Abstract
The failure behavior of common-mode chip inductors (CMCIs) on printed circuit boards was investigated to reveal the failure mechanism of low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) devices. A specific model of CMCIs (0806-type) with an insulation resistance greater than 109 Ω was used in this research. In the highly accelerated life test (HALT), the insulation resistance of the CMCI was rapidly reduced to less than 103 Ω, which was determined to be invalid. A variety of analytical techniques were used to determine the failure mechanism of the CMCIs, including computed tomography (CT), optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show that silver migration and Na enrichment are the direct reasons for the failure of the CMCIs. The Na+-β/β″-Al2O3 formed in the sintering provides pathways for the migration of Ag+ and Na+ in the LTCC under an electric field. With the further reaction, Na is enriched in the LTCC near the low potential while Ag+ is reduced to Ag and deposited in the LTCC near the high potential, which causes the gradual failure of the insulation resistance of the CMCIs until a short circuit occurs.
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Funding
This study was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (National Key Research and Development Project 2017YFB0406300) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (National Key Research and Development Project 2020YFB0408800).
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Chen, J., Zheng, W., Dai, C. et al. The Failure Mechanism of Common-Mode Chip Inductors. J. Electron. Mater. 52, 5297–5306 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-022-10105-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-022-10105-y