Study on Microstructure and Properties of Micron Copper Powder-Liquid Metal Gallium Composite Interconnect Joint.

Abstract

Liquid gallium (Ga) enables low-temperature transient liquid phase bonding (TLPB), but optimizing microstructure and joint performance remains challenging. Here, we developed a copper (Cu)-powder/liquid-Ga composite paste for Cu/Cu interconnects and systematically studied the effects on the interconnect joint performance of Cu powder particle size (Cu_PS, 10-20, 20-30 and 30-40 μm) and Cu mass fraction (Cu_MF, 10-30 wt%). The microstructure, electrical conductivity, and shear strength of the joint were evaluated, followed by an assessment of bonding temperature, pressure, and time. Under bonding conditions of 220 °C, 5 MPa and 720 min, a dense intermetallic compound (IMC) microstructure predominantly composed of Cu₉Ga₄ and CuGa₂ was formed, yielding an electrical conductivity of approximately 1.1 × 10⁷  S·m^-1 and a shear strength of 52.2 MPa, thereby achieving a synergistic optimization of electrical and mechanical properties; even under rapid bonding conditions of 220 °C, 5 MPa and 1 min, the joint still attained a shear strength of 39.2 MPa, demonstrating the potential of this process for high-efficiency, short-time interconnection applications. These results show that adjusting the composite paste formulation and dosage enables Cu-Ga TLPB joints that combine high conductivity with robust mechanical integrity for advanced packaging.