Electrically conductive adhesive and soldered joints under compression

Compression of soldered and conductive adhesive joints resulted in both reversible and irreversible changes in the contact electrical resistivity. At a low stress (as low as 0.02 and 0.005 MPa for soldered and adhesive joints, respectively), the resistivity increased with almost complete reversibility as the compressive stress increased. At an intermediate stress (as low as 0.03 MPa) for both soldered and adhesive joints, the resistivity decreased with partial or complete reversibility as the stress increased. At a high stress (as high as 0.21 MPa) for the soldered joint only, the resistivity increased slightly with increasing stress. The resistivity of the soldered joint at no load increased irreversibly and gradually as stress cycling progressed, even at the lowest stress amplitude of 0.12 MPa. However, the resistivity of the adhesive joint at no load decreased irreversibly and gradually as stress cycling progressed, even at the lowest stress amplitude of 0.009 MPa.