Encapsulation reliability aspects

A. Christou, Reliability Aspects of Moisture and Ionic Contamination Diffusion Through Hybrid Encapsulants, in Proceedings of the Technical Program—International Microelectronics Conference (1978) p. 237, Industrial Scientific Conference Management, Inc., New York. Electric insulators and dielectrics Silicone/epoxy-polyurethane interpenetrating networks, moisture, and ion diffusion through potting compounds. 

Organic coatings are used in the electronics industry, both as resists and as encapsulants and insulating, intermediate dielectrics, and perhaps in the not too distant future, as conducting elements. The goal of the symposium organizers has been to emphasize the chemical aspects of these materials and their uses. This emphasis concerns mechanisms of formation and utilization, chemical stability, change, and reliability, as consequences of chemical composition and reactions. 

This chapter is written from the standpoint of a discerning user who is concerned with procuring, at minimum cost, plastic components of adequate reliability. After briefly discussing the relevant aspects of plastic encapsulation, and the techniques used to quantify reliability performance, the physical principles of the four main package-related failure mechanisms will be discussed and particular emphasis will be placed on the methods of reliability assessment. 

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