Hydrogen in Annealed Alloy Presented at 2022 Minnowbrook Conference

Materials used for construction of Microelectronics devices contain hydrogen. The presence of hydrogen in a sealed cavity is known for being the primary reason for failures either due to formation of moisture or metal hydrides. ASTM F15 alloy (Kovar®) is an iron-nickel-cobalt alloy commonly used for high integrity glass and ceramic to metal seals, lids, lead frames and electronic packages. We investigated the total hydrogen from various annealed Kovar® stock materials to determine how much hydrogen could be present that can diffuse over time. Kovar® of different thicknesses, acquired from different vendors, were used as primary samples. We determined that hydrogen concentration varies from 0.2 to 2.8 ppm (Wt.%) in seven Kovar® samples. The variation certainly reflects the effect of processing performed by base metal suppliers, storage conditions as well as methods used to control the diffusion of hydrogen.