Mechanical Reliability Assessment of a Flexible Package Fabricated Using Laser-Assisted Bonding.

The aim of this study was to develop a flexible package technology using laser-assisted bonding (LAB) technology and an anisotropic solder paste (ASP) material ultimately to reduce the bonding temperature and enhance the flexibility and reliability of flexible devices. The heat transfer phenomena during the LAB process, mechanical deformation, and the flexibility of a flexible package were analyzed by experimental and numerical simulation methods. The flexible package was fabricated with a silicon chip and a polyimide (PI) substrate. When the laser beam was irradiated onto the flexible package, the temperatures of the solder increased very rapidly to 220 °C, high enough to melt the ASP solder, within 2.4 s. After the completion of irradiation, the temperature of the flexible package decreased quickly. It was found that the solder powder in ASP was completely melted and formed stable interconnections between the silicon chip and the copper pads, without thermal damage to the PI substrate. After the LAB process, the flexible package showed warpage of 80 µm, which was very small compared to the size of the flexible package. The stress of each component in the flexible package generated during the LAB process was also found to be very low. The flexible device was bent up to 7 mm without failure, and the flexibility can be improved further by reducing the thickness of the silicon chip. The bonding strength and environmental reliability tests also showed the excellent mechanical endurance of the flexible package.

Thermochemical Mechanism of the Epoxy-Glutamic Acid Reaction with Sn-3.0 Ag-0.5 Cu Solder Powder for Electrical Joining.

An epoxy-based solder paste (ESP) is a promising alternative to conventional solder pastes to improve the reliability of fine-pitch electrical joining because the epoxy encapsulates the solder joint. However, development of an appropriate epoxy formulation and investigation of its reaction mechanism with solder powder is challenging. In this study, we demonstrate a newly designed ESP consisting of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol F (DGEBF) resin, Sn-3.0 Ag-0.5 Cu (SAC305) solder powder, and L-glutamic acid (Glu), which is a proteinogenic amino acid for biosynthesis of proteins in living systems. The mechanism of the thermochemical reaction was explored and tentatively proposed, which reveals that the products of the reaction between SAC305 and Glu function as catalysts for the etherification of epoxides and alcohols produced by chemical bonding between DGEBF and Glu, consequently leading to highly crosslinked polymeric networks and an enhancement of impact resistance. Our findings provide further insight into the mechanism of the reaction between various formulations comprising an epoxy, amino acid, and solder powder, and their potential use as ESPs for electrical joining.

Large-Scale Rapid Laser Sintering of Highly Stretchable Electrodes Using a Homogenized Rectangular Laser Beam.

This study explored the feasibility of a fast and uniform large-scale laser sintering method for sintering stretchable electrodes. A homogenized rectangular infrared (IR) laser with a wavelength of 980 nm was used in the sintering process. A highly stretchable composite electrode was fabricated using silver (Ag) microparticles and Ag flakes as the fillers and polyester resin as the binder on the polyurethane substrate. This laser-sintering method showed a sintering time of 1 sec and a very uniform temperature across the surface, resulting in enhancing the conductivity and stretchability of the electrodes. The effects of the laser power on the electrical and electromechanical properties of the electrodes were investigated. Using stretching, bending, and twisting tests, the feasibility of the laser-sintered stretchable electrodes was comprehensively examined. The electrode that was sintered at a laser power of 50 W exhibited superior stretchability at a strain of 210%, high mechanical endurance of 1,000 repeated cycles, and excellent adhesion. The stretchable electrodes showed excellent bendability and twistability in which the electrodes can be bent up to 1 mm and twisted up to 90° without any damage; thus, they are highly applicable as stretchable electrodes for wearable electronics. Additionally, the Ag composites were explored for use in a radio-frequency (RF) stretchable antenna to confirm the application of the laser-sintering method for stretchable and wearable electronic devices. The stretchable dipole antenna showed an excellent radiation efficiency of 95% and a highly stable operation, even when stretched to 90% strain.

Catalytic behavior of Sn/Bi metal powder in anhydride-based epoxy curing.

In this paper, we report the catalytic activity of the Sn/Bi alloy beads and its acceleration of the exothermic epoxy curing reactions in various thermal conditions and bead compositions. As being used as low-melting solder balls in electronic interconnection processes with various epoxy systems, it was found that the Sn/Bi beads substantially lowered the exothermic peak temperature of the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)/anhydride systems in up to ca. 140 degrees C depending on different types of anhydride curing agents. The catalytic activation of Sn/Bi powder was initiated with a small amount of Sn/Bi powder, for example, lowering ca. 50 degrees C of the exothermic peak temperature by adding only 0.1 vol% of Sn/Bi powder. The catalytic capability of the powder was increased by using smaller sized beads corresponding to larger catalytic surface area at the same volume fraction. Exhibiting a latent catalytic effect, the catalytic activity of Sn/Bi powder was remained latent at temperatures lower than 100 degrees C in isothermal conditions.

Fabrication of poly(3-hexylthiophene) thin films by vapor-phase polymerization for optoelectronic device applications.

The vapor-phase polymerization (VPP) of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was achieved successfully as an alternative method to conventional solution-based thin film fabrication. Using Fe(III)Cl(3).6H(2)O, a spontaneous reaction of 3-hexylthiophene monomers resulted in the rapid formation of conducting P3HT thin films directly on substrates, such as glass, indium-tin-oxide, and poly(ethylene terephthalate), at thicknesses ranging from 50 to 1000 nm. The VPP of P3HT was achieved using ferric chloride hexahydrate and a 1:1 ratio of a methanol/ethanol mixture as the solvent system. The developed VPP technique can provide good processing consistency with an electrical conductivity, a transmittance, and a surface roughness of approximately 10(-2) S/cm, >90%, and <10 nm, respectively.