Heraeus, perfecdos, Infotech Optimize Jetting Process of Sintering Pastes

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The three technology companies Heraeus, perfecdos and Infotech automation have jointly developed a solution that offers their customers ideally matched components and materials for jetting sintering pastes.

The collaboration led to the production-ready development of the jetting processes – saving time and enabling flexibility. Due to increasing production diversity and increasingly shorter product cycles, manufacturers often must adapt packaging technology in the production process. Flexible and time-saving processes are a competitive advantage and facilitate the creation of prototypes. In addition, complex components place high demands on the manufacturing process, which manufacturers can no longer reproduce with the traditional stencil printing process.

Jetting Technology with Optimized Jet Nozzle, Sinter Paste and Dispensing System

The mAgic DA295A sinter paste developed by Heraeus is a paste optimized for pressure-less, low-temperature sintering. It offers higher thermal conductivity than the conductive adhesives and solder pastes currently used in the market. The paste has been optimized for power applications with high operating temperatures and high current densities.

The PDos X1 micro-dispensing valve from perfecdos achieves extremely high performance thanks to the innovative and patented actuator system (drive system). Based on this, another generation of nozzles could be developed enabling the jetting of the sintering paste. The high application speed of the PDos X1 was used to achieve shorter cycle times. The non-contact dispensing also eliminates the need to move the valve in the Z-axis and minimizes the risk of collision with the leadframe. Another advantage is the consistency of the amount of sinter paste applied.

Infotech's desktop dispensing robot integrates a variety of different dispensing technologies – from time-pressure to volumetric dispensers to electropneumatic or piezoelectric jet dispensing technologies. The machine software, together with the integrated vision system, offers intuitive development of the dispensing parameters. These are stored in a library together with the dispensing medium, the dispensing technology and the respective dispensing pattern. They can be called up or further adapted in an application program at any time. The machine also allows customers to combine jetting of the sinter paste with pick and place of the chip on the same machine. The configuration and parameterization of the desktop machine can be transferred to an inline-capable manufacturing cell without any changes.

Sintering as an Alternative to Solder Paste

Operating temperatures above 230 °C, life cycles of more than ten years and new applications such as electromobility or 5G technology pose new challenges for packaging technology in power electronics. Soldered connections are reaching their limits. Sintering offers a solution with excellent electrical and thermal conductivity and ensures optimal thermal management at elevated operating temperatures without compromising reliability.

About Heraeus

Heraeus, the technology group headquartered in Hanau, Germany, is a leading international family-owned portfolio company. The company’s roots go back to a family pharmacy started in 1660. Today, the Heraeus group includes businesses in the environmental, electronics, health and industrial applications sectors. Customers benefit from innovative technologies and solutions based on broad materials expertise and technological leadership.

In the 2019 financial year, Heraeus generated revenues of €22.4 billion with approximately 14,900 employees in 40 countries. Heraeus is now one of the top 10 family-owned companies in Germany and holds a leading position in its global markets. For more information about Heraeus, please visit https://www.heraeus.com.