Migration of Sintered Nanosilver Die-Attach Material on Alumina Substrate Between 250 $^{\circ}\hbox{C}$ and 400 $^{ \circ}\hbox{C}$ in Dry Air

The low-temperature joining of semiconductor chips by sintering of silver paste is emerging as an alternative lead-free solution for power electronics devices and modules working in a high-temperature environment. A promising die-attachment material that would enable the rapid implementation of the sintering process is nanoscale silver paste, which can be sintered at temperatures below 300°C without an external pressure. In this paper, we report our findings on the silver migration in sintered nanosilver electrode-pair patterns on an alumina substrate. The electrode pairs were biased at an electric field ranging from 10 to 100 V/mm and at a temperature between 250°C and 400°C in dry air. The leakage currents across the electrodes were measured as the silver patterns were tested in an oven. Silver dendrites formed across the electrode gap were observed under an optical microscope and analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The silver migration was found in the samples tested at 400°C, 350°C, 300°C, and 250°C. The measurements on the leakage current versus time were characterized by an initial incubation period, called “lifetime,” followed by a sharp rise as the silver dendrites were shorting the electrodes. A simple phenomenological model was derived to account for the observed dependence of lifetime on the electric field and temperature. The EDS mappings revealed the significant presence of oxygen on the positive electrode but the complete absence on the negative electrode. A mechanism involving the oxidation of silver and the dissociation of silver oxide at the anode was suggested. We suggest that the migration of a sintered nanosilver die attachment can be prevented in high-temperature applications through packaging or encapsulation to reduce the partial pressure of oxygen.