Characterization of Wafer-Level Au-In-Bonded Samples at Elevated Temperatures

Wafer-level bonding using Au-In solid liquid interdiffusion (SLID) bonding is a promising approach to enable low-temperature assembly and MEMS packaging/encapsulation. Due to the low-melting point of In, wafer-level bonding can be performed at considerably lower temperatures than Sn-based bonding; this work treats bonds performed at 453 K (180 °C). Following bonding, the die shear strength at elevated temperatures was investigated from room temperature to 573 K (300 °C), revealing excellent mechanical integrity at these temperatures well above the bonding temperature. For shear test temperatures from room temperature to 473 K (200 °C), the measured shear strength was stable at 30 MPa, whereas it increased to 40 MPa at shear test temperature of 573 K (300 °C). The fracture surfaces of Au-In-bonded samples revealed brittle fracture modes (at the original bond interface and at the adhesion layers) for shear test temperatures up to 473 K (200 °C), but ductile fracture mode for shear test temperature of 573 K (300 °C). The as-bonded samples have a layered structure consisting of the two intermetallic phases AuIn and γ′, as shown by cross section microscopy and predicted from the phase diagram. The change in behavior for the tests at 573 K (300 °C) is attributed to a solid-state phase transition occurring at 497 K (224 °C), where the phase diagram predicts a AuIn/ψ structure and a phase boundary moving across the initial bond interface. The associated interdiffusion of Au and In will strengthen the initial bond interface and, as a consequence, the measured shear strength. This work provides experimental evidence for the high-temperature stability of wafer-level, low-temperature bonded, Au-In SLID bonds. The high bond strength obtained is limited by the strength at the initial bond interface and at the adhesion layers, showing that the Au-In SLID system itself is capable of even higher bond strength.