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A. Bittner, F Prewein, U. Schmid:
"Impact of Patterning Technique on the Long Term Stability of Ag Thin Films";
Poster: EUROSENSORS 2014 - 28th European Conference on Solid-State Transducers, Brescia, I; 09-07-2014 - 09-10-2014; in: "Procedia Engineering", Elsevier, 87 (2014), ISSN: 1877-7058; 116 - 119.

With rising demand for high power electronics, the need for metallization systems with enhanced electromigration resistance
increases rapidly. The long term stability of sputter deposited silver thin films is investigated with samples patterned either by wet
chemical etching or by a lift-off process. Five conductor lines connected in parallel are stressed simultaneously by high
temperatures and current densities. Whereas the activation energy is similar for both structures due to the same material system,
the mean time to failure differs substantially because of a porous edge morphology occurring only at wet etched structures.
Therefore, the current distribution is inhomogeneous thus, resulting in a significant faster failure of single conductor lines.

With rising demand for high power electronics, the need for metallization systems with enhanced electromigration resistance
increases rapidly. The long term stability of sputter deposited silver thin films is investigated with samples patterned either by wet
chemical etching or by a lift-off process. Five conductor lines connected in parallel are stressed simultaneously by high
temperatures and current densities. Whereas the activation energy is similar for both structures due to the same material system,
the mean time to failure differs substantially because of a porous edge morphology occurring only at wet etched structures.
Therefore, the current distribution is inhomogeneous thus, resulting in a significant faster failure of single conductor lines.

electromigration; silver; thin film; ceramic substrate; reliability

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.11.397

Project Head Ulrich Schmid:
Mikrosystemtechnik Projektkonto Schmid