Induced stresses on silicon die by the molding process: experimental

The induced stresses by two molding compounds on silicon chips are experimentally investigated. Determination of induced stresses is a very important step towards the research and development of new packages, and for layout optimization. The analysis has been carried out through a straightforward methodology based on a suitable model of the piezoresistive effect, which is shown by the semiconductor materials (silicon in the present case). The used method has been found effective to obtain a good evaluation of the stresses distribution due to the plastic packages. The investigation is carried out onto a TO220 package using two last generation compounds, and statistical measurement tools are applied to the experimental results. Finally, the induced stresses after reliability tests are determined and discussed.