A Comparison of Pressure-less Silver Sintering Materials with Conventional Electronic Die Attach Practices

This thesis contains information on an experiment which validates silver sintering paste manufacturer’s die attach processes and examines feasibility for use in commercial products. Four silver pastes were used in constructing die attach samples, which were then void and shear tested. The silver sintering materials that are investigated in this work are compared with manufacturer data and also with data from conventional attaches such as conductive epoxy and solder. In addition, materials demonstrating the highest shear strength were down-selected and processed to compare thermal characteristics with solder and conductive epoxy. Under theoretical analysis, the characteristics of silver provide the most optimal solution as a die attach material for extreme conditions. Additionally, silver sintering paste technology has been significantly increasing over the last decade, leading to the potential for silver sintering pastes to be the next standard in power electronic die attaches, specifically in high temperature and rugged designs [1]