use COMSOL to simulate how the dielectric and thermal properties of voBN enable an increase in hot spot density up to 295% compared with SiO₂, without any temperature increase