A problem that has caused great reluctance on the part of users of high reliable electronic systems to accept plastic encapsulated semiconductors, integrated circuits and transistors, has been internal metalization corrosion. These devices use from 2,000 to 10,000 Å of evaporated aluminum on the silicon die for contact of gold or aluminum wires. The die are then encapsulated in plastic--epoxy, silicone, or phenolic--with or without a resilient high purity silicone undercoating on the chip. Depending upon the molding process--injection, casting, or transfer--various additives are included in the plastic mix, such as mold release agents, fillers, viscosity controls, and flame retardents. This increases the level of available polar constituents, thus increasing the devices' susceptibility to corrosion reactions.

Subject
Circuits, Corrosion failures, Materials, Silicones, Salts, Aluminum, Chips, Penetration, Plastics, Sodium, Gold, Equipment, Epoxies
© 1974 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1974
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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