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Advanced Electronic Packaging Technology: From Hard to Soft (Second Edition)
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Advanced Electronic Packaging Technology: From Hard to Soft (Second Edition)

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Electronic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2025 | Viewed by 2794

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yue Gu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Neurosurgery, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
Interests: soft electronic devices; electronic packaging; electrophysiology; flexible actuators and sensors; materials science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yongjun Huo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
Interests: electronic packaging; heterogeneous integration; opto-electronics and photonic devices; power electronics; thermal managment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, “Advanced Electronic Packaging Technology: From Hard to Soft (Second Edition)”, will address advances in Electronic Packaging Technology, including design, structure, material, processing, and testing of electronic, photonic, and power electronic devices. A particular perspective of this Special Issue focuses on the technologies associated with soft design and engineering of electronic packaging, potentially used in soft electronic devices. Electronic devices have been rapidly developing with the growing necessities of high-computing, low-power consumption, miniaturization, and multi-function in computers and consumer electronics products. Advanced electronic packaging technologies bridge the design and use of the powerful functions of electronic devices, so they play a significant role in their development.

Smart electronics permeate into human’s daily life and become the extension of the human body. Soft electronic packaging represents one of the most promising approaches to form imperceptive and comfortable interfaces of human and electronic devices. In this regard, the demonstration of advanced soft materials, structures, and designs in advanced electronic packaging is strongly demanded to comply with the requirements of the developments of soft electronic devices.

Power electronics have been rapidly growing as another major economic sector of semiconductor industry, along with the recent developments in wide bandgap semiconductor materials such as SiC, GaN, and Ga2O3. Packaging materials have new challenges in meeting the strict requirements of power electronics in automotive and aerospace applications. Emerging interconnect methods, such as nanomaterial sintering and transient liquid phase bonding, may answer some of the particular needs. Other types of packaging materials, such as ceramic substrates, polymer underfill, and thermal management materials, have also taken a very important role in the development of power electronics.

Original papers are solicited on all types of advanced electronic packaging technologies involving designs, structures, materials, processing, and testing. Of particular interest are recent developments in soft materials, structures, processes, and devices. Articles and reviews dealing with electronic packaging technologies in wearable electronics and power devices are very welcome.

Dr. Yue Gu
Dr. Yongjun Huo
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • electronic packing technology
  • soft electronic and photonic devices
  • power electronics
  • ceramic substrates
  • thermal interface materials
  • solder alloys
  • thermal management
  • intrinsically soft materials
  • flexible and stretchable structures

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 7024 KiB  
Communication
Multiscale Finite Element Analysis of Warping Suppression in Microelectronics with Graded SiC/Al Composites
by Junfeng Zhao, Junliang Zhang, Hao Su, Yu Zhang, Kai Li, Haijuan Mei, Changwei Wu, Qingfeng Zhu and Weiping Gong
Materials 2025, 18(16), 3788; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18163788 - 12 Aug 2025
Viewed by 286
Abstract
High-power microelectronic packaging faces critical thermomechanical failures under rapid thermal cycling, primarily due to interfacial stress concentration and warping in conventional homogeneous heat sinks. To address this challenge, this study proposes a novel functionally graded SiC/Al composite with a tailored thermal expansion coefficient [...] Read more.
High-power microelectronic packaging faces critical thermomechanical failures under rapid thermal cycling, primarily due to interfacial stress concentration and warping in conventional homogeneous heat sinks. To address this challenge, this study proposes a novel functionally graded SiC/Al composite with a tailored thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) gradient, designed to achieve adaptive thermal expansion matching between the chip and heat sink. Through multiscale finite element analysis, the stress–strain behavior and warping characteristics of homogeneous (Cu and Al) and gradient materials were systematically investigated. The results show that the gradient SiC/Al design significantly reduces the peak thermal stress and maximum warping deformation. The progressive CTE transition effectively mitigates abrupt interfacial strain jumps and extends device lifespan under extreme thermal loads. This advancement positions gradient SiC/Al composites as a key enabler for next-generation high-density packaging and power electronics requiring cyclic thermal stability. The study provides both theoretical insights into thermomechanical coupling and practical guidelines for designing robust electronic packaging solutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Electronic Packaging Technology: From Hard to Soft (Second Edition))
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14 pages, 5969 KiB  
Article
Enhancement of Cu-Cu Bonding Interfaces Through High Creep Rate in Nanocrystalline Cu
by Jian-Yuan Huang, Dinh-Phuc Tran, Kang-Ping Lee, Yi-Quan Lin, Emile Kuo, Tsung-Chuan Chen, Yao-Tsung Chen, Stream Chung and Chih Chen
Materials 2025, 18(16), 3725; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18163725 - 8 Aug 2025
Viewed by 316
Abstract
This study investigates the use of nanocrystalline Cu (NC-Cu) to suppress interfacial voids in low-temperature Cu-Cu bonding for 3D IC packaging. We quantitatively compared the void characteristics of electrodeposited NC-Cu (grain size ~89.3 nm) and (111)-oriented nanotwinned Cu (NT-Cu, ~621.8 nm) bonded at [...] Read more.
This study investigates the use of nanocrystalline Cu (NC-Cu) to suppress interfacial voids in low-temperature Cu-Cu bonding for 3D IC packaging. We quantitatively compared the void characteristics of electrodeposited NC-Cu (grain size ~89.3 nm) and (111)-oriented nanotwinned Cu (NT-Cu, ~621.8 nm) bonded at 200 °C. Plan-view STEM-HAADF analysis revealed that NC-Cu achieved a much lower void area ratio (1.8%) than NT-Cu (4.0%), attributed to its high grain boundary density, which enhances atomic diffusion and grain boundary migration. At 250 °C, typical Ostwald ripening was observed, with fewer but larger voids. However, a rise in total void area fraction suggests a competing mechanism—possibly new void nucleation at grain boundaries triggered by residual defects from the electroplating process. These results highlight the superior void-mitigating capability of NC-Cu under low thermal budgets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Electronic Packaging Technology: From Hard to Soft (Second Edition))
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14 pages, 4102 KiB  
Article
Investigation of 2-Mercapto-1-Methylimidazole as a New Type of Leveler in Wafer Electroplating Copper
by Tong Tan, Renlong Liu, Lanfeng Guo, Zhaobo He, Xing Fan, Rui Ye and Changyuan Tao
Materials 2025, 18(7), 1622; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18071622 - 2 Apr 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 605
Abstract
Through-Silicon-Via (TSV) technology is of crucial importance in the process of defect-free copper filling in vias. In this study, the small molecule 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole (SN2) is proposed as a new leveler. It enables bottom-up super-filling of blind vias without the need for inhibitors. Atomic [...] Read more.
Through-Silicon-Via (TSV) technology is of crucial importance in the process of defect-free copper filling in vias. In this study, the small molecule 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole (SN2) is proposed as a new leveler. It enables bottom-up super-filling of blind vias without the need for inhibitors. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and XPS were employed to characterize the surface morphology, crystal structure, and adsorption properties of copper crystals in these systems. Meanwhile, by means of electrochemical measurements, the inhibitory effect of the leveler SN2 on copper ion deposition and the synergistic effect between SN2 molecules and other additives were investigated. The LSV test indicated that additive SN2 inhibited copper electrodeposition after being added to the plating solution, and this inhibitory effect enhanced with increasing SN2 concentration. In the actual plating wafer test (1 ASD plating for 1 min, 5 ASD plating for 5 min, and 10 ASD plating for 1 h), the best plating effect was achieved at 3 ppm, which verified the conjecture of the galvanostatic measurements. Moreover, XPS and computer simulations revealed that SN2 could be adsorbed onto the copper surfaces. This work will inspire the discovery of new effective levelers in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Electronic Packaging Technology: From Hard to Soft (Second Edition))
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11 pages, 7403 KiB  
Article
Electrochemical Migration Study on Sn-58Bi Lead-Free Solder Alloy Under Dust Contamination
by Fuye Lu, Han Sun, Wenlong Yang, Tianshuo Zhou, Yunpeng Wang, Haoran Ma, Haitao Ma and Jun Chen
Materials 2024, 17(21), 5172; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17215172 - 24 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1179
Abstract
With the development of electronic packaging technology toward miniaturization, integration, and high reliability, the diameter and pitch of solder joints continue to shrink. Adjacent solder joints are highly susceptible to electrochemical migration (ECM) due to the synergistic effects of high-density electric fields, water [...] Read more.
With the development of electronic packaging technology toward miniaturization, integration, and high reliability, the diameter and pitch of solder joints continue to shrink. Adjacent solder joints are highly susceptible to electrochemical migration (ECM) due to the synergistic effects of high-density electric fields, water vapor, and contaminants. Dust has become one of the non-negligible causal factors in ECM studies due to air pollution. In this study, 0.2 mM/L NaCl and Na2SO4 solutions were used to simulate soluble salt in dust, and the failure mechanism of an Sn-58Bi solder ECM in the soluble salt in dust was analyzed by a water-droplet experimental method. It was shown that the mean failure time of the ECM of an Sn-58Bi solder in an NaCl solution (53 s) was longer than that in an Na2SO4 solution (32 s) due to the difference in the anodic dissolution characteristics in the two soluble salt solutions. XPS analysis revealed that the dendrites produced by the ECM process were mainly composed of Sn, SnO, and SnO2, and there were precipitation products—Sn(OH)2 and Na2SO4—attached to the dendrites. The corrosion potential in the NaCl solution (−0.351 V) was higher than that in the Na2SO4 solution (−0.360 V), as shown by a polarization test, indicating that the Sn-58Bi solder had better corrosion resistance in the NaCl solution. Therefore, an Sn-58Bi solder has better resistance to electrochemical migration in an NaCl solution compared to an Na2SO4 solution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Electronic Packaging Technology: From Hard to Soft (Second Edition))
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