A Multiple Particle Model for the Prediction of Electrical Contact Resistance in Anisotropic Conductive Adhesive Assemblies

Accurate prediction of electrical contact resistance in anisotropic conductive adhesive (ACA) assemblies requires realistic models that include multiple particles between mating conductive tracks. In this paper, theoretical and finite element analyses are used to determine the electrical contact resistance in multiparticle ACA assemblies considering the effect of non-identical contact areas, elastic recovery, electrical interaction between the particles, and electrical interaction between the particles and the edges of the conductive tracks (edge effect). Parameters such as the number of particles, spatial distribution of the particles, and magnitude of the initial bonding force are evaluated. It is found that the spatial distribution of the particles plays a very important role in the rate at which the resistance decreases when either the number of particles or the magnitude of the initial bonding force is increased.