Harsh Environment Electronics

Interconnect Materials and Performance Assessment

Ahmed Sharif

• Publisher: Wiley-VCH
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9783527344192
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9783527813971
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Materials Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Provides in-depth knowledge on novel materials that make electronics work under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions

This book reviews the state of the art in research and development of lead-free interconnect materials for electronic packaging technology. It identifies the technical barriers to the development and manufacture of high-temperature interconnect materials to investigate into the complexities introduced by harsh conditions. It teaches the techniques adopted and the possible alternatives of interconnect materials to cope with the impacts of extreme temperatures for implementing at industrial scale. The book also examines the application of nanomaterials, current trends within the topic area, and the potential environmental impacts of material usage.

Written by world-renowned experts from academia and industry, Harsh Environment Electronics: Interconnect Materials and Performance Assessment covers interconnect materials based on silver, gold, and zinc alloys as well as advanced approaches utilizing polymers and nanomaterials in the first section. The second part is devoted to the performance assessment of the different interconnect materials and their respective environmental impact.

-Takes a scientific approach to analyzing and addressing the issues related to interconnect materials involved in high temperature electronics
-Reviews all relevant materials used in interconnect technology as well as alternative approaches otherwise neglected in other literature
-Highlights emergent research and theoretical concepts in the implementation of different materials in soldering and die-attach applications
-Covers wide-bandgap semiconductor device technologies for high temperature and harsh environment applications, transient liquid phase bonding, glass frit based die attach solution for harsh environment, and more
-A pivotal reference for professionals, engineers, students, and researchers

Harsh Environment Electronics: Interconnect Materials and Performance Assessment is aimed at materials scientists, electrical engineers, and semiconductor physicists, and treats this specialized topic with breadth and depth.

1
Wide‐Bandgap Semiconductor Device Technologies for High‐Temperature and Harsh Environment Applications

Md. Rafiqul Islam¹ Roisul H. Galib² Montajar Sarkar¹ and Shaestagir Chowdhury³

¹Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Old Academic Building, Zahir Raihan Road, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh

²University of California San Diego, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

³Portland State University, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, OR, 97291, USA

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CHAPTER MENU

Introduction, 1

Crystal Structures and Fundamental Properties of DifferentWide-Bandgap Semiconductors, 3

Devices of Wide‐Bandgap Semiconductors, 10

Conclusion, 25

1.1 Introduction

Silicon carbide (SiC) has become the preferred semiconductor material for harsh environment sensing applications, induction heating, photovoltaics, downhole oil development, and hybrid and electric vehicles because of its wide‐bandgap energy (3.2 eV for 4H‐SiC), excellent chemical and thermal stability, and high breakdown electric field strength (∼2.2 MV cm⁻¹) [1–3]. Particularly in sensors and electronic systems which can operate in the temperature range 300–600 °C, are required for in situ monitoring of fuel combustion and subsurface reservoirs (i.e. deep well drilling), and for outer space exploration [3]. The use of semiconductor devices that can operate properly at such high temperatures would not only minimize the need for expensive and large cooling systems but also provide for improved system reliability [4]. SiC also has gained popularity as a material for both unipolar and bipolar power device applications under high‐power, high‐frequency and high‐temperature conditions. Besides, high‐temperature pressure sensors have been proposed and implemented using SiC‐based piezoresistive devices and have demonstrated sensing capabilities between 350 and 600 °C [5]. Piezoresistive sensors, however, exhibit strong temperature dependence and suffer from contact resistance variations at elevated temperatures. Moreover, SiC has a longer lifetime, since it is an indirect bandgap material. The high lifetime yields a long diffusion length, and thus a high base transport factor. SiC is replacing Si as a semiconductor since SiC has the capability to be used in high‐temperature, high‐speed, and high‐voltage applications. Most current SiC‐based electronic devices are fabricated using either 4H‐ or 6H‐SiC due to the aforementioned shortcoming of 3C‐SiC. Between 4H‐ and 6H‐SiC, 4H‐SiC has substantially higher carrier mobility, shallower dopant ionization energies, and low intrinsic carrier concentration. Thus, it is the most favorable polytype for high‐power, high‐frequency, and high‐temperature device applications. In addition, 4H‐SiC has an intrinsic advantage over 6H‐SiC for vertical power device configurations because it does not exhibit electron mobility anisotropy, while 6H‐SiC does [6]. Indeed, many SiC device fabrication efforts have shifted toward 4H‐SiC as it has become more readily available. For example, the unipolar 4H‐SiC junction field‐effect transistor (JFET) and the metal semiconductor field‐effect transistor (MESFET) are seen as suitable structures for integrated circuit (IC) development since they do not suffer from gate oxide degradation.

Apart from SiC, gallium nitride (GaN) has gained much interest since it is naturally a high bandgap emitter. GaN not only has a higher bandgap, 3.4 eV, than SiC but it also has a high thermal conductivity, 1.3 W cm⁻¹ °C⁻¹. GaN‐based field‐effect transistors (FETs) such as high‐electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) channel HEMTs have shown outstanding properties in terms of achieving high breakdown voltage, low on resistance, and high switching frequency [7,8].

In the field of light emitting diode (LED) devices, several trends are pushing research into new materials to improve thei...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• 1 Wide‐Bandgap Semiconductor Device Technologies for High‐Temperature and Harsh Environment Applications
• 2 High‐Temperature Lead‐free Solder Materials and Applications
• 3 Role of Alloying Addition in Zn‐Based Pb‐Free Solders
• 4 Effect of Cooling Rate on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Creep Resistance of a Cast Zn–Al–Mg High‐temperature Lead‐Free Solder Alloy
• 5 Development of Zn–Al–xNi Lead‐Free Solders for High‐Temperature Applications
• 6 Study of Zn–Mg–Ag High‐Temperature Solder Alloys
• 7 Characterization of Zn–Mo and Zn–Cr Pb‐Free Composite Solders as a Potential Replacement for Pb‐Containing Solders
• 8 Gold‐Based Interconnect Systems for High‐Temperature and Harsh Environments
• 9 Bi‐Based Interconnect Systems and Applications
• 10 Recent Advancement of Research in Silver‐Based Solder Alloys
• 11 Silver Nanoparticles as Interconnect Materials
• 12 Transient Liquid Phase Bonding
• 13 All‐Copper Interconnects for High‐Temperature Applications
• 14 Glass‐Frit‐Based Die‐Attach Solution for Harsh Environments
• 15 Carbon‐Nanotube‐Reinforced Solders as Thermal Interface Materials
• 16 Reliability Study of Solder Joints in Electronic Packaging Technology
• Index
• End User License Agreement