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Molding Compounds Adhesion and Inuence on Reliability of Plastic Packages for SiC-Based Power MOS Devices
Antonino Scandurra, Giuseppe Francesco Indelli, Roberto Zafarana, Angelo Cavallaro, Emanuele Scrofani, Jean Paul Giry, Sebastiano Russo, and Mietek Bakowski

Abstract Adhesion and interface compositions of epoxy phenolic molding compounds (EMCs) for high-temperature plastic packages are studied. Interfaces are obtained by molding two EMCs onto aluminum oxide-hydroxide surfaces (oxide onto thin lm of AlSiCu) and two die passivation layers consisting of uorinated polyimide and cyclotene. One compound (A) is a green type, containing organic phosphorous-based ame retardant, and the other compound (B) is a conventional type containing antimony (III) oxide and bromined resin ame retardants. A hightemperature storage test at 250 C is employed to study chemical modications occurring at the previously mentioned interfaces. A high-temperature reverse bias test at 225 C is employed to study the inuences of the EMC chemical formulations on the reliability of plastic packages for SiC-based power MOS devices. Green compound A shows poor adhesion onto Al oxide and high adhesion strength onto both polymer passivations. The failure mechanism is mainly cohesive on the polymer passivations. The conventional compound B shows a high degree of delamination because of poor adhesion compared with the green compound. SiC-based power MOS devices assembled in plastic packages with compound A show better reliability under HTRB test at 225 C compared with compound B. Index Terms Adhesion, green molding compounds, reliability, scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM), silicon carbide devices, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS).

I. I NTRODUCTION

EVICES based on silicon carbide will greatly expand the possibilities for high-temperature circuit designs [1]. These devices have the potential to operate at temperatures ranging from 300 C to 500 C and are suitable for harsh environments in combustion engine applications, high-power

Manuscript received July 31, 2012; revised November 21, 2012; accepted February 1, 2013. The Large Area silicon carbide Substrates and heTeroepitaxial GaN for POWER device applications (LAST POWER) project was funded in part by the ENIAC Joint Undertaking under the sub-programme SP8 - Equipment & Materials for Nanoelectronics, under ENIAC JU Grant 120218. Recommended for publication by Associate Editor T.-C. Chiu upon evaluation of reviewers comments. A. Scandurra and G. F. Indelli are with Laboratorio Superci e Interfasi, Consorzio Catania Ricerche, Catania 95121, Italy (e-mail: ascandurra@unict.it; indelli@unict.it). R. Zafarana, A. Cavallaro, E. Scrofani, J. P. Giry, and S. Russo are with STMicroelectronics, Catania 95121, Italy (e-mail: roberto.rafarana@st.com; angelo.cavallaro@st.com; emanuele.scrofani@st.com; jean-paul.giry@st.com; sebastiano.russo@st.com). M. Bakowski is with ACREO AB, Kista SE-164 40, Sweden (e-mail: mietek.bakowski@acreo.se). Color versions of one or more of the gures in this paper are available online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. Digital Object Identier 10.1109/TCPMT.2013.2247466

switching circuits, and aircraft electronics [2]. However, conventional plastic packaging for power electronics is not suitable for applications even at temperatures over 175 C200 C. New packaging materials are required for high-temperature, high-power electronics devices based on SiC. Temperature is the main accelerating factor for most of the failure mechanisms affecting semiconductor devices used in harsh environments [3], [4]. The limitations imposed by the working temperature are particularly severe in plastic packages, because of the thermal aging followed by degradation of the molding compound [5]. Material properties change dramatically during thermal aging with degradation of molding compounds. In addition, antimony trioxide (Sb2 O3 ) and bromined resin (Br) ame retardants used in conventional molding compounds are well-known to degrade the bonding interfaces of gold or aluminum wire onto aluminum pads at high temperatures. Moreover, chemical constituents containing Sb and Br are accompanied by traces of metallic contaminants that lead to further degradation mechanisms such as leakage current or other undesired electrical drawbacks [6]. In addition, high temperatures force the package to withstand high mechanical stress because of materials expansion mismatch during the real life of the device. This stress in combination with poor adhesion at interfaces between molding compound leadframe, molding compounddie passivation, and moisture absorption produces cracking and delamination [7], [8]. Adhesion strength of the molding compound to the leadframe and die passivation layer is an important parameter that inuences the long-term reliability of plastic packages. Adhesion depends mainly on the chemical structure of the respective materials and on the parameters of the molding process. The fabrication of power plastic packages involves various materials such as bare copper (or Ag, Ni-plated) leadframe, wire bonds, interconnection metals, and passivation layers. The surfaces of these materials are formed of copper oxide-hydroxide, nickel oxide-hydroxide, aluminum oxidehydroxide, hydrogenated silicon oxide-nitride, polyimides (PIs) or other organic layers. The earlier reported surfaces are the most commonly seen by the molding compound during the molding process of plastic encapsulated devices. Epoxy phenolic molding compound (EMC) formulation and the specic chemical composition of the surface to which the molding compound has to adhere must be compatible. Therefore, the control of the surface chemical composition during the fabrication processes

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represents the key to guaranteeing high device reliability. This task is particularly challenging and very often adhesion failure at the interfaces of molding compound chip and molding compound leadframe followed by moisture and migration of additives is the main route leading to the electrical failure of the microelectronic device. Several authors have reported detailed studies on the impact of the molding compound on the electrical performance of the devices. Seng [9] evaluated the performance of silicon power MOSFETs transistors encapsulated with green and nongreen EMC via autoclave stress. He proved that a green device indeed possesses superior electrical and physical properties compared with a nongreen device. The research reveals that a device with nongreen EMC exhibits relatively higher gate-to-source leakage current ( IGSS ) and drain-to-source onresistance ( RDSon ) as compared to a device with green EMC. The nonsteady electrical characteristic of a nongreen device is due to its higher content of bromide ions released from the ame retardant. Under a moist environment, bromide ions form electrolytic solutions and trigger the corrosion process. Herbsommer [10] analyzed the impact of the mold compound on the electrical performance of high-power, highfrequency laterally diffused metal oxide silicon transistors (LDMOS). He used the LDMOS, air-cavity ceramic package lled with the EMC under test. He found that the EMC produces electrical degradations of devices such as reduction of gain and increase of parasitic capacitance between gate and source, and between drain and source. SiC-based MOSFETs present, with respect to the well consolidated Si technology, the big challenge of the poor SiC/SiO2 interface quality. DasGupta et al. [11] evaluated state-of-theart, commercially available, 4H-SiC MOSFETs for stability under high-temperature over-voltage and pulsed over-current conditions. The devices show maximum vulnerability under high-temperature accumulation stress, demonstrating that the gate oxide is more prone to hole trapping than to electron trapping. The pulsed over-current operation results in degradation similar to electron trapping at a high temperature, presumably because of overheating of the device beyond its specied junction temperature. Over-current degradation is more severe at a high switching frequency. Despite the recent remarkable progress, the reliability of SiC power devices still present several open issues that reect the relatively young maturity of this technology. In particular, the actual data concerning the eld failures because of degradation of the EMC are not yet statistically signicant. Epoxy molding compounds for microelectronic devices are continuing and will continue to be the main stay of encapsulation materials in view of their cost and productivity advantages. For these reasons here, we perform a careful comparison of the adhesion and interface compositions of two EMCs mold onto aluminum oxide-hydroxide, uorinated PI, and cyclotene test surfaces. Aluminum oxide-hydroxide is present on the die bond pad surfaces, whereas the polymer coatings are used as die passivation layers. One compound is green, i.e., antimony (III) oxide and Br free, having an organic phosphorous-based ame retardant to meet the RoHS directive [12], [13]. The second is

a conventional compound with antimony oxide and brominated resin. Both compounds are designed at the molecular level to improve resistance to cracking and delamination, adhesion performance, and electrical isolation and, thus, device reliability [14], [15]. The adhesion and interface compositions are studied using the button pull test method. The specimen is designed to allow the delamination analysis by scanning acoustic microscopy SAM, the adhesion strength measurements by pull test and the interface chemical analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) [16], [17]. High-temperature storage (HTS) at 250 C is used to study chemical modications at interfaces. The HTS test is performed to determine the effect of long-term storage at elevated temperatures on devices without any electrical stresses applied. Goroll et al. [18] demonstrated that a similar methodology based on a passive test specimen can be used at the beginning of package development projects to investigate suitable material combinations and production processes at the important package interfaces molding compoundchip and molding compoundlead frame. The high-temperature reverse bias (HTRB) test is used to stress SiC power MOSFETs devices assembled with the two compounds. HTRB is a type of burn-in performed on devices that are subjected to a reverse bias, wherein the device is generally in a nonconducting state. HTRB intends to bring out weaknesses within the device that will result in failures such as excessive current leakage and breakdown voltage shifts. The test carried out on the product stresses the die and may cause junction leakage. Parametric changes may also occur because of gate oxide aging, ionic impurities that can be released onto the die surface, either from the package or the die itself. Comparison of the existing reliability tests is beyond the scope of this paper. Nevertheless, we may say that power cycling, i.e., exposure to repetitive voltage and current pulses, in contrast to the previous tests, causes power dissipation. This, in turn, inuences the degradation of the device through a multitude of parameters that could mask the effects of molding compound. The resulting thermo-mechanical loads cause different failure mechanisms involving mainly the solder joint and the metal degradation [19]. The novelty of this paper is represented by the combined employment of laboratory specimens as well as SiC MOSFETs in understanding the effects of the chemical and physical properties of EMCs on the device reliability. II. E XPERIMENTAL The adhesion of molding compounds as well as the interface delamination and chemical compositions are studied through a well-established experimental procedure in our laboratories and consist of the following steps [20], [21]. 1) Preparation of base surfaces onto which the EMC is molded. 2) Substrate characterization by means of XPS. 3) Molding the EMC truncated cone on the substrate. 4) Nondestructive analysis of the interface by means of SAM.

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(a)

(b)

Fig. 1.

Schematic experimental procedure used to study EMCs adhesion.

(c)

Fig. 3. Cross-sectional illustration of layers in substrates (not to scale). (a) AlO x . (b) PI. (c) Cyclotene.

Fig. 2. (a) View of pull test specimen used in this paper: molding compound is attached to aluminum stud for xture to head of INSTRON. (b) Specimen after pull test.

Fig. 4. (a) Copper-based plate before die attach. (b) Copper-based plate after die attach of SiC die. (c) Specimen after molding.

5) Pulltest and measurements of the adhesion strength. 6) XPS analysis of the fractured surface (resin and metal side) obtained after pull test. Fig. 1. shows experimental procedure. A photo of a test specimen is shown in Fig. 2(a). The EMC sample has a truncated cone geometry 3 mm height with base diameters of 8 and 10 mm (base on the metal substrate) molded onto the substrate (see Fig. 4). An aluminum stud is attached to the resin for the measurement of adhesion strength using a cyanoacrylate adhesive. Fig. 2(b) shows a photo of a specimen after pull test. The adhesive attachment must be stronger than the EMC to substrate. Rarely does this attachment fail, even when the EMC adhesion is very high. The test surfaces are as follows. 1) Al(98.5) Si(1) Cu(0.5) (wt. %) metal deposited onto 3-in diameter SiC wafers. The complete stack consists of back side metallization (BSM)/SiC/Ti (80 nm)/AlSiCu (3 m) (hence named Al oxide). The function of Ti layer is to improve AlSiCu metal adhesion. Dice 12.7 12.7 mm are dened by photolithography. Scribe lines 120-m wide, which prevent lm peeling during wafer sawing, are formed by a sequence of wet and CF4 /O2 plasma etchings of the AlSiCu and Ti lms. 2) A polymer passivation layer of uorinated PI, HD Microsystems 8820, is deposited onto a 3-in SiC wafer. The complete stack consists of BSM/SiC/TEOS (1.6 m)/PI (7 m) (hence named PI). Dice 12.7 12.7 mm are dened by photolithography. Scribe

lines 120-m wide, are formed by a sequence of wet and CF4 /O2 plasma etchings of the PI and TEOS lm. 3) A polymer passivation layer of Cyclotene 3022-46 Dow Chemical Co. is deposited onto a 3-in SiC wafer. The complete stack consists of BSM/SiC/Cyclotene (4 m) (hence named passivation C). This wafer is not patterned. Fig. 3 shows the cross-sectional (not to scale) illustration of all the layers involved in the complete specimens. The wafers are mechanically sawed to obtain 12.7 12.7 mm dice. The dice are attached to 25 25 mm copper plates using Pb-5%Sn (wt. %) soft solder in an H2 furnace. Fig. 4 shows the optical pictures of the copper plate, dice, and the complete specimen. Fig. 5 shows the pictures of the specimens preparation phases. The yield after the die-attach process is 15 specimens for Al oxide, 18 specimens for PI dice, and ten specimens for C passivation dice. The molding compounds used in this paper are of the commercial type. In particular, compound A is a green (i.e., Br and antimony oxide free) EMC having organic phosphorousbased ame retardant. Compound B is a commercial EMC formulated with Br and antimony ame retardant additives. The main chemical and physical properties of both compounds A and B are reported in Table I. The molding process is done at 175 C and 1.38 MPa. The molding is followed by postcuring of 8 h at a temperature of 175 C. As some substrates are broken during molding,

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TABLE I M AIN C HEMICAL AND P HYSICAL P ROPERTIES OF C OMPOUNDS A AND B Compound Properties Matrix Flame retardant Flammability UL-94 Glass transition temperature CTE 1 CTE 2 Thermal conductivity (25 C) Flexural strength (20 C) Flexural modulus (20 C) Volume resistivity at 150 C Conductivity of extracted water pH of extracted water Concentration of Na+ Concentration of Cl Unit C (ppm C1 ) (ppm C1 ) W m1 K1 MPa GPa cm mS m 1 pH ppm ppm A Epoxyphenolic Organic phosphorous V-0 145 16 55 0.8 125 14 2 1012 7.5 6 6 10 B Epoxyphenolic Br + Sb2 O3 V-0 150 18 67 0.6 100 12 1 1012 5 4.5 10 10

TABLE II S PECIMEN Y IELDS FOR E ACH S URFACE EMC C OMBINATION Molding Compound A B 8 7 9 8 5 5

AlSiCu PI passivation C passivation

Fig. 6. Picture of pull test xture with specimen mounted to INSTRON for adhesion measurement.

Fig. 5.

Specimens preparation procedure.

the nal yield is 15 for Al oxide, 17 for PI passivation, and ten specimens with C passivation. Table II shows the sample sizes for each combination of test surface and molding compound. To enhance the aging effects on EMC interfaces, several specimens are submitted to HTS at 250 C and then studied following the previously reported experimental procedure starting from Step 4. EMC-substrate adhesion strength is measured by tensile pull test at 24 C and a relative humidity of 50%, using the INSTRON 4501 dynamometer equipped with a 1-kN load cell, for which accuracy is 0.002% of load-cell capacity. In this test, carried out at a crosshead speed of 16.7 m s1 , the load is applied perpendicular to the resinmetal interface plane. Fig. 6 shows a picture of the pull test xture with a specimen mounted to the INSTRON for the adhesion measurement. The INSTRON instrument has two axially aligned grips. The bottom grip is rigid with the instrument frame, whereas the upper grip is mechanically coupled to the INSTRON crosshead to maintain axial alignment during the pull test. The bottom grip is used to mechanically x the pull test xture that is composed mainly of two plates. The lower plate is xed to the bottom instrument grip, orthogonally. The upper plate

is parallel to the lower plate and is milled to permit the insertion of the aluminum stud. The top grip is used to secure the aluminum stud of the sample for the measurement. The sample substrate is not constrained in an axially rigid state during the crosshead travel until it reaches the upper plate and is blocked. At this point the load increases until the sample breaks. The load-displacement curve is recorded. The maximum load at break is used to determine the adhesion strength. This alignment and xture scheme prevent torque and peel forces when the sample is pulled. The fractured surfaces of the substrate and the EMC are analyzed by XPS using an AXIS-HS Kratos Analytical spectrometer equipped with a Mg and Al dual anode X-ray source. Here, the Mg k 1,2 of 1253.6 eV is used. SAM is used to analyze the delamination of the molding compoundsubstrate interfaces. This analysis is performed using a SONIX instrument equipped with a piezoelectric transducer that acts both as an ultrasonic wave pulser working at a frequency of 50 MHz and as a receiver with sampling rate of 200 MHz. For the analysis, the sample and the transducer are acoustically coupled to a water bath. Delaminated interfaces are characterized by the phase inversion of the acoustic wave. Here, delaminated areas are colored in red, whereas areas colored in grey are nondelaminated. The interfaces are considered delaminated assuming a delamination threshold of

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TABLE III S URFACE C OMPOSITIONS (% ATOMS ) O BTAINED BY XPS A NALYSES C 15.5 64.4 69.9 N 2.7 O 55.5 14.8 20.3 F 1.9 16 6.9 Al 17.5 Si 8.2 2 1.6 Ti 1.5 1 Au 0.2

AlSiCu PI passivation C passivation

Fig. 7. Upper part: XPS survey spectrum of AlSiCu metal. Lower part: Al2 p spectral region.

96% i.e., when the intensity of the signal with inverted phase is 96% with respect to the intensity of the reected power. The effects of molding compound formulations on the reliability of devices are studied employing SiC-based power MOS devices encapsulated in TO220 plastic packages with compounds A and B. The devices are subjected to HTRB test at VS = 960 V, Ta = 225 C, up to 1000 h [22]. III. R ESULTS AND D ISCUSSION A. Substrate Surfaces Characterization Fig. 7 (upper part) shows the survey spectrum of oxidized AlSiCu metal that shows the Al, Si, Ti, C, and O signals. Fluorine signals are not visible in the survey spectrum, although its surface atomic concentration is 2% (also see Table III). The peak of F1s (not shown) is centered at 686.2 eV of binding energy that is assigned uorine bonded to aluminum oxide in the form of Al(OF)x or AlFx [23], [24]. Fluorine is often present on aluminum pad surfaces of devices. It originates from the uorocarbon gas plasma that is used to selectively etch the oxide or nitride passivation. Fluorine comes from the processes used to dene the scribe lines. Fig. 7 (lower part) shows the spectral region of Al2p that shows the corresponding peak, centered at 74.7 eV, assigned to Al oxide [23]. The metallic component Al is not visible in the spectrum. We attributed this to masking by the oxide layer, which is >7.2-nm thick (more than three times the inelastic mean free path of Al2p electrons into Al2 O3 ) [23][26]. Further investigations (not shown) based on Ar+ 5-keV ion beam sputter depth proling, indicate an oxide thickness of 15 nm. Moreover, Ti and Si are also in the form of oxides: TiO2 and SiO2 . Fig. 8 (upper part) shows the XPS survey spectrum of the PI passivation layer showing the C, F, O, N, and Si, signals. Fig. 8 (lower part) shows the C1s spectral region that can be deconvoluted, in a rst approximation, using ve Gaussian components

Fig. 8. Upper part: XPS survey spectrum of PI passivation. Lower part: C1s spectral region.

centered at 284.7, 286,4, 288.7, 290.6, and 292.5 eV of binding energy. The components are assigned to the functional groups CC/CH, COC, (C* = O)N, to shake up and to CFx, respectively [23], [27], characteristic of uorinated PI. Fig. 9 (upper part) shows the XPS survey spectrum of the cyclotene passivation layer that shows the C, F, O, Si, Ti, and Au signals. Fig. 9 (lower part) shows the C1s spectral region that can be deconvoluted, in rst approximation, using three Gaussian components centered at 284.9, 287.5, and 290 eV of binding energy. The components are assigned to the functional groups CC/CH, C*H2 CHF/RCH2 OH, R(C* = O), (C* = O)O, CHF, respectively [23], [27]. Cyclotene is a resin based on divinylsiloxane-bisbenzocyclobutene (DVSbisBCB) polymer [28]. Signicant amount of detected oxygen, compared with that expected from the polymer stoichiometry (3.8% atoms), is because of light surface oxidation, whereas uorine is a contaminant. The source of Ti and Au is likely the backside metal. Table III shows the surface compositions (% atomic) obtained by XPS analyses. B. Interface Analysis by SAM Fig. 10(a) and (b) shows the SAM pictures of specimens for Al oxidecompound A and Al oxidecompound B not aged, e.g., as molded. Both compounds exhibit the presence of large delamination (red colored regions). So, Al oxide-based specimens are not subjected to an HTS test.

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Fig. 9. Upper part: XPS survey spectrum of C passivation. Lower part: C1s spectral region.

Fig. 10(c) and (d) shows the SAM pictures of specimens prepared with PI passivation. Compound A shows the absence of delamination in all specimens, whereas compound B exhibits three-delaminated and ve-not delaminated pieces. The behavior of the specimens made with compound B is due to adhesive-type fractures involving, in addition to the PImolding compound, the TEOSPI interface (see also Section III-D and Fig. 11(i)(n). Fig. 10(e) and (f) shows the SAM pictures of specimens prepared with C passivation. Compound A shows the absence of delamination, whereas the specimens prepared with compound B are fully delaminated. Fig. 10(g)(i) shows the SAM pictures of PIcompound A, C passivationcompound A, and PIcompound B after 200 h of HTS at 250 C, respectively. Only the system formed of compound API shows a partial delamination, whereas the other two systems show large delamination. C. Adhesion Strength Results Table IV shows the adhesion strength of compound A and compound B onto Al oxide (not aged). The adhesion strength gures (including the mean value and standard deviation) are reported in the same numerical order as reported in Fig. 8(a)(f) (from top-left to down-right). Some specimens show the fracture of SiC substrate or at the interface between TEOS and polymer passivations. The adhesion strength of compound A is higher than compound B. The signicant spread in data for these measurements may be due to sample to sample variation. Sample-to-sample variation is produced by segregation of releasing agent at the interface between the molding compound and the substrate. Moreover, inhomogeneity in the concentration of the adhesion promoter at interfaces could occur. Releasing agent and adhesion promoter are two important EMC additives in competition [15]. Additionally, the spread in data is caused by the fractures occurring at the

interfaces involving the underlying lm rather than the EMC (see Fig. 3 and Section III-DD). Table V shows the adhesion strength of compounds A and B onto PI passivation. High spread is observed also for the PI test surface. The untested specimens are used for the HTS test. The adhesion strength of compound A is higher than compound B. Table VI shows the adhesion strength of compound A and compound B onto passivation C. Even here, the untested specimens are used for the HTS test. The adhesion strength of compound A is higher than that of compound B. In particular, compound B onto passivation C shows very low adhesion strength. A good correlation can be observed between the level of delaminated interfaces (roughly the percentage of delaminated area) and the adhesion strength in all specimens. Table VII shows the adhesion strength of compounds A and B onto passivation PI and C after 200 h of HTS at 250 C. According to the delamination data, only the combination of PIA maintains signicant adhesion strength after an HTS test, whereas the systems PIB and CA show a signicant decrease in the adhesion strength. Table VIII shows the data reported in Tables VVII. The adhesion strengths of the systems PIA, PIB, and CA are not aged and after performing 200 h of HTS at 250 C are compared. The last column of the table shows the percentage of adhesion loss as consequence of degradation during the stress test. The signicant adhesion loss observed after 200 h of HTS at 250 C indicates the severe nature of this test. In particular, according to Goroll and Pufall [18], the adopted test condition is roughly ten times more accelerated than test condition of 150 C that has a typical duration of 1000 h. D. Fracture Surface Analysis Fig. 11(a) and (b) shows the XPS survey spectra of the substrate side and the resin side, respectively, of the delaminated Al oxideA system (pull strength 10.8 N). The spectrum of the substrate side shows the C, O, Ti, Si, and Al signals. The spectrum of resin side shows the C, O, N, Si, and P signals. Fluorine detected on the pristine Al oxide surface acts as a catalyst in the presence of water, so that hydrates and hydroxides on the surface form hydrouoric acid, etching the aluminum and creating additional hydrates, oxides, and oxyuorides [24]. According to the chemical species detected on the fractured surfaces, the Al oxidecompound A specimens show an adhesive-type failure mode. Fig. 11(c) and (d) shows the XPS survey spectra of the substrate side and the resin side, respectively, of the nondelaminated PIA system (pull strength 363.6 N). The spectrum of the substrate side shows the C, O, N, Si, and P signals. The spectrum of the resin side shows the C, O, N, Si, and P signals. According to the chemical species detected on the fractured surfaces, the PIcompound A specimens show a cohesive-type fracture in the molding compound. This result is in agreement with the high adhesion strength of the system. Fig. 11(e) and (f) shows the XPS survey spectra of the substrate side and the resin side, respectively, of the nondelaminated CA system (pull strength 239.5 N).

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(a)

(b)

(d)

(c)

(f)

(e) (h)

(g)

(i)
Fig. 10. (a) SAM pictures of specimen Al oxide-compound A not aged. (b) SAM pictures of specimen Al oxide-compound B not aged. (c) SAM pictures of specimen PI passivation-compound A not aged. (d) SAM pictures of specimen PI passivation-compound B not aged. (e) SAM pictures of specimen C passivation-compound A not aged. (f) SAM pictures of specimen C passivation-compound B samples not aged. (g) SAM pictures of specimen PI passivationcompound A, after 200 h HTS at 250 C. (h) SAM pictures of specimen C passivation-compound A, after 200 h HTS at 250 C. (i) SAM pictures of specimen PI-compound B, after 200 h HTS at 250 C.

The spectrum of the substrate side shows the C, O, and Si signals. The spectrum of the resin side shows the C, O, and Si signals. According to the chemical species detected on the fractured surfaces, the C passivationcompound A specimens show a cohesive-type fracture in the passivation layer.

Fig. 11(g) and (h) shows the XPS survey spectra of the substrate side and the resin side, respectively, of the delaminated Al oxideB system (pull strength close to zero). The spectrum of the substrate side shows the C, O, Ti, Si, and Al signals. The spectrum of the resin side shows the C, O, and Si signals. According to the chemical species detected on the

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Fig. 11. XPS survey spectra of fracture surfaces obtained by pull test. (a) Al oxide side-A. (b) Al oxide-A side. (c) PI side-A. (d) PI-A side. (e) C passivation side-A. (f) C passivation-A side. (g) Al oxide side-B. (h) Al oxide-A side. (i) PI side-B delaminated. (l) PI-B side delaminated. (m) PI side-B not delaminated. (n) PI-B side not delaminated. (o) C passivation side-B. (p) C passivation-B side.

fractured surfaces, the Al oxidecompound B specimens show an adhesive-type fracture. Fig. 11(i) and (l) shows the XPS survey spectra of the substrate side and the resin side, respectively, of the delaminated

PIB specimen (pull strength 17.1 N). The spectrum of the substrate side shows the C, O, N, and Si signals. The spectrum of the resin side shows the C, F, O, and N signals. According to the chemical species detected on the fractured surfaces, the

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TABLE IV A DHESION S TRENGTH (N EWTON ) OF C OMPOUND A AND C OMPOUND B O NTO Al O XIDE (N OT A GED ) Surface AlOx Compound A Specimen Number* 65.5 1 70.7 cold resin 2 9.6 3 142.9 4 133.3 5 44.9 die fractured 6 10.8 7 84.9 70.3 49.7

Specimen Number* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mean value Standard deviation

Compound B Not measurable** 4.7 79.1 die fractured 5.9 3.7 14.8 die fractured 6.7 19.1 29.6

TABLE V A DHESION S TRENGTH (N EWTON ) OF C OMPOUND A AND C OMPOUND B O NTO PI (N OT A GED ) Surface PI Compound A Specimen Number* 363.6 3 297.3 6 226.4 7 113.4 (die fractured) 8 250.2 107 TABLE VI A DHESION S TRENGTH (N EWTON ) OF C OMPOUND A AND C OMPOUND B O NTO PASSIVATION C (N OT A GED ) Surface C Specimen Number* 1 2 3 4 5

Specimen Number* 3 4 5 9 Mean value Standard deviation

Compound B 72.1 279.3 (PITEOS interface) 1.9 17.1 (PITEOS interface) 92.6 128

Specimen Number* 4 5

Compound A 258.2 239.5

Mean value 248.8 Standard deviation 13.2 *Referred to the numbering of SAM pictures [Fig. 8 (a)(f)]. **Adhesion strength close to 0. TABLE VII

Compound B 1.8 2.4 Not measurable** 21.5 Not measurable** (passivationsubstrate interface) 8.6 11.2

A DHESION S TRENGTH (N EWTON ) OF C OMPOUND A AND C OMPOUND B O NTO PASSIVATION PI AND C A FTER 200 h OF HTS AT 250 C Surface PI Compound A Specimen Number* Compound B 53.7 1 16.6 127.6 2 25.0 107.4 208.4 186.8 136.8 20.8 62.2 5.9 Surface C 1 0 2 24.1 3 19.2 Mean value 14.4 Standard deviation 12.7 *Referred to the numbering of SAM pictures [Fig. 8 (g)(i)]. Specimen Number* 1 2 3 4 5 Mean value Standard deviation

PIB specimens show adhesive-type fractures involving both TEOSPI and PImolding compound interfaces. Fig. 11(m) and (n) shows the XPS survey spectra of the substrate side and the resin side, respectively, of the nondelam-

inated PIB specimen (pull strength 279.3 N). The spectrum of the substrate side shows the C, F, O, and Si signals. The spectrum of the resin side shows the C, F, O, and N signals. According to the chemical species detected on the fractured

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TABLE VIII C OMPARISON OF A DHESION AT t = 0 AND A FTER 200 h OF HTS AT 250 C. P ERCENTAGE OF A DHESION L OSS I S R EPORTED t =0 SurfaceCompound Combination PIA PIB CA HTS 200 h at 250 C % of Adhesion Loss

250 107 92.6 128 248 13.2

136.8 62.2 20.8 5.9 14.4 12.7

45 77.5 94

Fig. 13. Typical XPS C1s spectrum of compound B of delaminated specimen.

Fig. 12. Typical XPS C1s spectra. (a) Compound A of nondelaminated specimen. (b) Compound A of delaminated specimen.

surfaces, the PIcompound B specimens show adhesive-type fractures involving both TEOSPI and PImolding compound interfaces. A high uorine concentration is detected on the resin fracture surfaces in both delaminated and nondelaminated specimens, PIB. The uorine comes from the PI lm (F1s peak is centered at 688.3 eV) that detaches from the TEOS layer and remains bonded to the resin. As the TEOSPI interface is not involved in the specimens based on compound A, we may conclude that this interface is inuenced by the chemical composition of compound B. Fig. 11(o) and (p) shows the XPS survey spectra of the passivation side and the resin side, respectively, of the delaminated C passivationB specimen (pull strength close to zero). The spectrum of the passivation side shows the C, O, and Si signals. The spectrum of the resin side shows the C, O, and Si signals. According to the chemical species detected on the fractured surfaces, the C passivationB specimens show adhesive type fracture at passivation-SiC and passivation EMC interfaces. Polar chemical species at interfaces are identied studying the XPS C1s spectra. Fig. 12(a) shows the XPS C1s spectra of compound A of a nondelaminated specimen. The spectrum can be deconvoluted in a rst approximation, using

three Gaussian components centered at binding energies of 284.8, 286.5, 291 eV assigned to CC/CH, COC and shake up components, respectively [22], [26]. The spectrum of delaminated specimen [Fig. 12(b)] can be deconvoluted in a rst approximation, using four Gaussian components centered at binding energies of 284.8, 286.5, 289, and 291 eV and assigned to CC/CH, COC, R(C* = O)OR and shake up components, respectively [23], [26]. The additional component R(C* = O)OR can be due to the segregation of releasing agents (waxes) that are often responsible for the interface delamination. Fig. 13 shows a typical XPS C1s spectrum of compound B of a delaminated specimen that can be deconvoluted using ve components centered at 284.8, 286.5, 288, 289, and 291 eV assigned to CC/ CH, COC, R(C* = O), R(C* = O)OR and shake up components, respectively. The higher intensity of components assigned to polar oxygenated chemical groups in the spectrum of compound B of Fig. 13 with respect to the spectra of compound A of Fig. 10(a) and (b) [29], [30]. Fig. 14(a)(f) shows the XPS survey spectra of fractured surfaces obtained by tensile pull testing of the specimen subjected to storage of 200 h at 250 C: 1) PIA, substrate side; 2) PIA, resin side; 3) PIB, substrate side; 4) PIB, resin side; 5) CA, substrate side; and 6) CA, resin side. The elements detected on the fractured surfaces and their concentrations are reported in Table IX. In particular, the systems based on PI show the presence of uorine on the resin side indicating a partial fracture in the substrate layer. Ionic uorine, which indicates PI degradation, is not detected. The system PIB, in addition, exhibits the segregation of antimony and Br at the interface. Moreover, both compounds, even in absence of delamination, exhibit the segregation of a polar additive at the interface, as shown in the example of the XPS C1s spectrum of Fig. 15.

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SCANDURRA et al .: MOLDING COMPOUNDS ADHESION AND INFLUENCE ON RELIABILITY OF PLASTIC PACKAGES 11

TABLE IX T YPICAL S URFACE C OMPOSITIONS (% OF ATOMS ) OF F RACTURE S URFACES A FTER 200 h OF HTS AT 250 C C 67.8 67.9 79 75.7 75.4 73.4 O 20.3 20.5 8.9 12.2 16.6 19.5 Si 3.5 3.5 2.3 0.9 1.9 F 4.8 3.8 7.4 6.8 1.3 0.8 N 2.7 2.5 3.9 1.8 4.2 3.0 Sb 0.2 0.4 Br 0.5 0.7 P (Organic) 0.9 1.7 1.7 1.4

PIA resin side PIA substrate side PIB resin side PIB substrate side CA resin side CA substrate side

TABLE X R ESULTS OF HTRB T EST ON SiC P OWER MOS D EVICES . N UMBER OF R EJECTED D EVICES W ITH R ESPECT TO T ESTED D EVICES . T EST C ONDITIONS : Vs = 960 V, Ta = 225 C Molding Compound 168 A B 0/8 0/9 Time (h) 500 1000 0/8 0/9 2/8 8/9

Fig. 14. XPS survey spectra of fracture surfaces obtained by pull test of specimen after 200 h at 250 C. (a) PI-A substrate side. (b) PI-A resin side. (c) PI-B substrate side. (d) PI-B resin side. (e) C-A substrate side. (f) C-A resin side.

Fig. 15. 250 C.

Typical XPS C1s spectrum of compound A after 200 h of HTS at

E. HTRB Results Table X shows the results of the HTRB test of SiC power MOS devices assembled in plastic packages with compounds

A and B. The devices that are encapsulated employing molding compound containing ame retardant based on organic phosphorus (A) performed better than devices encapsulated with molding compound containing ame retardant based on Br and antimony (B). In particular, at 1000 h the rejected devices with respect to the number tested are 2/8 and 8/9 for compounds A and B, respectively. This result is in agreement with the physical and chemical features of molding compounds, earlier described, which indicate superior performance of compound A with respect to B. Previous work shows that devices assembled in TO220 packages with the organic phosphorous ame retardant component in the molding compound performed even better than devices assembled in hermetic TO3 metal packages [31]. Our ndings about device reliability can be explained considering how the physical and chemical properties of EMCs can inuence the leakage current and other electrical parameters in microelectronics devices. The most important molding compound parameters that need to be considered are concentration of ions (both as contaminants as well as chemical reaction byproducts) and the presence of polar chemical species at the EMCdie interface such as waxes, polyoxyalkylenethers, and siloxanes having the functions of releasing and kneading agents, respectively [20]. The presence of ions and polar chemical species at the EMCdie interface can be measured by performing XPS, utilizing the methods reported or after mechanical detachment of real plastic packages [30]. The reported results clearly show the minor concentration of polar additives at interfaces of compound A compared with compound B. Important sources of halogen and metallic ions are represented by the presence of brominated resin and antimony (III) oxide. Br also can act as catalyst for metal corrosion, particularly aluminum, which in turn produces additional ions and device failure. Aluminum metal passivation is a good remedy against corrosion [25], [26]. Adhesion strength that inuences the delamination, moisture, and ionic migration at interfaces

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is also found to be a critical attribute of molding compounds. Again, compound A shows better adhesion performance than compound B. Molding compounds having a ame retardant based on organic phosphorous usually exhibit low ionic contaminants in comparison with the other EMCs. Moreover, the phosphorous containing groups also act as ion catchers. This leads to overall better reliability in comparison with the other class of ame retardants. IV. C ONCLUSION The adhesion and interface compositions of two EMC (a green compound A and a conventional compound B) molded onto aluminum oxide-hydroxide surfaces (oxide grown onto AlSiCu) and onto two die passivation layers, consisting of uorinated PI and Cyclotene, were studied. This research was done by correlating interface chemical compositions (XPS data) with delamination (measured by SAM) and adhesion strength. Both compounds showed poor adhesion onto the Al oxide substrate with adhesive fracture. Mainly, poor adhesion may be ascribed to the presence of uorine that was bonded to aluminum oxide as oxyuoride Al(OF)x or uoride AlFx. Compound A, for which formulation produced a low concentration of polar additives at interfaces, showed high adhesion strength onto both passivation layers that corresponded to an absence of delamination. Compound B showed poor adhesion onto all the substrates that corresponded to interface delamination. Fractures under pull test occur on the basis of different mechanisms. In the polymer passivation layers, the green compound showed cohesive fracture consistent with high adhesion strength. Compound B showed adhesive fractures for the EMC to both top layer interfaces (PI and cyclotene) and/or the interface between passivation and the underlying layer. HTS at 250 C was used to study chemical modications occurring at the earlier interfaces. The combination of green compound A with PI substrate showed the best resistance against aging induced by the HTS test. HTRB test of SiC power MOS devices encapsulated with the compounds (A) showed better reliability performance in comparison with devices encapsulated using the molding compounds (B). This result was in good agreement with the physical and chemical molding compounds properties. The results reported here indicated promising use of the compound A for plastic packages operating at high temperature (up to 225 C). ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors would like to thank M. Saggio and E. Zanetti (STMicroelecronics) for providing some of the substrates used in this paper. R EFERENCES
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Angelo Cavallaro photograph and biography are not available at the time of publication.

Emanuele Scrofani photograph and biography are not available at the time of publication.

Jean Paul Giry photograph and biography are not available at the time of publication.

Antonino Scandurra photograph and biography are not available at the time of publication. Giuseppe Francesco Indelli photograph and biography are not available at the time of publication. Roberto Zafarana photograph and biography are not available at the time of publication.

Sebastiano Russo photograph and biography are not available at the time of publication.

Mietek Bakowski photograph and biography are not available at the time of publication.