Corrosion in Integrated Electronics

A review of corrosion mechanisms in integrated electronics is presented. For metallization corrosion to occur, moisture and impurities such as Na, K or Cl must he present to form an electrolytic cell. The aluminum metallization of Integrated Circuits must be protected from the environment to prevent corrosion from occurring. Thick Film Hybrid circuits, besides being susceptable to IC corrosion mechanisms, also can fail due to dendrite formation causing shorting between gold or silver conductors that are exposed to moisture and halogen impurities.