Power Electronics Materials and Bonded Interfaces - Reliability and Lifetime

The high-temperature operational environment introduced by the operation of wide-bandgap devices demands bonded materials that can function without failure at these extreme conditions. Sintered silver and transient liquid phase alloys are able to meet the temperatures above 200°C however, their reliability is not fully established. While the synthesis procedure of sintered silver can result in bonds with less than 2% void fraction, they degrade quickly under a thermal cycle of -40°C to 200°C, resulting in adhesive and cohesive failure mechanisms. This presentation highlights the reliability evaluation results of sintered silver obtained through thermal cycling and image analysis, as well as describes the efforts to evaluate the performance of copper-aluminum transient liquid phase alloy.