Effects of Ag on microstructures, wettabilities of Sn–9Zn–xAg solders as well as mechanical properties of soldered joints

Abstract

The microstructures, wettabilities and mechanical properties of Sn–9Zn–xAg (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1 wt%) lead-free solders were investigated, respectively in this paper. Results show that, when the quantity of Ag added to the solder is 0.3 wt%, the microstructure of the solder becomes finer and more uniform than Sn–9Zn, and when the quantity of Ag is exceeded 0.3 wt% (upto 0.5–1 wt%), the AgZn3 intermetallic compounds appear in the solder. In particular, adding 0.3 wt% Ag improves the wettability due to the better oxidation resistance of the Sn–9Zn–0.3Ag solder. Results also indicate that adding 0.3 wt% Ag to the solder enhances mechanical property of soldered joint, at which the fracture micrographs show that plenty of small and uniform dimples could be observed on the Sn–9Zn–0.3Ag soldered joints fractures. When the content of Ag is upto 1 wt%, some Cu–Zn and Ag–Zn intermetallic compounds appear on the bottom of dimples, and the mechanical property of the soldered joint decreases.