Investigations of fluxless flip-chip bonding using vacuum ultraviolet and formic acid vapor surface treatment

We studied the effects of surface treatment using vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and formic acid vapor for SnCu-Au flip-chip bonding. Sn-rich solder bumps are widely used for flip-chip interconnections because of low melting temperature and high mechanical strength. For fine pitch interconnections, surface modification is needed before the bonding process. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) were used to investigate Sn surfaces. The results showed how the VUV/O₃ surface treatment removes the carbon-based organic contaminants from the Sn surfaces and the formic acid treatment reduces the metal oxides of Sn. Combination of VUV/O₃ and formic acid treatments improved shear strength of a bonded sample. The average shear strength of each bump with VUV/O₃ and/or formic acid treatment is about twice that of a bump with no treatment.