A novel approach for thin-film Ag-sintering process through Aerosol Jet Printing in power electronics

The growing demand for highly reliable and compact power electronic modules capable of operating at high switching frequencies and temperatures require optimized interconnection and packaging technologies. This holds true also for conventional electronics for usage at elevated temperatures, which allows additional options for miniaturization and high system integration without complicated cooling concepts. However, new materials and cost-effective manufacturing concepts are required. This contribution introduces a modified approach to produce thin-film silver sintered interconnections through Aerosol Jet Printing (AJP), which offers high degree of customization and design flexibility. The sintering process for silver nano-inks through AJP for power electronic die-attach has been introduced. Power electronic assemblies had been constructed and high-temperature shear tests up to 400°C had been performed to demonstrate the potential of the realized thin-film silver joints.