Ag sintering – An alternative large area joining technology

Ag sintering as interconnection technology for first level interconnects has made its way to production. For example, in order to join power semiconductors or LEDs. But what about extending the application field to use this technology for large area joining. For instance, replacing thermal grease by a sintered Ag joint between a power module and a baseplate. In order to evaluate if it is feasible to generate a sintered Ag joint of 900 mm² tests were conducted by mounting Cu sheets on AlMg3 sheets by pressureless and pressure assisted Ag sintering. The reliability of such large area interconnects was tested by thermal cycling between -55 °C and +125 °C.