Novel thermoplastic bonding using a bulk metallic glass solder

Received 10 June 2008; received in revised form 24 June 2008; accepted 25 June 2008.

A novel thermoplastic bonding concept is demonstrated based on the unique rheological behavior and pattern-replicating ability of bulk metallic glass (BMG)-forming liquids. In this approach, the BMG is heated above Tg to the “supercooled liquid” region while a small normal force is applied to the joint. This results in liquid reflow, wetting and a strong bond. Complete wetting between copper substrates and a layer of platinum-based BMG leads to an atomistically intimate void-free interface.

Keywords: Metallic glasses, Supercooled liquid, Bonding, Joining, Soldering

a Keck Laboratory of Engineering Materials, California Institute of Technology, MC 138-78, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

b Metallurgical Engineering Department, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

c Department of Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA 91330, USA

d Components Research, Intel Corporation, Chandler, AZ 85226, USA

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 626 395 4774; fax: +1 626 795 6132.

PII: S1359-6462(08)00502-2

doi:10.1016/j.scriptamat.2008.06.055

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