The gallium nitride (GaN) device market is rising at a compound annual growth rate of (CAGR) of 17.1% according to Mordor Intelligence, implying a rise from $711m to $1.8 billion by 2023. Gallium Nitride (GaN) materials have long been regarded as great alternatives and enhancements to gallium arsenide (GaAs) and silicon-based counterparts for applications demanding high power and high frequency performance. Historically GaN adoption has been hindered partly due to high production costs however with the explosion of new industries requiring radio-frequency devices, the price of GaN technology is expected to continue to fall. We are starting to see accelerated adoptions of GaN materials not just in traditional applications, such as RF power amplifiers for wireless base-stations, but also to enable chip makers to reduce the cost of integrated circuits, driving broad adoption among semiconductor manufacturing companies. Industries driving adoption include, phones, tablets, drones, industrial robots, and automotive applications including electric vehicles. These GaN based devices offer unique challenges in the manufacturing process.

GaN devices have the potential to deliver much higher power, at reduced device sizes than silicon or GaAs. Consequently, it is much more challenging to handle the heat that the GaN die generate. It is critical to improve die bonding techniques to help dissipate the heat out of the GaN die to the heat sink with an overall consideration of performance, reliability, and cost.

Typically, there are two major types of packages for GaN power devices: metal-ceramic and plastic. Metal-ceramic air-cavity packages are the choice for very high power applications, where hermetical sealing is required for reliability. The joint between the die and the heat sink is typically gold tin (AuSn) solder using a eutectic die bonding technique. During the eutectic die bonding process, special care needs to be taken to achieve a thin, uniform, and void-free eutectic interface between the die and the heat sink to dissipate heat effectively and uniformly for both power and reliable performance. This requires a die bonding system to have an accurate and uniform eutectic reflow temperature control for the whole bonding area, and accurate force control during reflow time. A parallel process, such as in-line progressive heating is very helpful in reducing total cycle time and thus increasing production throughput.