ADVANCED COMPOSITE SOLDER FOR MICROELECTRONICS

WITH THE CONTINUED INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY TOWARD HIGHER DENSITY, FASTER SPEED, LIGHT IN WEIGHT AND SMALLER IN SIZE, THE DEMANDS ON SOLDER INTERCONNECTIONS, PARTICULARLY FOR THE BOARD-LEVEL PACKAGING, BECOME INCREASINGLY STRINGENT. THE INCREASED DENSITY AND DECREASED SIZE IN SOLDER JOINTS, PER SE, DRAW CONCERNS ABOUT THE RELIABILITY OF SUCH SOLDER JOINTS WHICH ARE MADE OF CONVENTIONAL SOLDER MATERIALS. FURTHERMORE, IT HAS ALSO BEEN A CONCERN IN THE NANUFACTURING SECTOR THAT A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE COST IN PRODUCING MICROELECTRONIC ASSEMBLIES IS CONTRIBUTED BY THE INSPECTION AND REWORK OF SOLDER JOINTS. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO FURTHER ADVANCE THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF SOLDERS BY UTILIZING THE FUNDAMENTAL SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES; TO EXPLORE AND ESTABLISH TECHNOLOGY FOR STRENGTHENING SOLDER MATERIALS; TO DEVISE USEFUL PRODUCTS WHICH OFFER SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE TO CONVENTIONAL SOLDERS, AND, CONCURRENTLY, TO EXPLORE THE SCIENTIFIC AND MANUFACTURING FEASIBILITY IN REDUCTION OF LEAD (PB) USAGE IN SOLDER MATERIALS. THE EFFORT OF THE PROPOSED PROGRAM WILL FOCUS ON THE INTEGRATION OF VARIOUS SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES IN METALLURGY, CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, AND ANALYTICAL CHARACTERIZATION TO CREATE A NEW GENERATION OF SOLDER MATERIALS WHICH OFFER SUPERIOR CHARACTERISTICS IN PERFORMANCE. IN ADDITION TO THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF BASIC MATERIAL SYSTEMS, THE PROCESS FOR FABRICATING SUCH MATERIALS IS A KEY STEP FOR THE OVERALL SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT. ANOTHER BENCHMARK OF THE PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AN APPLICABLE FORM OF THE NEW MATERIALS FOR DOD AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS. DUE TO THE INHERENT MERITS OF THE PASTE FORM, A NEW SOLDER PASTE SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED.