Fabrication of Cu-SiCp Composites Via the Electroless Copper Coating Process for the Electronic Packaging Applications

Silicon carbide reinforced copper matrix (Cu-SiCp) composites are highly rated as thermal management materials due to their high thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion properties. However, the Cu-SiCp composites fabricated via the conventional powder metallurgy methods have substandard properties due to the weak bonding between the copper matrix and the SiCp reinforcement. In order to strengthen the bonding, the SiCp were coated with copper via electroless coating process. Based on the experimental results, a continuous copper deposition on the SiCp was obtained. The Cu-Coated layer improved the green strength of the composites thus allowed a high volume fraction of SiCp to be incorporated into the copper matrix. However, the increase in the volume fraction of SiCp has a significant effect on the apparent porosity of the Cu-SiCp composites. Nevertheless, the porosity of the Cu-Coated Cu-SiCp composites remained significantly lower than those of non-Coated Cu-SiCp composites especially at high volume fraction of SiCp.