Effect of surface finish of substrate on mechanical reliability of In-48Sn solder joints in MOEMS package

Abstract

The interfacial reactions and shear properties of the In-48Sn (wt.%) ball grid array (BGA) solder joints after bonding were investigated with four different surface finishes of the substrate over an underlying Cu pad: electroplated Ni/Au (hereafter E-NG), electroless Ni/immersion Au (hereafter ENIG), immersion Ag (hereafter I-Ag) and organic solderability preservative (hereafter OSP). During bonding, continuous AuIn2, Ni3(Sn,In)4, and Cu6(Sn,In)5 intermetallic compound (IMC) layers were formed at the solder/E-NG, solder/ENIG and solder/OSP interfaces, respectively. The interfacial reactions between the solder and I-Ag substrate during bonding resulted in the formation of Cu6(Sn,In)5 and Cu(Sn,In)2 IMCs with a minor Ag. The In-48Sn/I-Ag solder joint showed the best shear properties among the four solder joints after bonding, whereas the solder/ENIG solder joint exhibited the weakest mechanical integrity.