Analyzing and Eliminating Die Passivation Crack in a Power Leadframe Package using Submodeling Approach

This paper presents the submodeling approach in thermo-mechanical simulation of the die passivation crack encountered in a power leadframe package subjected to temperature cycling condition. Without using modeling and simulation in resolving semiconductor package development issues, the process would be very costly and time-consuming. For die passivation crack, the details of the different layers of the die passivation need to be modeled and this would result in a large simulation model with considerable solution time. However, a technique known as submodeling can be used to reduce solution time without sacrificing accuracy of results. In this study, submodeling was successfully used to analyze the stresses in the critical passivation layer that resulted in the best design that eliminated the passivation crack. The modeling result showed that the crack could be eliminated by using the right passivation material layer combination and thickness. An increase in the thickness of the material layers and the additional of sublayers have provided significant stress reduction in the topmost critical passivation layer resulting in crack elimination.