Silver Sintering

While requiring different machines and processes than soldering, the increased thermal conductivity of sintering materials were shown to be 2x – 3x (or greater) when compared to traditional solders. This increase in thermal conductivity had a direct impact on device and package performance, so developing these new processes was an obvious choice.

 

So, what are the advantages of silver sintering?

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Silver Sintering offers several advantages over traditional component soldering methods:

• High Thermal Conductivity: Silver has excellent thermal conductivity, making it suitable for applications where heat transfer is important. These sintering materials can have over 2x-3x the thermal conductivity of traditional solders (such as Sn63Pb37 or SAC305).

• High Reliability: The strong bonds formed through sintering result in reliable connections that are able to withstand harsh operating conditions.

• Positional Stability:  With reflow soldering, components may move or recenter when solder transitions from solid to liquid.  Silver sintered components are not prone to any sort of self-centering comparatively, they stay in their placed positions when forming bonds.

• High Temperature Compatibility: Unlike traditional solder materials that may degrade at high temperatures, silver sintering can withstand elevated temperatures without compromising its performance.

• Versatile Processing Methods: The material can be applied a multitude of methods including screen printing, jetting, dispensing, and pin transfer. It is compatible with a wide range of metallization including those commonly found on bare semiconductor die and PCB plating. Sintering can be performed with and without pressure applied (depending on formulation).

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Some of the applications that benefit from hybrid silver sintering include:

• Power Electronics: High-power semiconductors, insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), and diodes (including LEDs).

• Automotive Electronics: Electronic control units (ECUs), power modules, sensors, and other critical systems.

• Energy Storage Systems: Batteries and Supercapacitors.

• Renewable Energy: Solar panels, Wind turbines, and Energy storage systems for grid integration.

• Aerospace and Defense: Aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, radar systems, communication systems, and missile guidance systems.

• Medical Electronics: Implantable devices, diagnostic equipment, monitoring systems, and surgical instruments.

• Industrial Electronics: Motor drives, inverters, industrial automation systems, and power supplies.​​