Simulation, Prediction and Verification of the Thermal and Electrical Properties of Sintered Copper Joints with Random Pore Structure for Power Electronics Packaging

Copper sintering has gained great attention as a die-attach technology for power electronics because of its potential cost effectiveness and high reliability under harsh working conditions. However, the mechanism of how the intrinsic pores within such sintered joints influence the thermal and electrical properties still needs further investigation. The evolution of pores within such sintered joints is difficult for in-situ observation during the sintering process and reliability tests, while the porosity level greatly affects the thermal and electrical properties. In this work, four two-dimensional (2D) models with various random pore structures were established based on the Quartet Structure Generation Set (QSGS) algorithm. Then, finite element method (FEM) simulations were conducted to simulate the heat and current conduction in the sintered materials. Subsequently, the distribution of temperature as well as the electric potential in the porous sintered materials were further discussed. Lastly, both the thermal and the electrical conductivities were calculated, followed by a concluded parabolic relationship of thermal and electrical conductivities with the porosity. These findings offer insights into optimizing and predicting copper sintered joint performance and accelerate the wide application of copper sintering.