The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) computing power demands interconnect technologies capable of enduring extreme thermal conditions in high-power electronic packaging. This study presents a comprehensive atomic-scale investigation of degradation mechanisms in high-temperature solder joints on AlN HTCC substrates for AI hardware infrastructure. Through Aberration-corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy, we systematically characterized three distinct failure modes: (1) Interfacial delamination at Sn–Pb phase boundaries through thermal stress accumulation due to CTE mismatch, leading to progressive creep deformation and crack initiation. Short-range Sn diffusion was also witnessed which exhibited dependence on both local stress state and limited solubility of Sn in Pb. (2) Interlayer fracture between (NixAu1-x)3Sn4 and (NiyAu1-y)3Sn4 multi-stacked IMC architectures driven by synergistic effects of (i) CTE mismatch which induced interfacial thermal stress, and (ii) modulus and hardness disparities which created localized stress intensification factors. The actual thermal stress reached 37.781 MPa according to quantitative calculation. At the atomic scale, crack initiation proceeds via progressive lattice distortion driven by accumulated atomic displacements, which intensifies and ultimately evolves into lattice disruption once the local stability threshold is exceeded. (3) Intralayer grain-boundary cracking of IMC crystallites due to step formation under the combined effect of Au segregation and crystallographic growth misorientation, with Crack II induced deformation and lattice disruption at weakened triple junction serving as preferential nucleation sites that accelerated propagation. These insights bridge the gap between nanoscale material behavior and macroscale reliability requirements in next-generation computing systems, provide a fundamental framework for developing robust interconnect systems.

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