Examination of the Reaction Kinetics at Solder/Metal Interfaces via High Temperature X-Ray Diffraction

Abstract

There is a great deal of interest by the electronics Industry in understanding the reactions occurring at the interface between a solid metal and a liquid solder or braze. This is due to the complex nature of current microelectronics Packaging, where soldering or brazing operations often involve complex metallurgies and tightly controlled furnace profiles. However, to date only a few studies have been carried out on the reaction kinetics at a liquid metal-solid metal interface. This is due in part to the difficulty in carrying out such , experiments. In the past, two main techniques have been used to obtain solid-state kinetic data. The first, quantitative metallography, is slow and tedious to perform, and generally of limited accuracy. The second technique involves measuring the change of some property, such as electrical resistivity, that is a function of the concentration of one of the phases. The main disadvantages of these techniques are that absolute values of concentration are not obtained, and that the relationships between a property and constitution are rarely available. In addition, most physical properties are sensitive to factors other than constitution, and interference from these factors can often result in erroneous data.