Fundamental Study of SiCp/Al Composites in Electronic Packaging Applications

Aluminum matrix composites have found an application in electronic package and thermal management because of their light-weight, high thermal conductivity, compatible coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) with chips or substrates, and enhanced specific modulus. In this study, aluminum matrix composites reinforced with large content of SiC particles were fabricated by squeeze-casting technology. The results show that the composites are dense and SiC particles distributed uniformly. The linear CTE of SiCp/Al composites lies between (6.9 ~ 9.7)10-6℃1, the thermal conductivity is larger than 120 W/(m℃), and the composites exhibits a high specific strength and specific modulus. The plating characteristics are investigated to understand its feasibility in electronic packaging, and practical nickel or copper layer is established successfully on the composite.