A study of large area die bonding materials and their corresponding mechanical and thermal properties

We tested the ability of Au/Sn eutectic, silver paste, and solder paste to bond to a large area as well as the bonding of a high power LED die to a highly conductive submount. The samples ran through several tests including ultrasound image, shear force, and thermal resistance measurement. Finite element analysis (FEA) models were built for comparison and analysis. Au/Sn bonding shows the best thermal and mechanical properties. Silver paste shows lower contact thermal resistance compared with solder paste. Although the thickness of the silver paste bonding layer is greater than the solder paste bonding layer, the average total thermal resistance is noticeably lower than the solder paste bonded samples.