Mechanical Properties Of Lead-free Solders Research Articles

Effect of fluxes on Sn-Zn-Bi solder alloys on copper substrate

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the effect different fluxes have on the mechanical properties of lead-free solders, specifically Sn-Zn-Bi solder alloy. The solder billets were soldered in between copper substrates and flux was applied. The mechanical tests carried out on the solder alloys were tensile and shear tests. They were experimented on with different fluxes, namely, water-soluble (paste), rosin mildly activated (RMA) and insoluble (RMA) flux. From these experiments, the ultimate tensile strength, shear strength, elongation, yield stress, Young’s modulus and the stress-strain curve are derived. The results showed that solder billets that were soldered onto copper substrates with water-soluble flux yielded the highest ultimate tensile strength and shear strength values of 9.9961 MPa and 118.836 MPa, respectively. Billets soldered using RMA flux had the highest values of elongation and Young’s modulus, 0.306 mm and 50,257.295 MPa, respectively. However, on viewing the failure of all the specimens under an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM), specimens soldered using water-soluble flux possessed the least deformities, depicting their higher level of mechanical properties, entailing their strength and ductility, deeming them as the most suitable flux for microelectronic applications.Design/methodology/approachThe solder billets were soldered in between copper substrates and flux was applied. The mechanical tests carried out on the solder alloys were tensile and shear tests. They were experimented on with different fluxes, namely, water-soluble (paste), RMA and insoluble flux (RMA) flux. From these experiments, the ultimate tensile strength, shear strength, elongation, yield stress, Young’s modulus and the stress-strain curve are derived.FindingsThe results showed that solder billets that were soldered onto copper substrates with water-soluble flux yielded the highest ultimate tensile strength and shear strength values of 9.9961 MPa and 118.836 MPa, respectively.Originality/valueThis paper demonstrated that water-soluble fluxes gave the better strength and were most suitable for microelectronics applications.

Effect of iron and indium on IMC formation and mechanical properties of lead-free solder

In recent years, because of environmental concerns, lead solders have been replaced by lead-free solders. One of the numerous lead-free solders developed in the past several years is the Sn–Ag–Cu (SAC) eutectic solder. This work explored the effects of adding iron and indium to the reliability of SAC solder. Four different solders have been fabricated by adding Fe or In into the solder, i.e., Sn3.6Ag0.9Cu (SAC–E), SAC–Fe02, SAC–Fe06 and SAC–InCe. DSC results showed that adding indium decreased the melting point of SAC, and the single eutectic peak was maintained in all cases. Solders were reflowed on bare Cu and electroless Ni–P-coated substrates. It was found that the SAC–E and SAC–InCe gave the highest and the lowest IMC thickness, respectively among all solders. The same pattern was observed in the wetting angle measurement. Shear strength results showed that the SAC–Fe06 and SAC–Fe02 solder displayed the highest strength, followed by SAC–InCe and the SAC–E solder had the lowest strength. Results suggest that adding small amounts of Fe and In&Ce improved the wettability and shear strength of the SAC solder. Also, the Coefficient of thermal expansion measurement showed a possible decrease in thermal expansion mismatch with the addition of In&Ce and Fe into the SAC eutectic solder.

Modifying the mechanical properties of lead-free solder by adding iron and indium and using a lap joint test

Eliminating lead in electronics is an environmental consciousness that is taken prior to manufacturing. Lead-free solder has recently been developed to advance that goal. One of the most common types of lead-free solder is Sn–Ag–Cu(SAC). Adding alloying elements can modify the properties of SAC. The present study is devoted to the research and development of SAC for microelectronic packaging applications. The effects of iron and indium addition to SAC were investigated. Four different samples were fabricated by casting: Sn–3.6Ag–0.9Cu, Sn–3.6Ag–0.9Cu–0.2Fe, Sn–3.6Ag–0.9Cu–0.6Fe, and SAC-InCe. Reliability tests were done on Cu and Ni–P substrate. The shear strength of the joint was improved by decreasing the intermetallic compound (IMC) thickness; so the IMCs thickness must be controlled, because the formation of IMC leads to joint embrittlement at the interface. In conclusion, the addition of In and Fe can improve mechanical properties, such as shear strength, but the addition of In appears to be more effective for increasing the fracture toughness. The addition of Fe lowers the wetting angle and it can effectively improve the solder reliability, this improvement in shear behavior for the samples, which were reflowed on Cu substrate, is enhanced compared with the Ni substrate, but 0.6% Fe addition for the Cu substrate illustrates an decrease in fracture strain, because of abnormal growth of Cu6Sn5Whiskers in this case.

Relationship Between Mechanical Properties of Lead-Free Solders and Their Heat Treatment Parameters

The research was undertaken to establish mechanical properties of as-cast and heat-treated Sn-Zn-based alloys of binary and ternary systems as candidates for lead (Pb)-free solder materials for high-temperature applications. The heat treatment of as-cast alloys was made under different combinations of processing parameters (168 h/50 °C, 42 h/80 °C, and 24 h/110 °C). The systematic study of structure-property relationships in Sn-Zn, Sn-Zn-Ag, and Sn-Zn-Cu alloys containing the same amount of Zn (4.5, 9, 13.5 wt.%) and 1 wt.% of either Ag or Cu was conducted to identify the effects of chemical composition and heat treatment processing parameters on the alloy microstructure and mechanical behavior. Structural characterization was made using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy techniques coupled with EDS analysis. Mechanical properties (initial Young’s modulus E, ultimate tensile strength UTS, elastic limit R 0.05, yield point R 0.2, elongation A 5, and necking Z) were determined by means of static tensile tests. All the examined Sn-Zn-based alloys have attractive combination of mechanical characteristics, especially tensile strength, having values higher than that of common leaded solders and their substitutes of Pb-free SAC family. The results obtained demonstrate that the Sn-Zn-based alloys present competitive Pb-free solder candidates for high-temperature applications.

Issues on Viscoplastic Characterization of Lead-Free Solder for Drop Test Simulations

Reliable drop test simulations of electronic packages require reliable material characterization of solder joints. Mechanical properties of lead-free solder were here experimentally investigated for both monotonic and cyclic loading at different strain rates. With regards to the observed complex material behavior, the nonlinear mixed hardening Armstrong and Frederick model combined with the Perzyna viscoplastic law was chosen to fit the experimental data. This model was subsequently implemented into a commercial finite element code and used to simulate drop tests. Actual drop test experiments were conducted in parallel and experimental results were compared to simulations. Prediction discrepancies were analyzed and explanations suggested.

Isothermal Aging Effects on the Mechanical Shock Performance of Lead-Free Solder Joints

Isothermal aging effects on lead-free solders have been extensively investigated in recent studies. Researches show that aging effects significantly degrade the mechanical properties of lead-free solders. However, limited work has been done on the effects of aging on the board-level dynamic performance of lead-free solder joints, especially for large flip-chip ball grid array (FCBGA) packages. Due to the sensitivity of aging effects on lead-free solders, it is crucial to investigate the aging effects on the board-level dynamic performance of lead-free solders. In this paper, dynamic performance of lead-free solder joints has been characterized and isothermal aging effects have been investigated. It was found that the dynamic shock performance of lead-free FCBGA packages significantly degrades up to 20-35% after aging at elevated temperatures. It was also observed that aging at 100°C shows more severe degradation than aging at 75°C and 150°C. This is an important finding because many electronic products operate in the 100°C range for long periods. The unique finding of aging effects is related to the growth of Cu <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> Sn and Cu <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">6</sub> Sn <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">5</sub> intermetallics after aging. Even though failure analysis shows mixed failure of pad cratering and intermetallic compound (IMC) failures, the IMC growth is the most sensitive factor contributing to the failure observed.

Application of Viscoplastic-Creep Separate Constitutive Model to Lead-Free Solder Alloy

When we estimate the fatigue life of lead-free solder joints, we have to conduct FE analysis using a constitutive model which can exhibit mechanical properties of lead-free solder. In FE analysis of solder joints under cyclic temperature load, a constitutive model has to express stress strain curves, stress strain hysteresis loops and stress relaxation curves accurately, containing these temperature dependencies and these rate dependencies. In this study, we proposed a separate type viscoplastic-creep constitutive model which can describe stress strain curves, stress strain hysteresis loops and stress relaxation curves, with these temperature dependencies and these rate dependencies. We implemented the proposed model into finite element analysis code ABAQUS. We conducted tensile tests, tension-compression tests and tension-stress relaxation tests of Sn3.5Ag0.5Cu0.07Ni0.01Ge solder and determined material parameters of the proposed model from tensile test data and tension-compression test data. Then, we analyzed the conducted material tests using the proposed model and compared FE analysis results with experimental test data to examine the validity of the proposed model. It was confirmed that analytical results were in good agreements with the experimental ones.

Effects of temperature and strain rate on the mechanical properties of lead-free solders

Recently studies of mechanical properties of lead-free solders show that large reductions in stiffness, yield stress, ultimate strength, and strain to failure (up to 35%) were found after 2 months of aging at room temperature. It also shows that the tensile properties of both lead-free solders and Sn–Pb solders tend to become relatively stable after 10 days of aging at room temperature. In this study, in order to minimize any room temperature aging contribution in the investigation of the dependence of temperature and strain rates, all specimens tested were preconditioned after 10 days of aging at room temperature. All tests were conducted under the same conditions. Testing has been performed at three strain rates, 10−3, 10−4, and 10−5 s−1, in temperature range from −40 to 150 °C. A linear relationship was found between the temperature and the tensile properties (elastic modulus, yield stress, and ultimate stress), while a power law relationship was found between strain rate and tensile properties. Constitutive models have also been developed based on the experimental data with multiple variables of strain rate and temperature for both lead-free and lead content solders. With the obtained constitutive models, tensile properties of lead-free solders can be predicted at any testing strain rate and temperature.

507 応力緩和法および圧子圧入法によるはんだ合金の力学的特性(切削・研削・研磨加工II)

507 応力緩和法および圧子圧入法によるはんだ合金の力学的特性(切削・研削・研磨加工II)

A review of mechanical properties of lead-free solders for electronic packaging

The characterization of lead-free solders, especially after isothermal aging, is very important in order to accurately predict the reliability of solder joints. However, due to lack of experimental testing standards and the high homologous temperature of solder alloys (Th > 0.5Tm even at room temperature), there are very large discrepancies in both the tensile and creep properties provided in current databases for both lead-free and Sn–Pb solder alloys. Some recent researches show that the room temperature aging has significant effects on mechanical properties of solders. This paper is intended to review all available data in the field and give rise to the possible factors including room temperature effects which causes the large discrepancies of data. This review of the research literatures has documented the dramatic changes that occur in the constitutive and failure behavior of solder materials and solder joint interfaces during isothermal aging. However, these effects have been largely ignored in most previous studies involving solder material characterization or finite element predictions of solder joint reliability during thermal cycling. It is widely acknowledged that the large discrepancies in measured solder mechanical properties from one study to another arise due to differences in the microstructures of the tested samples. This problem is exacerbated by the aging issue, as it is clear that the microstructure and material behavior of the samples used in even a single investigation are moving targets that change rapidly even at room temperature. Furthermore, the effects of aging on solder behavior must be better understood so that more accurate viscoplastic constitutive equations can be developed for SnPb and SAC solders. Without such well-defined relationship, it is doubtful that finite element reliability predictions can ever reach their full potential.

327 鉛フリーはんだの力学特性に関する実験的研究(OS3-2,OS3 新材料の機能と強度)

327 鉛フリーはんだの力学特性に関する実験的研究(OS3-2,OS3 新材料の機能と強度)

Microstructure and mechanical properties of lead-free solders and solder joints used in microelectronic applications

The replacement of lead (Pb)-bearing solders used in the electronic industry with Pb-free solders will become a reality in the near future. Several promising Pb-free solders have recently been identified, including Sn-0.7Cu, Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu, and Sn-3.5Ag-4.8Bi (in wt.% with slight variations in composition). These are all Sn-rich solders with melting temperatures between 210°C and 227°C, and are recommended for various soldering applications, including surface mount technology (SMT), plated-through-hole (PTH), ball grid array (BGA), flip-chip bumping, and others. Although a considerable amount of information on Pb-free solders has been published in the last few years, the database on these new materials is still at an infant stage compared with that for Pb-containing solders. This paper addresses several aspects of the current fundamental materials understanding associated with Pb-free solders and various issues regarding their imminent use in electronic interconnect applications, including microstructure-processing-property relations, mechanical properties, interfacial reactions, and the thermal-fatigue life and failure mechanisms of Pb-free solder joints.

Prediction of Mechanical Properties of Lead-free Solders Using Indentation Method

A convenient method for predicting mechanical properties of solders was proposed in this study. Indentation method was used to obtain mechanical properties including elastic, plastic and creep deformations. Elastic-plastic finite element method (FEM) correlated Young's modulus, E, and yield stress, σys, with unloading portion of load-displacement curve and Vickers hardness, HV, respectively. The creep properties of solders were evaluated in terms of the Norton's law, e=A·σn. Indentation creep and tensile creep deformations were correlated by elastic-plastic-creep FEM analysis, and the latter could be directly predicted by the former. The agreement of the prediction was confirmed for Sn-37Pb eutectic solder in the range between room temperature and 125°C. Using the proposed method, mechanical properties of lead-free solders such as Sn-3.5Ag and Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu-0-3Bi alloy systems were determined. The predicted results revealed that mechanical properties of Sn-3.5Ag and Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu alloys were similar, and that E, σys and activation energies for creep of Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu-0-3Bi lead-free solders tended to increase with increasing Bi content.

OS10W0154 Mechanical properties of lead-free solders predicted by indentation testing

OS10W0154 Mechanical properties of lead-free solders predicted by indentation testing