Thermocompression bonding of gold is a promising technique for achieving low temperature, wafer-level bonding without the application of an electric field or complicated pre-bond cleaning procedure. The presence of a ductile layer influences the fracture behavior of the bonds. The fabrication process was described. In addition, the effect of plasticity was explored by varying the gold bonding thickness between 0.23 to 1.4 µm. Wafers were bonded at 300°C and two different pressures: 1.25 and 7 MPa. The bond toughness of the specimens were characterized using a four-point bend delamination technique. Cohesive failure was found to be the dominant fracture mode in the thicker films. Bonds made with thin gold films failed adhesively and at lower strain energy release rates.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA
