Aging kinetics for temperature loads of z-conductive adhesives in-situ monitoring of the contact resistance of heat seal connectors

In-situ contact resistance measurements are shown to be a very powerful experimental tool to determine the ageing kinetics of new types of interconnections. As an example of a z-conductive adhesive interconnection, heat seal connectors to a printed board are taken; these are a low-cost option to interconnect liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and printed boards. The approach consists of the measurement with a high resolution of the contact resistance during a hot storage test. Based on a 1000h test, a first estimate of the activation energy for ageing in static temperature conditions is given, and an extrapolation to user conditions is made. The strength of the approach is illustrated by showing the effect of a different board layout on the eventual life time of the interconnection