Overview of conductive adhesive joining technology in electronics packaging applications

This paper presents an overview of the current status of use of conductive adhesives in various electronics packaging applications. Strong emphasis is placed on recent developments in surface mount and flip-chip technology, as these methods in combination with conductive adhesives represent the latest developments in the area of electronics packaging. It is concluded that little practical use of conductive adhesives in surface mount has been found. In flip-chip applications, both isotropically and anisotropically conductive adhesives (ICAs and ACAs) have been used in real applications. Greater use is expected in the near future in this fast developing area.