• Journal of Inorganic Materials
  • Vol. 38, Issue 10, 1117 (2023)
Shi FU1、2, Zengchao YANG1、*, and Jiangtao LI1、2、*
Author Affiliations
  • 11. Key Laboratory of Cryogenics, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
  • 22. Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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    DOI: 10.15541/jim20230037 Cite this Article
    Shi FU, Zengchao YANG, Jiangtao LI. Progress of High Strength and High Thermal Conductivity Si3N4 Ceramics for Power Module Packaging [J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2023, 38(10): 1117 Copy Citation Text show less
    Schematic diagram of power module and metallized ceramic substrate[7]
    1. Schematic diagram of power module and metallized ceramic substrate[7]
    Appearance of (a) Si3N4 coppered substrate after 1000 thermal cycles of -40 to 250 ℃, (b) AlN coppered substrate after 7 cycles of -40 to 250 ℃, and (c) side view of the delaminated Cu plate indicated by white circle in (b) [9]
    2. Appearance of (a) Si3N4 coppered substrate after 1000 thermal cycles of -40 to 250 ℃, (b) AlN coppered substrate after 7 cycles of -40 to 250 ℃, and (c) side view of the delaminated Cu plate indicated by white circle in (b) [9]
    Microstructure factors affecting the thermal conductivity of Si3N4 ceramics
    3. Microstructure factors affecting the thermal conductivity of Si3N4 ceramics
    Effect of grain size on the thermal conductivity of β-Si3N4 with various grain-boundary film thicknesses[35]
    4. Effect of grain size on the thermal conductivity of β-Si3N4 with various grain-boundary film thicknesses[35]
    Thermal conductivity and lattice oxygen content of β-Si3N4 changed by adjusting the ratio of Y2O3/SiO2[18]
    5. Thermal conductivity and lattice oxygen content of β-Si3N4 changed by adjusting the ratio of Y2O3/SiO2[18]
    Relationships between ionic radii of rare-earth oxide additives and (a) thermal conductivity, (b) thermal diffusivity and (c) lattice oxygen content of β-Si3N4[43]
    6. Relationships between ionic radii of rare-earth oxide additives and (a) thermal conductivity, (b) thermal diffusivity and (c) lattice oxygen content of β-Si3N4[43]
    Bright-field (BF) TEM images of Si3N4 samples[46]
    7. Bright-field (BF) TEM images of Si3N4 samples[46]
    Developments of high thermal conductivity Si3N4 ceramics with different sintering additives systems and sintering methods
    8. Developments of high thermal conductivity Si3N4 ceramics with different sintering additives systems and sintering methods
    Change of (a) average grain size, (b) bending strength, (c) fracture toughness, and (d) thermal conductivity of Si3N4 ceramics with radius of rare earth ion[79]
    9. Change of (a) average grain size, (b) bending strength, (c) fracture toughness, and (d) thermal conductivity of Si3N4 ceramics with radius of rare earth ion[79]
    Elemental distributions of the polished surface of Si3N4 with Gd2O3-MgSiN2 additives after sintering at 1900 ℃ for 12 h[80]
    10. Elemental distributions of the polished surface of Si3N4 with Gd2O3-MgSiN2 additives after sintering at 1900 ℃ for 12 h[80]
    Schematic diagram of the mechanism of sintering additive ZrH2 in the sintering of Si3N4 ceramics[76]
    11. Schematic diagram of the mechanism of sintering additive ZrH2 in the sintering of Si3N4 ceramics[76]
    Effect of carbon addition on the microstructure of Si3N4 ceramics[67]
    12. Effect of carbon addition on the microstructure of Si3N4 ceramics[67]
    Kinetic analysis of β-Si3N4 grain growth in Si3N4 samples with Y2O3-MgO and YF3-MgF2 additives[88]
    13. Kinetic analysis of β-Si3N4 grain growth in Si3N4 samples with Y2O3-MgO and YF3-MgF2 additives[88]
    Relationships between thermal conductivity of Si3N4 ceramics prepared by different sintering processes and (a) sintering time, (b) lattice oxygen content and (c) flexural strength[16,93,94]
    14. Relationships between thermal conductivity of Si3N4 ceramics prepared by different sintering processes and (a) sintering time, (b) lattice oxygen content and (c) flexural strength[16,93,94]
    Schematic diagram of the four different embedding conditions[95]
    15. Schematic diagram of the four different embedding conditions[95]
    Effect of different pre-sintering temperature on the microstructure of Si3N4 after two-step sintering((a) 1500 ℃, (b) 1525 ℃, (c) 1550 ℃ and (d) 1600 ℃), (e) relative density of Si3N4 samples after pre-sintering and two-step sintering, and (f) thermal conductivity and flexural strength of Si3N4 samples after two-step sintering[97]
    16. Effect of different pre-sintering temperature on the microstructure of Si3N4 after two-step sintering((a) 1500 ℃, (b) 1525 ℃, (c) 1550 ℃ and (d) 1600 ℃), (e) relative density of Si3N4 samples after pre-sintering and two-step sintering, and (f) thermal conductivity and flexural strength of Si3N4 samples after two-step sintering[97]
    Thermal conductivity, bending strength and fracture toughness of Si3N4 ceramics prepared by different sintering methods and additives
    17. Thermal conductivity, bending strength and fracture toughness of Si3N4 ceramics prepared by different sintering methods and additives
    Effect of substrate thickness on the dielectric breakdown strength (DBS) of Si3N4 ceramics sintered for (a) 1, (b) 3, (c) 6, (d) 12, (e) 24, and (f) 48 h[117]
    18. Effect of substrate thickness on the dielectric breakdown strength (DBS) of Si3N4 ceramics sintered for (a) 1, (b) 3, (c) 6, (d) 12, (e) 24, and (f) 48 h[117]
    Schematic images of the connecting path for the interface between β-Si3N4 grain and grain boundary phases/ intergranular glassy films (IGFs) in the substrates which have (a) smaller and (b) larger ratio of grain size to substrate thickness[117]
    19. Schematic images of the connecting path for the interface between β-Si3N4 grain and grain boundary phases/ intergranular glassy films (IGFs) in the substrates which have (a) smaller and (b) larger ratio of grain size to substrate thickness[117]
    Images of the SN-1 coppered substrate after different thermal cycles ((a) 10 cycles, (b) 100 cycles, (c) 200 cycles, and (d) 1000 cycles), (e) plots of residual to initial strength ratio vs. thermal cycle number of the coppered substrates, and (f) relationship between residual to initial strength ratio and fracture toughness of the Si3N4 coppered substrates after 10 cycles[118]
    20. Images of the SN-1 coppered substrate after different thermal cycles ((a) 10 cycles, (b) 100 cycles, (c) 200 cycles, and (d) 1000 cycles), (e) plots of residual to initial strength ratio vs. thermal cycle number of the coppered substrates, and (f) relationship between residual to initial strength ratio and fracture toughness of the Si3N4 coppered substrates after 10 cycles[118]
    MaterialAl2O3AlNSi3N4
    Density/(g·cm-3)3.93.33.2
    Elasticity modulus/GPa370310320
    Bending strength/MPa300-400220-310600-750
    Fracture toughness/(MPa·m1/2)3.5-4.03.0-3.56.5-7.5
    Thermal expansion coefficient/(×10-6, K-1)7-84.62.7-3.4
    Thermal conductivity/(W·m-1·K-1)18-2467-15027-54
    Dielectric strength/(kV·mm-1)10-1814-1612-18
    Resistivity/(Ω·m)>1012>1012>1012
    Relative permittivity9-106.0-8.57-9
    Table 1. Properties of Al2O3, AlN and Si3N4 ceramic substrate materials[8]
    Ceramic substrate (Material code) Flexural strength/MPaFracture toughness/(MPa·m1/2) Thermal conductivity/(W·m-1·K-1)
    Si3N4 (SN-1)669±2910.5±0.2140
    Si3N4 (SN-2)909±3035.2±0.221
    Si3N4 (SN-3)977±795.5±0.1-
    Si3N4 (SN-4)604±258.0±0.490
    AlN461±623.2±0.2180
    Table 2. Mechanical and thermal properties of Si3N4 ceramic substrates and AlN ceramic substrates for thermal cycle testing[118]
    Shi FU, Zengchao YANG, Jiangtao LI. Progress of High Strength and High Thermal Conductivity Si3N4 Ceramics for Power Module Packaging [J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2023, 38(10): 1117
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