Warpage Mitigation of Electronic Ceramic Substrates

The present work is dedicated to the study of warpage that takes place on direct bonded copper (DBC) substrates. The ultimate goal of the work at hand is to establish a universal standard for identifying and predicting warpage behavior in DBC substrates. To achieve this, the study aims to conduct simulations in parallel with experimental measurements on real-time and applicable components. The study's methodology is divided into three main stages: post-production, post-reflow, and post-operation of the DBC substrates. Within each stage, corresponding simulations have been performed in COMSOL Multiphysics in parallel with the experimental measurements, which were undertaken using the KLA Tencor P-17 Profiler. The post-production stage is associated with the DBC substrates’ condition after the process of their production. During production, the substrates would undergo pre-warping. Hence, the mentioned pre-warpage was recognized as the zero warpage state of the remainder of the studies. The post-reflow process is associated with the condition of the substrates after they have undergone the reflow process, during which the dies are assembled on the copper plates over the top side of the DBC substrates employing solder. The reflow process is the stage where the DBC substrates experience high temperatures and is commonly known as the stage that implements the most warpage on the DBC substrates. The third stage is associated with the analysis of the DBC warpage behavior after they have been put under operation. The operation in the present work was modelled by power cycling, through which the component was cyclically turned on and off. Eventually, the results of each experimental and simulation step of the study were extracted and compared. By the completion of the present endeavor, it is predicted that the nonlinear phenomena will be recognized and successfully implemented in the simulation in future endeavors. In the event of successful implementation of the nonlinear effect or effects, a precise standard would result in the ability to identify and predict the warpage behavior in DBC substrates.