Reliability of Epoxy and Silicone Molded Tape-Carrier Silicon Integrated Circuits with Various Chip-Protective Coatings

Results of bias/humidity/temperature, and temperature cycling stress are reported for various encapsulations of tape-carrier silicon integrated circuits. RTV* protected gold-metallized circuits were found to be vastly superior in bias/humidity/temperature stress resistance compared to unprotected circuits, and had adequate stress resistance to temperature cycling. Epoxy molding compounds provided inferior bias/ humidity/temperature resistance to that of silicone compounds. Typical failure mechanisms are discussed and estimates of system reliability using tape-carrier devices are reported.