Copper sintered Si3N4 Power Modules in Thermal Shock Tests

The mechanical behavior of Al
₂
O
₃
-DCB and Si
₃
N
₄
-AMB power modules comprising copper sintered SiC-and Si-dice in liquid to liquid thermal shock cycles (LL-TSC) from -40°C to +200 °C is presented. SiC-MOSFET dice from two different vendors and Si-test chips were sintered with and without pressure under H
_2-
and N
₂
-atmosphere onto the substrate. Shear values of pressure-assisted samples sintered at 12 MPa exceed 120 MPa. Dice sintered pressureless under H2 reached shear values of 60 MPa. Scanning acoustic and electron microscopy have been used to analyze the failure mechanisms caused by the LL-TSC. While pressureless sintered Cu-interfaces withstand 1000 cycles, pressure-assisted sintered Cu-interfaces survive 2000 cycles.