Presentation slides for the ISTFA 2023 Tutorial session “Failure Analysis Challenges for Chip Scale Packages (2023 Update).”

This presentation provides an overview of chip-scale packages (CSPs) and the challenges they create for failure analysis. It begins with a review of stacked, multichip, and wafer-level packages, using images and illustrations to highlight complexities. It then presents examples of package-level failure mechanisms including various forms of cracking, inadvertent wire bond contact, and die-edge chipping. It likewise assesses die-level analysis challenges and provides practical solutions. The presentation also includes several case studies and describes new and emerging challenges.

This presentation provides an overview of chip-scale packages (CSPs) and the challenges they create for failure analysis. It begins with a review of stacked, multichip, and wafer-level packages, using images and illustrations to highlight complexities. It then presents examples of package-level failure mechanisms including various forms of cracking, inadvertent wire bond contact, and die-edge chipping. It likewise assesses die-level analysis challenges and provides practical solutions. The presentation also includes several case studies and describes new and emerging challenges.

Improvement in the performance of thermal barrier coating systems (TBCs) is one of the key objectives for further development of gas turbine applications. The material most commonly used as TBC topcoat is yttria stabilised zirconia (YSZ). However, the usage of YSZ is limited by the operating temperature range which in turn restricts the engine efficiency. Materials such as pyrochlores, perovskites, rare earth garnets, etc. are suitable candidates which could replace YSZ as they exhibit lower thermal conductivity and higher phase stability at elevated temperatures. The objective of this work was to investigate different multi-layered TBCs consisting of advanced topcoat materials fabricated by Suspension Plasma Spraying (SPS). The investigated topcoat materials were YSZ, dysprosia stabilised zirconia, gadolinium zirconiate, cerium doped YSZ and yttria fully stabilised zirconia. All topcoats were deposited with TriplexPro-210 plasma spray gun and radial injection of suspension. Lifetime of these samples was examined by thermal cyclic fatigue and thermal shock testing. Microstructure analysis of as-sprayed and failed specimens was performed with scanning electron microscope. The failure mechanisms in each case have been discussed in this article. The results show that SPS could be a promising route to produce multilayered TBCs for high temperature applications.

NiCoCrAlY coatings are widely used as bond coats for ceramic thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) and oxidation and corrosion protective overlay coatings in industrial gas turbines. High temperature oxidation behaviour of NiCoCrAlYs has a great influence on the coating performance and lifetime of TBCs. A promising route to decrease the oxidation rate of such coatings is post-coating surface modification which can facilitate formation of a uniform alumina scale with a considerably slower growth rate compared to the as-sprayed coatings. In this work, the effect of surface treatment by means of shot peening and laser surface melting (LSM) on the oxidation resistance of high velocity air-fuel (HVAF) sprayed NiCoCrAlY coatings was studied. Isothermal oxidation was carried out at 1000 °C for 1000h. Results showed that the rough surface of as-sprayed HVAF sprayed coatings was significantly changed after shot peening and LSM treatment, with a compact and smooth appearance. After the exposure, the oxide scales formed on surface-treated NiCoCrAlY coatings showed different morphology and growth rate compared to those formed on as-sprayed coating surface. The oxidation behaviour of surface treated HVAF-sprayed NiCoCrAlY coatings were revealed and discussed.

Thermal insulation performance is a measurement of the thermal protection offered by the thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) to the substrate, therefore, it is essentially important to compare different double ceramic layer (DCL) TBCs on the premise of the same thermal resistance. In this study, a series of LZO/YSZ DCL-TBCs, with the equivalent thermal insulation to 500 µm thick YSZ TBCs, were prepared, and their lifetimes were evaluated by thermal gradient cyclic test at the top coat surface temperature of 1300°C. Result show that, the lifetime of DCL-TBCs was more than doubled compared to 500 µm thick YSZ TBCs, when 100µm thick YSZ coating was substituted by LZO coating. In addition, the lifetime of DCL-TBCs decreased with the increase of LZO substitutional ratio. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that LZO maintains the pyrochlore structure after thermal cyclic test. Microstructure examination demonstrated that, with the increase of LZO substitutional ratio, the delamination position transferred from near top/bond coating interface to near LZO/YSZ interface and finally to the inside of LZO coating. Therefore, this study would shed light to further coating structure optimization towards the next generation advanced DCL-TBCs.

The non-parabolic isothermal oxidation kinetics of low pressure plasma sprayed MCrAlY bond coat was investigated. To qualitatively explain the abnormal growth phenomenon of thermally grown oxides (TGO), the changes that occurred to their microstructure during the oxidation process were studied. Based on these observations, a modified model was developed to understand and quantitatively predict the non-parabolic oxidation and growth kinetics of TGO. This modified model, which fits well with experimental results, provides a novel method to quantitatively predict the long-term growth behaviour of TGO, and thereby benefits the development of long-life and highly reliable thermal barrier coatings.

Thermal cycle lifetime is essentially important to the application of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) on the premise of the same thermal resistance. In this study, equivalent thermal insulation conception is introduced to the design of dense vertical crack (DVC) structured TBCs and the lamellar structured TBCs, to fairly compare the lifetime of TBCs with different structure. DVC-structured TBCs with the equivalent thermal insulation to lamellar YSZ TBCs were prepared, and their lifetimes were evaluated by thermal gradient cyclic test. Cross-sectional morphology and phase constitution before and after failure were examined by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The failure mode was analysed. This study would shed light to further coating structure optimization.

Inter-lamellae bonding within thermal sprayed coatings is one of the most important factors influencing the properties and performance of coatings. It has been revealed that there exists a critical bonding temperature for a molten ceramic splat to form the bonding to the same splat surface. The erosion behaviors of thermal sprayed coatings are significantly influenced by the interface bonding between lamellae. In this study, the erosion behavior of plasma-sprayed TiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 and YSZ coatings deposited at different deposition temperatures was investigated. The cross section of plasma sprayed coatings was characterized by the scanning electron microscope. It was revealed that the coatings deposited at room temperature exhibit a typical lamellar structure with numerous unbonded interfaces, whereas the coatings prepared at the temperature above the critical bonding temperature present a dense structure with well bonded lamellae. The erosion rate significantly decreases with the improvement of interface bonding. In addition, the erosion mechanisms of the conventional coatings and the lamellae well bonded coatings were further discussed. The unbonded interfaces act as precracks accelerating the erosion of plasma-sprayed coatings. Thus, controlling inter-lamellae bonding based on the critical bonding temperature is conducive to the improvement of erosion resistance of plasma-sprayed ceramic coatings.

In the present study, a novel and practical method, white light interference, was proposed to characterize the lamellar pores covered by thermally sprayed YSZ and LZ splats. In this method, only an ordinary optical microscopy (OM) was employed. Colorful Newton rings and parabolic shapes of the lamellar pores were widely observed by OM. The crack spacing and the shapes of the lamellar pores captured by OM were well consistent with those by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and focus ion beam (FIB). Besides, mechanical analyses were carried out and the results were well consistent with those by OM. Most importantly, the essential fact that the lamellar pores resulted from transverse cracking/delamination in thermal sprayings was highly elaborated.

Thermally-sprayed LZ/YSZ double-layer coatings are promising candidate for the next generation thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) due to exceedingly low thermal conductivity and superior high-temperature phase stability. However, a delamination failure at LZ and YSZ interface were widely observed during TBCs service. Till today, the interfacial microstructure between LZ and YSZ remains unclear. In the present study, LZ splats were deposited on YSZ substrate to serve as a LZ/YSZ interface. The interfacial microstructure was explored by focused ion beam (FIB) and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM). The interfacial defects at splat interface were clearly observed and thoroughly discussed. These results would shed light on deeply understanding the interfacial failure of double-layer LZ/YSZ coatings.

One way to reduce plasma jet velocity and prolong the dwell time of spray particles in the jet is to enlarge the orifice of the torch nozzle. In this study, normal and modified nozzles are used to deposit YSZ particles on ceramic and superalloy substrates by plasma spray-physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD). The modified nozzle is shown to increase the evaporation of YSZ particles and thus the quantity of Zr atoms and Zr 1+ ions in the plasma jet, which allows columnar structured coatings to be realized at higher deposition rates using a conventional 80 kW plasma spray system. The columnar ceramic coatings are also shown to have good conformity on cold-sprayed MCrAlY bond coats with high surface roughness.

In this work, liquid plasma spraying is used to deposit composite coatings for potential use as cathodes in intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. A suspension containing well-distributed Gd-doped ceria (GDC) nanoparticles in a lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite precursor solution was used as the feedstock, and GDC concentration was varied to study its effect on phase composition, microstructure, surface morphology, and electrochemical performance. The results are presented and discussed.

In this study, superhydrophobic samaria-doped ceria coatings are produced by plasma spray physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD) followed by fluorination treatment. Samples are sprayed at distances of 300, 400, and 500 mm in order to obtain surfaces with different morphology. SEM examination shows that the surfaces have a hierarchical structure with island-like features consisting of nanoparticles, the size of which is shown to influence sliding behavior. The superhydrophobic coating surfaces also exhibited good stability in repeated adhesive-tape tear tests.

In this work, steel columns are metallurgical bonded to tempered glass with the aid of atmospheric plasma spraying and low-temperature soldering. Glass surfaces were sandblasted using different grain sizes, then multilayer (Al 2 O 3 -Cu) coatings were applied at various power levels and spraying distances. Sn-Ag-Cu solder paste was then painted on the metallized glass and steel structures were set in place and soldered in a reflow oven. The interfacial bond strength of the alumina layer was measured along with the strength of the solder joint. The results are presented and correlated with sandblasting grain size and spraying heat input.

Transparent hydrophobic materials have broad application prospects in industry and daily life due to its transparent and super-hydrophobic characteristics, while its performance will be significantly influenced by the materials and its surface morphology. Hydrophobicity and transparency are competitive properties from the viewpoint of surface roughness. However, there are still a lot of problems to be solved to satisfy hydrophobicity and transparency simultaneously in the prepared surface. A novel and simple method to fabricate transparent hydrophobic surface is introduced in the present paper. Micron and sub-micron mixed Al 2 O 3 powders were deposited on the glass and plastic substrate by vacuum cold spray. The coatings were modified by 1,1,2,2- Tetrahydroperfluorodecyltrimethoxysilane (FAS) to reduce the surface energy. The surface morphology was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and 3D laser microscopy (LSM). The transmittance of the coating was also investigated. The results show that the as-sprayed surfaces exhibit submicron structure. After FAS absorbing treatment, the contact angle of water droplets on the coatings ranged from 108° to 136° depending on the local surface morphology, and the transmittance of Al 2 O 3 coatings are all above 80% in the range of visible light.

A new method to fabricate micro-nano scaled surface with super-hydrophobicity is introduced in the present paper. Micro-nano hierarchical structure coatings based on silica (SiO 2 ) micron particles were successfully deposited on the stainless steel substrates by high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) spraying which were modified by 1,1,2,2- Tetrahydroperfluorodecyltrimethoxysilane (FAS) to reduce surface energy. The influences of the HVOF process parameters on the wettability of the coatings were investigated. The coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), 3D laser microscopy (LSM), and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). The results show that the as-sprayed surfaces exhibit micro-nano hierarchical structure. The water droplets are strongly adhesive to the as-sprayed surface, while by FAS absorbing treatment, the surfaces exhibit super-hydrophobicity, whose contact angle with water droplets are as high as 150°, and the water droplets tend to roll on the surface with extremely low adhesion with a sliding angle of 3°

In this study, YSZ coatings are deposited by plasma spray-physical vapor deposition using a shroud to limit expansion of the plasma jet and increase its heating ability. Optical emission spectroscopy shows that the shroud significantly increases the evaporation of YSZ particles in the jet, resulting in coatings with a hybrid columnar structure. SEM examination of coating surfaces and cross-sections reveal micro and nanoscale features and, in each case, the mechanisms of formation are discussed.

The aim of this study is to better understand the formation of nonbonded splat-to-splat interfaces in thermally sprayed ceramic coatings. To that end, the surfaces between splats in plasma-sprayed La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 (LSCO) coatings were examined and compared to free splat surfaces. The results show that free splat surfaces are relatively smooth, while adjacent surfaces at intersplat interfaces are quite rough. The observation implies that nonbonded splat-to-splat interfaces were never bonded, having fractured due to interface shear stress generated during splat cooling.

In this study, MCrAlY-Al 2 O 3 composite powders were produced by ball milling and deposited by plasma, HVOF, and cold spraying. The results show that Al 2 O 3 fractions can be well controlled using composite powder due to non-preferential impact debonding of the matrix and Al 2 O 3 . The microstructure of spray powders is well retained in HVOF and cold-sprayed coatings due to the unmelted or partially molten condition of the spray particles. In the case of plasma-sprayed coatings, however, most Al 2 O 3 particles segregate at lamellar interfaces, forming a continuous oxide scale on the splat. The cold-spray coatings exhibit the highest hardness due to the work hardening effect of kinetic deposition.