Interfacial Reactions of Sn-Ag-Cu solder on Ni-xCu alloy UBMs

Ni-xCu 합금 UBM과 Sn-Ag계 솔더 간의 계면 반응 연구

Since Pb-free solder alloys have been used extensively in microelectronic packaging industry, the interaction between UBM (Under Bump Metallurgy) and solder is a critical issue because IMC (Intermetallic Compound) at the interface is critical for the adhesion of mechanical and the electrical contact for flip chip bonding. IMC growth must be fast during the reflow process to form stable IMC. Too fast IMC growth, however, is undesirable because it causes the dewetting of UBM and the unstable mechanical stability of thick IMC. UP to now. Ni and Cu are the most popular UBMs because electroplating is lower cost process than thin film deposition in vacuum for Al/Ni(V)/Cu or phased Cr-Cu. The consumption rate and the growth rate of IMC on Ni are lower than those of Cu. In contrast, the wetting of solder bumps on Cu is better than Ni. In addition, the residual stress of Cu is lower than that of Ni. Therefore, the alloy of Cu and Ni could be used as optimum UBM with both advantages of Ni and Cu. In this paper, the interfacial reactions of Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu solder on Ni-xCu alloy UBMs were investigated. The UBMs of Ni-Cu alloy were made on Si wafer. Thin Cr film and Cu film were used as adhesion layer and electroplating seed layer, respectively. And then, the solderable layer, Ni-Cu alloy, was deposited on the seed layer by electroplating. The UBM consumption rate and intermetallic growth on Ni-Cu alloy were studied as a function of time and Cu contents. And the IMCs between solder and UBM were analyzed with SEM, EDS, and TEM.