Development of bulk nanostructured copper with superior hardness for use as an interconnect material in electronic packaging

In the present study, an attempt is made to synthesize bulk nanostructured copper by optimization of compaction pressure followed by low temperature sintering (200 °C). The selection of compaction and sintering parameters was made keeping in consideration the capability of silicon wafer and temperatures encountered during electronic packaging, respectively. The results revealed that grain size and porosity reduces while microhardness increases with an increase in compaction pressure. The microhardness obtained at limiting 1 GPa pressure was found to be superior when compared to the published values in open literature.