Conductive adhesive joint for extreme temperature applications

• Polyimide Isotropic Conductive Adhesive for passive components assemblies.
• Thermo-mechanical behaviour in harsh thermal environment.
• Shear tests were carried out for thermo-mechanical characterization.
• Numerical modelling simulations have shown the most probable failure area.
• The most critical parameters for extreme temperature applications are defined.

This work describes the thermo-mechanical behaviour of Polyimide Isotropic Conductive Adhesive (ICA) used on passive components assemblies in harsh thermal environment. Shear tests were carried out in an “Instron tensile” machine for thermo-mechanical characterization. The stress–strain curves have been used finite element models (FEM) parameterisation. Numerical modelling simulations have shown the most probable failure area, where accumulated strain in the adhesive is the highest. In addition, simulation results have been compared with results from aged assemblies. The comparative approach has permitted to evaluate the influence of the presence of voids in adhesive joints.