Flip Chip Assembly Using Anisotropic Conductive Adhesives with Enhanced Thermal Conductivity

This paper presents the development of new anisotropic conductive adhesives with enhanced thermal conductivity for the wide use of adhesive flip chip technology with improved reliability under high current density condition. The continuing downscaling of structural profiles and increase in inter-connection density in flip chip packaging using ACAs has given rise to reliability problem under high current density. In detail, as the bump size is reduced, the current density through bump is also increased. This increased current density also causes new failure mechanism such as interface degradation due to inter-metallic compound formation and adhesive swelling due to high current stressing, especially in high current density interconnection, in which high junction temperature enhances such failure mechanism. Therefore, it is necessary for the ACA to become thermal transfer medium to improve the lifetime of ACA flip chip joint under high current stressing condition. We developed thermally conductive ACA of 0.63 W/m$\cdot$K thermal conductivity using the formulation incorporating $5 {\mu}m$ Ni and $0.2{\mu}m$ SiC-filled epoxy-bated binder system to achieve acceptable viscosity, curing property, and other thermo-mechanical properties such as low CTE and high modulus. The current carrying capability of ACA flip chip joints was improved up to 6.7 A by use of thermally conductive ACA compared to conventional ACA. Electrical reliability of thermally conductive ACA flip chip joint under current stressing condition was also improved showing stable electrical conductivity of flip chip joints. The high current carrying capability and improved electrical reliability of thermally conductive ACA flip chip joint under current stressing test is mainly due to the effective heat dissipation by thermally conductive adhesive around Au stud bumps/ACA/PCB pads structure.