Adhesion, phase morphology, and bondability of reacttvely-bonded and frit-bonded gold and silver thick-film conductors
The phase morphologies of reactively-bonded commercial gold and similarly bonded silver thick-film conductors have been characterized as a function of firing conditions and material types. Adhesion strengths of the samples were measured by a solderless technique, and the strengths are correlated in this presentation with the development of phase morphologies in the film and with the adhesion data of other investigators. The bondability-adhesion strength trade-off for frit-bonded and reactively-bonded conductors is discussed in view of an analysis for potential bondability which was made using a recently developed technique. First-order theories of adhesion development in reactively-bonded and frit-bonded conductors are briefly discussed, and conclusions are drawn for optimizing firing parameters in the processing of frit-bonded and reactively-bonded thick film conductors.