Effects of sintering pressure on the densification and mechanical properties of nanosilver double side sintered power module

Modern power electronics has the increased demands in current density and high-temperature reliability. However, these performance factors are limited due to the die attach materials used to affix power dies microchips to electric circuitry. Although several die attach materials and methods exist, nanosilver sintering technology has received much attention in attaching power dies due to its superior high-temperature reliability. This paper investigated the sintering properties of nanosilver film in double-side sintered power packages. X-ray diffraction results revealed that the size of nanosilver particles increased after pressure-free sintering. Compared with the pressure-free sintered nanosilver particles, the 5-MPa sintered particles showed a higher density. When increasing sintering pressure from 5 to 30 MPa, the shear strength of the sintered package increased from 8.71 to 86.26 MPa. When sintering at pressures below 20 MPa, the fracture areas are mainly located between the sintered Ag layer and the surface metallization layer on the fast recovery diode (FRD) die. The fracture occurs through the FRD die and the metallization layer on the bottom molybdenum substrate when sintering at 30 MPa.