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Abstract

This chapter reviews the diffusion mechanisms that are present in sintered silver (Ag) and how these mechanisms contribute to limiting the high-temperature stability of the material at temperatures above 200 °C. Particular aspects that are of interest include the effects of porosity and electromigration. The presence of pores results in a high internal surface area which allows surface diffusion to take place. Grain boundaries also facilitate fast diffusion and are responsible for rapid diffusion between sintered Ag and metallisations such as gold. The electromigration effect occurs when high current densities are present, leading to the electron wind force causing mass transport of Ag, creating voids and nanorods.

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Mannan, S., Paknejad, A., Mansourian, A., Khtatba, K. (2019). Morphological Changes in Sintered Silver Due to Atomic Migration. In: Siow, K. (eds) Die-Attach Materials for High Temperature Applications in Microelectronics Packaging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99256-3_6

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