Electrochemical migration of directly printed Ag electrodes using Ag paste with epoxy binder

In this study, we investigated the phenomena of electrochemical migration (ECM) on a silicon (Si) substrate with directly printed Ag paste with epoxy binder (7 wt.%) using a screen-printing method. The microstructure and electrical characteristics of the directly printed Ag patterns under different sintering conditions were estimated. In addition, the ECM characteristics of the directly patterned Ag circuits on Si substrates were evaluated according to the sintering conditions. The ECM characteristics of the Ag paste with epoxy binder were compared with the ECM characteristics of Ag paste without epoxy binder. Clusters were formed by interparticle necking during the sintering process; the cluster size in the patterns increased as the sintering temperature and time increased. Granular Ag films, which were sintered at high temperatures and for long time periods of time, had excellent electrical characteristics as a result of the formation of interparticle necking of sufficient size. The directly printed Ag patterns that were exposed to higher sintering temperatures and longer sintering times had higher resistances to ECM than those that were exposed to lower sintering temperatures and shorter sintering times. Also, the directly printed Ag pattern with epoxy binder had a higher resistance to ECM phenomenon than the pattern without epoxy binder.

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► Electrochemical migration (ECM) phenomena of directly printed Ag pattern.
► Microstructure and electrical characteristics of the directly printed Ag patterns under different sintering conditions.
► ECM characteristics of the Ag circuits with different sintering conditions.
► Ag patterns that were exposed to higher sintering temperatures and longer sintering times had higher resistances to ECM.
► Ag pattern with epoxy binder had a higher resistance to ECM phenomenon than the pattern without epoxy binder.