Power Cycling Reliability with Temperature Deviation of Pressureless Silver Sintered Joint for Silicon Carbide Power Module

Abstract

SiC devices can enhance power conversion in electric vehicles. However, traditional soldering techniques are limited by their low melting temperatures. Therefore, we used pressureless Ag sintering to assemble a 1200 V/200 A SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor power module and compared the long-term reliability, electrical properties, and driving performance of the module with those of a similar module assembled using the solder Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305). To assess sinter joint reliability, we performed power cycling tests over two temperature ranges, 50–150°C and 50–175°C, for 15,000 cycles. Subsequently, we compared the breakdown voltage (BVDSS) and drain-source on-resistance (RDS(ON)) of the SiC power modules and performed cross-sectional analyses of the device bonding interfaces. No difference in BVDSS was found between the Ag-sintered and SAC305-soldered joints. However, the RDS(ON) exhibited minimal variation for the Ag-sintered module but significantly varied for the SAC305-soldered module, suggesting that the former better maintained its characteristics. Furthermore, the electrical characteristics of the SAC305-soldered module underwent more significant alterations with increasing temperature change during power cycling, indicating that cracks propagated throughout the SAC305 soldered joint over time. Therefore, Ag sintering was quantitatively validated as the superior die attachment technology compared to soldering for long-term reliability.