A study on the interfacial reactions between electroless Ni-P UBM and 95.5Sn-4.0Ag-0.5Cu solder bump

무전해 Ni-P UBM과 95.5Sn-4.0Ag-0.5Cu 솔더와의 계면반응 및 신뢰성에 대한 연구

Even though electroless Hi and Sn-Ag-Cu solder are widely used materials in electronic packaging applications, interfacial reactions of the ternary Ni-Cu~Sn system have not been known well because of their complexity. Because the growth of intermetallics at the interface affects reliability of solder joint, the intermetallics in Ni-Cu-Sn system should be identified, and their growth should be investigated. Therefore, in present study, interfacial reactions between electroless Ni UB7f and 95.5Sn-4.0Ag-0.5Cu alloy were investigated focusing on morphology of the IMCs, thermodynamics, and growth kinetics. The IMCs that appear during a reflow and an aging are different each other. In early stage of a reflow, ternary IMC whose composition is Ni$_{22}$Cu$_{29}$Sn$_{49}$ forms firstly. Due to the lack of Cu diffusion, Ni$_{34}$Cu$_{6}$Sn$_{60}$ phase begins growing in a further reflow. Finally, the Ni$_{22}$Cu$_{29}$Sn$_{49}$ IMC grows abnormally and spalls into the molten solder. The transition of the IMCs from Ni$_{22}$Cu$_{29}$Sn$_{49}$ to Ni$_{34}$Cu$_{6}$Sn$_{60}$ was observed at a specific temperature. From the measurement of activation energy of each IMC, growth kinetics was discussed. In contrast to the reflow, three kinds of IMCs (Ni$_{22}$Cu$_{29}$Sn$_{49}$, Ni$_{20}$Cu$_{28}$Au$_{5}$, and Ni$_{34}$Cu$_{6}$Sn$_{60}$) were observed in order during an aging. All of the IMCs were well attached on UBM. Au in the quaternary IMC, which originates from immersion Au plating, prevents abnormal growth and separation of the IMC. Growth of each IMC is very dependent to the aging temperature because of its high activation energy. Besides the IMCs at the interface, plate-like Ag3Sn IMC grows as solder bump size inside solder bump. The abnormally grown Ni$_{22}$Cu$_{29}$Sn$_{49}$ and Ag$_3$Sn IMCs can be origins of brittle failure.failure.