Abstract
Cu under bump metallurgy (UBM) has been widely used in flip-chip technology. The major disadvantages of Cu UBM are fast consumption of copper, rapid growth of intermetallic compounds (IMCs), and easy formation of Kirkendall voids. In this study we added two different contents of Mn (2 at.% and 10 at.%) to Cu UBM by sputtering to modify the conventional Cu metallization. For the higher Mn concentration in the Cu-Mn UBM, a new Sn-rich phase formed between Cu 6 Sn 5 and the Cu-Mn UBM, and cracks formed after aging. For the lower Mn concentration, growth of Cu 3 Sn and Kirkendall voids was significantly suppressed after thermal aging. Kinetic analysis and x-ray elemental mapping provided evidence that Mn diffusion into Cu 3 Sn slowed diffusion of Cu in the Cu 3 Sn layer. The Mn-enriched Cu 3 Sn layer may serve as a diffusion barrier to reduce the interfacial reaction rate and Kirkendall void formation. These results suggest that Cu-Mn UBM with low Mn concentration is beneficial in terms of retarding Cu pad consumption in solder joints. © 2010 TMS.