l/f Noise in conductive adhesive bonds under mechanical stress as a sensitive and fast diagnostic tool for reliability assessment

Classical lifetime predictions of conductive adhesive bonds require lime consuming thermal cycling measurements. Therefore, faster lifetime test arc needed with more detailed information about degradation mechanisms. This paper reports on the low frequency noise of such contacts. Our results show that the evolution of l/f noise in contacts is a fast and non-destructive diagnostic tool for reliability testing. The l/f noise of the contact resistance can be interpreted within an existing contact noise model in terms of a multispot contact behaviour. In comparison to classical reliability tests, l/f noise measurements reveal more detailed information about reduction in the real electrical contact area and are much faster and are non-destructive. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.