Publications

An investigation of corrosion in semiconductor bridge explosive devices

Sorensen, Neil R.; Klassen, Sandra E.

In the course of a failure investigation, corrosion of the lands was occasionally found in developmental lots of semiconductor bridge (SCB) detonators and igniters. Evidence was found in both detonators and igniters of the gold layer being deposited on top of a corroded aluminum layer, but inspection of additional dies from the same wafer did not reveal any more corroded parts. In some detonators, evidence was found that corrosion of the aluminum layer also happened after the gold was deposited. Moisture and chloride must both be present for aluminum to corrode. A likely source for chloride is the adhesive used to bond the die to the header. Inspection of other SCB devices, both recently manufactured and manufactured about ten years ago, found no evidence for corrosion even in devices that contained SCBs with aluminum lands and no gold. Several manufacturing defects were noted such as stains, gouges in the gold layer due to tooling, and porosity of the gold layer. Results of atmospheric corrosion experiments confirmed that devices with a porous gold layer over the aluminum layer are susceptible to extensive corrosion when both moisture and chlorine are present. The extent of corrosion depends on the level of chlorine contamination, and corrosion did not occur when only moisture was present. Elimination of the gold plating on the lands eliminated corrosion of the lands in these experiments. Some questions remain unanswered, but enough information was gathered to recommend changes to materials and procedures. A second lot of detonators was successfully built using aluminum SCBs, limiting the use of Ablebond{trademark} adhesive, increasing the rigor in controlling exposure to moisture, and adding inspection steps.