High temperature performance of low stress electrically conductive adhesives in electronic applications

The electronics industry has shown an increased interest in low stress, flexible, electrically conductive adhesives for harsh environment applications. These include the assembly of materials with large CTE mismatches or high peel strength requirements for 3D-MID and flexible substrate technologies. Depending on the application requirements different flexible conductive adhesives can be considered. Recent product development has focused on highly conductive, flexibilized epoxy and silicone adhesive types. Electrically conductive adhesives (ECA) with different degrees of flexibility and good electrical conductivities are now available to cope with various application requirements. High temperature and reliability testing of these new types of materials indicate that different approaches are required for flexible adhesive evaluation compared to rigid adhesives. This paper will describe some practical and theoretical aspects of flexible conductive adhesive technology. Thermal stability, mechanical strength and electrical performance under different loadings will be discussed.