Interfacial Cu6Sn5 Intermetallic Compound Research Articles

Insight into the improvement of service performance of Sn/Cu solder joint by Pt doping in Cu6Sn5 interfacial intermetallic compound

The effects of Pt doping on the mechanical properties of (Cu,Pt)6Sn5 interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC), bonding properties of the (Cu,Pt)6Sn5/Cu interface, and growth behavior of (Cu,Pt)6Sn5 IMC during the aging stage were investigated using first-principles calculations. The results indicate that Pt doping improves both the deformation resistance and ductility of the (Cu,Pt)6Sn5 phase, and that Cu2Pt4Sn5 demonstrates the highest ductility, as indicated by the maximum B/G value (3.14) and Poisson’s ratio (0.356). This phenomenon can be attributed to the smallest standard deviation of the charge density of 0.097 e/Å3. Comparisons of the interfacial work of adhesion and tensile strength of the Cu2Pt4Sn5/Cu and Cu6Sn5/Cu interfaces show that Pt doping enhances interfacial atomic interaction. Based on semi-classical Boltzmann theory, the electrical conductivity of the Cu2Pt4Sn5/Cu interface is smaller than that of the Cu6Sn5/Cu interface, with an amplitude of 9.26%, owing to the enhanced electron localization after Pt doping and resulting in a slight increase in the service temperature. Nevertheless, Pt doping still significantly suppresses the diffusion of Cu atoms, as evidenced by the millions of times reduction in the diffusion coefficient of Cu atoms across the Cu2Pt4Sn5/Cu interface compared to that across the Cu6Sn5/Cu interface because of the latter interface’s larger diffusion activation energy (3.52 eV > 2.08 eV), which was investigated by climbing image nudged elastic band methods. Therefore, Pt doping not only strengthens the mechanical properties of the (Cu,Pt)6Sn5 phase and improves the bonding strength of the (Cu,Pt)6Sn5/Cu interface, but also suppresses the growth of IMC during the aging stage, playing a positive role in obtaining a highly reliable Sn/Cu solder joint.

Microstructure and orientation evolution of β-Sn and interfacial Cu6Sn5 IMC grains in SAC105 solder joints modified by Si3N4 nanowires

In this study, Si3N4 nanowires (NWs) with ceramic properties were incorporated into Sn1.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC105) solder to enhance its overall performance. The thermal properties, spreading behavior, microstructure, interface, and mechanical properties of SAC105-xSi3N4 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 wt%) solders were systematically investigated. The research revealed that doping Si3N4 NWs into SAC105 solder could expand its melting range and decrease undercooling. Notably, the solder alloy containing 0.6 wt% Si3N4 NWs had the lowest thermal expansion coefficient (CTE), which improved the CTE matching of SAC105 solder with Cu substrate. Although the solder with 0.4 wt% Si3N4 NWs exhibited superior wetting properties, it was less effective in refining the microstructure and interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMC) than those containing 0.6 wt% Si3N4 NWs. Meanwhile, when the β-Sn phase in the matrix and the Cu6Sn5 IMC phase at the interface were analyzed by electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD), their grain orientation was found to be optimized by the doping of 0.6 wt% Si3N4 NWs. The <001> direction of the β-Sn grains of SAC105-0.6Si3N4 was perpendicular to the Cu substrate, showing a texture structure. The grain orientation of the interfacial Cu6Sn5 IMC made it well-adapted for three-dimensional (3D) packaging. Finally, the mechanical properties enhancement of the solder joints were analyzed in detail by combining the fracture morphology and the EBSD results of the Sn matrix.

Study on Ni-GNSs enhanced Sn2.5Ag0.7Cu0.1RE/Cu solder joints β-Sn grain orientation and interfacial IMC growth kinetics under constant temperature thermomigration

Aiming at the thermomigration problem caused by the large temperature gradient (TG) of micro-soldering joints, a constant temperature thermomigration device with temperature control function was designed and manufactured. This paper studied the polarity phenomenon, crystallographic characteristics, and interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) growth kinetics of Ni-GNSs reinforced Sn2.5Ag0.7Cu0.1RE/Cu solder joints under thermomigration. The results indicate that Ni-GNSs reinforced Sn2.5Ag0.7Cu0.1RE/Cu solder joints exhibited a significant thermomigration polarity phenomenon under the conditions of TG ≥ 1000 °C/cm and θ ≤ 43.5° between the c-axis and TG of β-Sn grains. At the cold end of the solder joint, the Cu6Sn5 phase at the interface gradually thickens and forms Cu3Sn phase on the substrate side, while microcracks expanded and gradually developed into macrocracks. At the hot end of the interface, the Cu6Sn5 phase gradually dissolved. The growth of the Cu3Sn phase was accompanied by “Kirkendall voids” that formed cracks at the interface between the joint and the solder until a “fully IMC solder joint” was formed. The growth of Cu6Sn5 IMC at the solder joint interface came before that of Cu3Sn IMC. The average temperature and temperature gradient of the solder joint were correlated with the growth of Cu3Sn IMC, leading to the formation of interface Cu3Sn IMC due to the oversaturation of Cu atoms. The addition of 0.05 wt% Ni-GNSs refines the grain structure and increases the activation energy for the growth of Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn IMC at the cold end of the solder joint, suppressing the thermomigration polarity phenomenon.

Board-level drop properties of Sn–49Bi–1Ag/Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu hybrid solder joints assembled by low-temperature soldering

The Cu/Sn–49Bi–1Ag/Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu/Ni–P hybrid solder joints for customer electronics were assembled by low-temperature soldering at 170–200°C. The relationship between microstructural evolution and board-level drop failure mechanism of these solder joints during aging at 110°C was investigated. The Bi-rich zone increased from 24.98to 78.85% with increasing soldering temperature from 170 to 200°C. The growth rate of intermetallic compound (IMC) in 170-SAC/SB solder joints was approximately 3 times faster than that in 200-SAC/SB solder joints. The drop failure mechanism was explained that the drop-induced crack propagation path shifted from Bi phases in the as-soldered joints to the solder/Cu6Sn5 interface in the aged joints, since the interfacial Cu6Sn5 IMC grew thicker with increasing aging time.

Liquid structure of Sn-Ag-xCu solders and its effect on the formation and growth of interfacial Cu6Sn5

The liquid structure of Sn-3.5Ag and Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu (wt%) solders was first studied using high-temperature X-ray diffraction method. Only short-range order (SRO) was detected in the liquid Sn-3.5Ag melts. However, besides SRO, medium-range order (MRO) was also detected in the liquid Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu melts at 260 °C and 330 °C while not at 400 °C. The MRO structure was considered to be related to Cu6Sn5-type clusters which can stably exist below 330 °C. The parameters of the ordered SRO and MRO clusters were calculated. Then, Sn-3.5Ag-xCu (x = 0, 0.7 and 1.5) solders were reflowed on Cu substrate for different durations to investigate the effect of liquid structure on the formation and growth behavior of interfacial Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compound (IMC). The Cu6Sn5 layers were found to be thicker with higher initial Cu content in the solders. It is proposed that the Cu6Sn5-type MRO clusters provided potential nuclei for the formation of Cu6Sn5, which promoted the IMC growth rate. The difference in liquid structure of the solders was regarded as a key reason for the different IMC growth rate as well as IMC type at the soldering interfaces.

A data-driven framework to predict the morphology of interfacial Cu6Sn5 IMC in SAC/Cu system during laser soldering

A data-driven approach combining together the experimental laser soldering, finite element analysis and machine learning, has been utilized to predict the morphology of interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) in Sn-xAg-yCu/Cu (SAC/Cu) system. Six types of SAC solders with varying weight proportion of Ag and Cu, have been processed with fiber laser at different magnitudes of power (30−50 W) and scan speed (10−240 mm/min), and the resultant IMC morphologies characterized through scanning electron microscope are categorized as prismatic and scalloped ones. For the different alloy composition and laser parameters, finite element method (FEM) is employed to compute the transient distribution of temperature at the interface of solder and substrates. The FEM-generated datasets are supplied to a neural network that predicts the IMC morphology through the quantified values of temperature dependent Jackson parameter (αJ). The numerical value of αJ predicted from neural network is validated with experimental IMC morphologies. The critical scan speed for the morphology transition between prismatic and scalloped IMC is estimated for each solder composition at a given power. Sn-0.7Cu having the largest critical scan speed at 30 W and Sn-3.5Ag alloy having the largest critical scan speed at input power values of 40 W and 50 W, thus possessing the greatest likelihood of forming prismatic interfacial IMC during laser soldering, can be inferred as most suitable SAC solders in applications exposed to shear loads.

Dynamic Observation of Interfacial IMC Evolution and Fracture Mechanism of Sn2.5Ag0.7Cu0.1RE/Cu Lead-Free Solder Joints during Isothermal Aging.

Dynamic observation of the microstructure evolution of Sn2.5Ag0.7Cu0.1RE/Cu solder joints and the relationship between the interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) and the mechanical properties of the solder joints were investigated during isothermal aging. The results showed that the original single scallop-type Cu6Sn5 IMC gradually evolved into a planar double-layer IMC consisting of Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn IMCs with isothermal aging. In particular, the Cu3Sn IMC grew towards the Cu substrate and the solder seam sides; growth toward the Cu substrate side was dominant during the isothermal aging process. The growth of Cu3Sn IMC depended on the accumulated time at a certain temperature, where the growth rate of Cu3Sn was higher than that of Cu6Sn5. Additionally, the growth of the interfacial IMC was mainly controlled by bulk diffusion mechanism, where the activation energies of Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn were 74.7 and 86.6 kJ/mol, respectively. The growth rate of Cu3Sn was slightly faster than that of Cu6Sn5 during isothermal aging. With increasing isothermal aging time, the shear strength of the solder joints decreased and showed a linear relationship with the thickness of Cu3Sn. The fracture mechanism of the solder joints changed from ductile fracture to brittle fracture, and the fracture pathway transferred from the solder seam to the interfacial IMC layer.

Influence of cooling conditions on the interfacial Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compound in Sn-37Pb/Cu solder joints during reflow

Despite a shift to Pb-free solders in the majority of electronic assemblies, Pb-containing solders are still used in a variety of applications. Recent research has revealed the complexities of the intermetallic Cu6Sn5 in terms of its crystal structure and stability when present as the reaction product between Pb-free solders and common substrates. In light of these findings, the effect of multiple reflow cycles with different cooling conditions on the microstructure of the interfacial Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compound (IMC) between Sn-Pb solders and Cu substrates was re- examined. For this purpose, the Sn-37Pb (in wt.%) solder was reflowed on a Cu substrate at a temperature of around 240 °C and cooled at a rate of around 30 °C/min under each of two conditions; (i) direct-cooling to room temperature, and (ii) interrupted-cooling with extended isothermal holding periods of 30 and 180 seconds at 140 °C. This second condition was chosen to encourage the polymorphic transformation that occurs in the Cu6Sn5 (at an equilibrium temperature of 186 °C) at a temperature which minimises the stresses involved. Smaller cracks and a thinner interfacial IMC layer were observed in the solder joints that were reflowed repeatedly with the interrupted-cooling conditions. However, despite the higher number of cracks in the samples undergoing conventional reflow, the shear strength was not significantly affected.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Sn–1.0Ag–0.5Cu solder with minor Zn additions

Low silver (Ag) solder alloys e.g., SAC 105 (Sn–1.0Ag–0.5Cu) have attracted a great deal of attention recently due to economic concerns and improved in impact resistance as compared to other SAC solder with higher silver content. This work studies the influence of addition of minor zinc (0.1–0.5 wt%) to SAC105 on the interfacial structure between solder and copper substrate during reflow and after aging. Zn has shown significant solubility in Cu–Sn intermetallic compound (IMC) and formed Cu6(Sn,Zn)5 which resided in the bulk microstructure and at the solder/Cu interface. Results reveal that minor Zn addition decreased the thickness of interfacial Cu6Sn5 IMC after reflow and significantly suppressed the growth of interfacial Cu3Sn after thermal aging without changing the IMC’s morphology. It is suggested that Zn exerts its influence by stabilizing Cu6(Sn,Zn)5 and hindering the flow of Sn and Cu atoms at the solder/IMC and IMC/Cu interface. Nanoindentation results showed that Cu6(Sn,Zn)5 exhibited a higher hardness in comparison to Cu6Sn5 and creep performance of SAC + Zn has improved in comparison to that of SAC105.

Unique interfacial reaction and so-induced change in mechanical performance of Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu/Cu solder joints formed during undercooled and eutectic liquid soldering processes

A novel technique is proposed to prepare Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu/Cu joints at three different processing temperatures, which are called undercooled liquid (UL, 213.0 °C), eutectic liquid (EL, 217.0 °C) and normal liquid (NL, 231.0 °C) soldering temperatures correspondingly, and each of them is lower than, equal to and higher than Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu solder’s melting point (217.0 °C), respectively. The interfacial reaction, intermetallic compound growth and mechanical performance of Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu/Cu joints formed during UL, EL and NL soldering processes were investigated systematically. Results show that for Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu solder as the undercooled liquid melt or eutectic liquid melt or normal liquid melt in the formation of joints, the thickness of interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) layer in the joints increases with prolonging dwelling time. For three different liquid soldering processes, the change tendency of the interfacial IMC layer thickness is distinct. For joints formed at UL and EL temperatures, the excessive growth of primary Cu6Sn5 and interfacial IMC (mainly Cu6Sn5) can be suppressed during isothermally dwelling in the liquid state for more than 5 min. Ball shear test results show that solder joints formed at UL and EL temperatures have lower value of the maximum shear force (MSF) than those formed during the NL soldering process. For UL and EL types of joints, the fracture occurs either by shear slide fracture totally along the shear tool tip movement plane (i.e., in-plane shear slide fracture) or by shear slide fracture initially along the shear tool tip movement plane and afterwards shear deformation fracture in the solder matrix under the plane (i.e., out-of-plane shear slide and deformation mixed-mode fracture), while the fracture takes place in NL joints only by in-plane shear slide fracture mode.

Heat and mass transfer effects of laser soldering on growth behavior of interfacial intermetallic compounds in Sn/Cu and Sn-3.5Ag0.5/Cu joints

The magnitudes of input power and scan speed of laser heat source can affect the morphology and size of interfacial Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compound (IMC) formed or grown in Sn/Cu and Sn-3.5Ag-0.5Cu/Cu (SAC/Cu) joints. Experimentally, it has been observed that greater power and smaller scan speed can create temperature field of higher magnitude, thereby enhancing the interfacial reaction. The occurrence of conglomerated, prismatic (faceted) and scalloped IMC morphologies in the specimens corresponding to designated laser processing parameters, has been explained with the help of Jackson parameter. The heat and mass transfer phenomena during laser soldering, is modeled using finite element analysis. Enthalpy method is applied in the FEM based computational model to describe the phase change based heat transfer at the melting regime of the solder. With an attainment of transient temperature profiles at several scan speeds through the numerical analysis, the values of interfacial reaction temperature at solder/substrate interface and diffusion phenomenon based mass transfer of Cu into solder are then utilized to explain the experimental results of IMC size. In comparison to pure Sn solder, SAC solder type is characterized with the formation of thicker IMC at laser power of 50W and scan speeds below 180mm/min.

Effect of Mn Nanoparticles on Interfacial Intermetallic Compound Growth in Low-Ag Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu-xMn Solder Joints

Interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) growth between Cu substrates and low-Ag Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu-xMn (x = 0 wt.%, 0.02 wt.%, 0.05 wt.%, 0.1 wt.%, and 0.15 wt.%) (SAC0307-xMn) solders was investigated under different isothermal aging temperatures of 100°C, 150°C, and 190°C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to observe the microstructural evolution of the solder joints and measure the IMC layer thickness. The IMC phases were identified by energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. The results showed that a Cu6Sn5 IMC layer formed in the as-soldered solder joints, while a duplex structure consisting of a Cu6Sn5 IMC layer near the solder matrix and a Cu3Sn IMC layer was observed after isothermal aging. A considerable drop in the IMC layer thickness was observed when 0.1 wt.% Mn nanoparticles were added. Beyond this amount, the thickness of the IMC layer only slightly increases. Adding Mn nanoparticles can increase the activation energy and thus reduce the interdiffusion rates of the Sn and Cu atoms, which suppresses excessive IMC growth. The solder joint containing 0.1 wt.% Mn nanoparticles has the highest activation energy. SEM images revealed that the number of small particles precipitated in the channels between the Cu6Sn5 IMC layers increases with an increasing proportion of Mn nanoparticles. Based on the microstructural evolution of the solder joints, this study revealed that grain boundary pinning is one of the most important mechanisms for IMC growth inhibition when Mn nanoparticles are added.

Growth behavior of intermetallic compounds and early formation of cracks in Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu solder joints under extreme temperature thermal shock

The microstructure evolution and growth mechanism of interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMCs) as well as the mechanism for early formation of cracks in Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu solder joints of quad flat packages (QFPs) during extreme temperature thermal shock between 77K and 423K were investigated. The Cu-Sn IMC layer at the Cu lead/solder interface and the Ni-Cu-Sn IMC layer at the solder/ENIG pad interface gradually thickened as well as the IMCs morphologies changed during extreme temperature thermal shock. Scallop-like Cu-Sn IMC layer and needle-like Ni-Cu-Sn IMC layer both transformed to plane-like IMCs. New Cu3Sn phase was formed at the interface between Cu lead and Cu6Sn5 IMC layer after 250 cycles. The (Ni, Cu)3Sn4 IMC layer was completely converted into (Cu, Ni)6Sn5 IMC layer after 150 cycles resulting from the diffusion of Cu atoms from Cu lead and Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu solder to the solder/pad interface. The time exponent (n) values of Cu-Sn and Ni-Cu-Sn IMC layers were 0.66 and 0.34, respectively, indicating that the controlling mechanisms for Cu-Sn and Ni-Cu-Sn IMC growth were bulk diffusion and grain-boundary diffusion, respectively. Cracks were formed both at the solder/Cu-Sn layer interface and at the solder/Ni-Cu-Sn layer interface after 250 cycles, due to the CTE difference between the solder and IMC, and to the thickened and flattened IMC layer. The great stress concentration resulting from the large temperature variation (∆T = 346K) led to the early formation of cracks. With the increase of thermal shock cycles, the pull strength of Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu solder joints decreased and the fracture location changed from within the solder to partly in Cu-Sn IMC layer and partly along the solder/Ni-Cu-Sn layer interface, which indicated that the fracture mechanism transformed from ductile fracture mode to brittle fracture mode.

The growth behavior of interfacial intermetallic compound between Sn–3.5Ag–0.5Cu solder and Cu substrate under different thermal-aged conditions

The interfacial reaction, morphology, activation energies and growth behavior of interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMCs) between the Sn–3Ag–0.5Cu (in wt%) solder and Cu substrate during reflow at 280 °C for 10 min and aging at different temperatures for up to 360 h were investigated, and the growth kinetics of the interfacial Cu–Sn binary IMC layers were monitored during the isothermal aging. The results showed that the thickness of IMCs increased linearly with square root of aging time, and the diffusion coefficient related to the Cu–Sn IMC layer increased with increasing aging temperature. During aging at medium temperature (180 °C), the scallop-like Cu6Sn5 IMC layer at the SAC305/Cu interface gradually transformed into planar type with prolonged aging time. Nevertheless, in the case of high temperature (200 °C) aging, the solder/Cu6Sn5 interface became uneven because the Cu atoms came from the bulk solder would accumulate on the Cu6Sn5 IMC surface to directly thicken the existed IMC layer. Beside, the Kirkendall voids within Cu3Sn layer and the neighborhood of the Cu3Sn/Cu interface almost aggregated into continuous regions to formed micro-voids. The activation energies of the total Cu–Sn, Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn IMCs were obtained by plotting the diffusion constants (D) as a function of the aging temperature (1/T), and were 115.2, 122 and 98 kJ/mol, respectively.

Interfacial Reaction and Mechanical Properties of Sn-Bi Solder joints

Sn-Bi solder with different Bi content can realize a low-to-medium-to-high soldering process. To obtain the effect of Bi content in Sn-Bi solder on the microstructure of solder, interfacial behaviors in solder joints with Cu and the joints strength, five Sn-Bi solders including Sn-5Bi and Sn-15Bi solid solution, Sn-30Bi and Sn-45Bi hypoeutectic and Sn-58Bi eutectic were selected in this work. The microstructure, interfacial reaction under soldering and subsequent aging and the shear properties of Sn-Bi solder joints were studied. Bi content in Sn-Bi solder had an obvious effect on the microstructure and the distribution of Bi phases. Solid solution Sn-Bi solder was composed of the β-Sn phases embedded with fine Bi particles, while hypoeutectic Sn-Bi solder was composed of the primary β-Sn phases and Sn-Bi eutectic structure from networked Sn and Bi phases, and eutectic Sn-Bi solder was mainly composed of a eutectic structure from short striped Sn and Bi phases. During soldering with Cu, the increase on Bi content in Sn-Bi solder slightly increased the interfacial Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compound (IMC)thickness, gradually flattened the IMC morphology, and promoted the accumulation of more Bi atoms to interfacial Cu6Sn5 IMC. During the subsequent aging, the growth rate of the IMC layer at the interface of Sn-Bi solder/Cu rapidly increased from solid solution Sn-Bi solder to hypoeutectic Sn-Bi solder, and then slightly decreased for Sn-58Bi solder joints. The accumulation of Bi atoms at the interface promoted the rapid growth of interfacial Cu6Sn5 IMC layer in hypoeutectic or eutectic Sn-Bi solder through blocking the formation of Cu6Sn5 in solder matrix and the transition from Cu6Sn5 to Cu3Sn. Ball shear tests on Sn-Bi as-soldered joints showed that the increase of Bi content in Sn-Bi deteriorated the shear strength of solder joints. The addition of Bi into Sn solder was also inclined to produce brittle morphology with interfacial fracture, which suggests that the addition of Bi increased the shear resistance strength of Sn-Bi solder.

Polarized evolution of interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMCs) in interconnects under electromigration (EM)

In situ observation of electromigration (EM) has been carried out on cross-sectioned copper/tin–copper/copper (Cu/Sn0.7Cu/Cu) line-type interconnects. The surface vertical variation after EM is measured by step profiler, which indicates serious mass migration during EM. The EM rate is calculated using two distinct methods, in situ mark movement and the growth of anode intermetallic compounds (IMCs). Defects and IMCs grains in the bulk solder are used as marks to measure the atomic flux. It is calculated that the atomic flux under a current density of 4.77 × 103 A cm−2 and a temperature of 60 °C is 5.241 × 1012 cm−2 s−1. Calculation based on the growth of the anode IMCs layer thickness determines the atomic flux as 4.114 × 1012 cm−2 s−1. The top morphology of IMCs layers is studied by etching away the bulk solder. It is found that the initial scalloped IMCs in the as-reflowed interconnect evolves towards different directions as a serrated IMCs layer with deep grooves forms at the cathode side, while a thick planar IMCs layer forms at the anode side. This phenomenon is defined as polarized evolution. The mechanisms for the polarized evolution rely on the fast diffusion of Cu atoms along the IMCs grain boundaries. The planar IMCs at the anode is due to the stacking of Cu atoms, which fills the grooves by reacting with Sn to form Cu6Sn5 IMCs. This polarized evolution threatens the reliability of interconnects since a thick planar IMCs layer tends to be brittle, while a thin serrated IMCs may suffer from accumulated voids.

Isothermal Aging Affect to the Growth of Sn-Cu-Ni-1 wt.% TiO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; Composite Solder Paste

This work investigated the effects of 1.0 wt. % TiO2 particles addition into Sn-Cu-Ni solder paste to the growth of the interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) on Cu substrate after isothermal aging. Sn-Cu-Ni solder paste with TiO2 particles were mechanically mixed to fabricate the composite solder paste. The composite solder paste then reflowed in the reflow oven to form solder joint. The reflowed samples were then isothermally aged 75, 125 and 150 ° C for 24 and 240 h. It was found that the morphology of IMCs changed from scallop-shape to a more uniform planar shape in both Sn-Cu-Ni/Cu joints and Sn-Cu-Ni-TiO2 /Cu joint. Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn IMC were identified and grew after prolong aging time and temperature. The IMCs thickness and scallop diameter of composite solder paste were reduced and the growth of IMCs thickness after isothermal aging become slower as compared to unreinforced Sn-Cu-Ni solder paste. It is suggested that TiO2 particles have influenced the evolution and retarded the growth of interfacial IMCs.

Soldering Characteristics and Mechanical Properties of Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu Solder with Minor Aluminum Addition.

Driven by the trends towards miniaturization in lead free electronic products, researchers are putting immense efforts to improve the properties and reliabilities of Sn based solders. Recently, much interest has been shown on low silver (Ag) content solder SAC105 (Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu) because of economic reasons and improvement of impact resistance as compared to SAC305 (Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu. The present work investigates the effect of minor aluminum (Al) addition (0.1–0.5 wt.%) to SAC105 on the interfacial structure between solder and copper substrate during reflow. The addition of minor Al promoted formation of small, equiaxed Cu-Al particle, which are identified as Cu3Al2. Cu3Al2 resided at the near surface/edges of the solder and exhibited higher hardness and modulus. Results show that the minor addition of Al does not alter the morphology of the interfacial intermetallic compounds, but they substantially suppress the growth of the interfacial Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compound (IMC) after reflow. During isothermal aging, minor alloying Al has reduced the thickness of interfacial Cu6Sn5 IMC but has no significant effect on the thickness of Cu3Sn. It is suggested that of atoms of Al exert their influence by hindering the flow of reacting species at the interface.

Effect of Cooling Rate on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu–0.2BaTiO3 Composite Solder

The microstructure, interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) layer, microhardness, tensile properties, and fracture surfaces of Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu–0.2BaTiO3 composite solder were explored under three different cooling conditions (water-, air-, and furnace-cooled) during solidification. The average grain size was refined and the volume fraction of primary β-Sn dendrites increased with increasing cooling rate. The thickness of the IMC layer increased as the cooling rate was decreased, and the morphology also transformed from scallop shaped, for a rapid cooling rate, to irregular shaped for slower cooling; a Cu3Sn IMC layer was detected between the Cu6Sn5 IMC and copper substrate under the furnace-cooled condition, but not in water- or air-cooled specimens. The mechanical properties, including the microhardness and tensile properties, improved with rapid solidification due to the combined effects of grain refinement and a secondary strengthening mechanism. Fracture surfaces after tensile tests showed that the amount of dimples decreased and a cleavage-like pattern increased as the cooling rate was decreased from the water-cooled to furnace-cooled condition, so the fracture process transformed from ductile to mixed-mode fracture. A refined microstructure and excellent mechanical properties were obtained for the rapidly cooled sample.

Microstructure, elastic modulus and shear strength of alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles-doped tin–silver–copper (Sn–Ag–Cu) solders on copper (Cu) and gold/nickel (Au/Ni)-plated Cu substrates

This paper investigates the influence of Al2O3 nanoparticles on the morphology of interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) layer and material properties of Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu (wt%) solders on Cu and Au/Ni-plated Cu substrates. In the solder/Cu substrate systems, an island-shaped Cu6Sn5 IMC layer was found to be adhered at the interface in the initial reaction stage. However, a very thin Cu3Sn IMC layer was also observed between the Cu6Sn5 IMC layer and Cu substrate after long time reaction in all solder joints. On the other hand, a ternary scallop-shaped (Cu, Ni)–Sn IMC layer was found in both plain Sn–Ag–Cu solder joints and solder joints containing Al2O3 nanoparticles on Au/Ni-plated Cu substrates. These IMC layer thicknesses were increased with the reaction time. In the solder ball region, Ag3Sn, Cu6Sn5 IMCs were found to be uniformly distributed in the β-Sn matrix in both types of solder joints. However, after adding Al2O3 nanoparticles these IMCs appeared with fine microstructure. Furthermore, the elastic moduli and shear strength of composite solders containing Al2O3 nanoparticles exhibited consistently higher value than that of plain Sn–Ag–Cu solder joints by a second phase dispersion strengthening mechanism. The fracture surface of plain Sn–Ag–Cu solder joints appeared a brittle fracture mode with a smooth surface, while Sn–Ag–Cu solder joints containing Al2O3 nanoparticles showed semi-ductile failure characteristics with rough dimpled surfaces.