Bismaleimide/Phenolic/Epoxy Ternary Resin System for Molding Compounds in High-Temperature Electronic Packaging Applications

Development of a new packaging material with superior high-temperature stability is becoming increasingly crucial in high-power and high-density electronics industry. In this study, we employed bis(3-ethyl-5-methyl-4-maleimidephenyl)methane (BMI), para-xylene phenolic resin (PF), and triphenylmethane novolac epoxy resin (EP) as matrix resins to develop high-temperature-stable BPE ternary resin molding compounds for power device packaging. BMI was first melt-blended with PF to obtain the premix with a reduced softening point for meeting the requirement of melt-kneading process. 2-Ethyl-4-methylimidazole with a dosage of 2 wt % of the ternary resins, could effectively promote the curing reaction, making the molding process of BPE molding compounds be compatible with that of the existing epoxy molding compounds (EMC). The introduction of BMI component could enhance the chain rigidity and heat resistance of cured resins. When the BMI content was more than 70 wt % of the ternary resins, the cured BPE molding compounds exhibited the glass transition temperature and initial decomposing temperature larger than 250 and 400 °C, respectively, indicating a much superior thermal performance to that of the cured EMC. Moreover, the flexural performance and the adhesion strength with copper at 260 °C, high-temperature aging resistance, dielectric properties, and thermal conductivity of the cured BPE molding compounds were also improved compared with those of the cured EMC. This study provides a promising strategy for preparing heat-resistant electronic packaging molding compounds.