• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.25-30
• /
• 2015

SAC-coated Cu specimens were fabricated by novel pad finish process using a phenomenon that metal nanoparticles less than 20 nm in diameter melted at a temperature lower than the melting point of bulk metal, and their wettabilities were evaluated. The thickness of SAC305 layer coated at low temperature of $160^{\circ}C$ using SAC305 ink was extremely thin as the level of several nanometers. It was analyzed by Auger electron spectroscopy that $Cu_6Sn_5$ intermetallic layer with a thickness of 10~100 nm and $Cu_3Sn$ intermetallic layer with a thickness of 50~150 nm were sequentially formed under the SAC305 coating layer. The thickness of formed intermetallic layers was thicker in electroplated Cu than rolled Cu, which attributed to improved surface roughness in the electroplated Cu. The improved surface roughness induces the contact, melting, and reaction of a larger number of SAC305 nanoparticles per the unit area of Cu specimen. In the wetting angle test using SAC305 solder balls, the Cu coated with SAC305 through the low temperature process presented evidently low wetting angles than those in non-coated Cu, indicating that only a few nanometer-thick SAC305 coating layer on Cu could also cause the enhancement of wettability.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.55-62
• /
• 2023

In this study, Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (wt.%, SAC305) solder dipping process was performed between Ni-foam skeleton with different pore per inch (PPI) to fabricate Ni-foam/SAC305 composite solder, and then applied to the transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding process to evaluate the microstructure and mechanical properties of the bonded joint. The Ni-foam/SAC305 composite solder preform consisted of Ni-foam and SAC305, and an intermetallic compound (IMC) having a (Ni,Cu)₃Sn₄ composition was formed at the Ni-foam interface. During TLP bonding process, the IMC at the Ni-foam interface was converted to (Ni,Cu)₃Sn₄+Au, and as the bonding time increased, the Ni-foam and SAC305 continuously reacted, and the bonded joint was converted into an IMC. And it was confirmed that the 130 PPI Ni-foam/SAC305 composite solder joint was converted into an IMC at the fastest rate. As a result of performing a shear test to confirm the effect of Ni-foam on mechanical properties, solder joints under all conditions exhibited excellent mechanical properties of 50 MPa or more in the early stages of the TLP bonding process, and the shear strength tends to increase as the bonding time increases.

• Electronic Materials Letters
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.678-688
• /
• 2018

The repeated-bending properties of Sn-0.7Cu, Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu (SAC0307), and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solders mounted on flexible substrates were studied using highly accelerated stress testing (HAST), followed by repeated-bending testing. In the Sn-0.7Cu joints, the $Cu_6Sn_5$ intermetallic compound (IMC) coarsened as the HAST time increased. For the SAC0307 and SAC305 joints, the $Ag_3Sn$ and $Cu_6Sn_5$ IMCs coarsened mainly along the grain boundary as the HAST time increased. The Sn-0.7Cu solder had a high contact angle, compared to the SAC0307 and SAC305 solders; consequently, the SAC0307 and SAC305 solder joints displayed smoother fillet shapes than the Sn-0.7Cu solder joint. The repeated-bending for the Sn-0.7Cu solder produced the crack initiated from the interface between the Cu lead wire and the solder, and that for the SAC solders indicated the cracks initiated at the surface, but away from the interface between the Cu lead wire and the solder. Furthermore, the oxide layer was thickest for Sn-0.7Cu and thinnest for SAC305, regardless of the HAST time. For the SAC solders, the crack initiation rate increased as the oxide layer thickened and roughened. $Cu_6Sn_5$ precipitated and grew along the grain and subgrain boundaries as the HAST time increased, embrittling the grain boundary at the crack propagation site.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.31-37
• /
• 2021

Sn-3wt%Ag-0.5wt%Cu (SAC305) solder is most popular solder in electronics industry. However, SAC305 has also drawbacks such as growth of β-Sn phase, intermetallic compounds (IMCs) of Ag3Sn, Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn which can result in deterioration of solder joints in terms of metallurgically, mechanically and electrically. Thus, improvement of SAC305 solders have been investigated continuously by addition of alloying elements, nano-particles and etc. In this paper, recent improvements of SAC solders including nano-composite alloys and related solderabilty and metallurgical and mechanical properties are investigated.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
• /
• 2010.05a
• /
• pp.77-77
• /
• 2010

본 연구에서는 Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) 무연솔더의 최적 인쇄성을 위한 PCB 및 마스크설계, 스크린프린팅 공정변수의 최적값을 실험계획법을 통해 평가하였다. 사용된 칩은 가로 0.4mm 세로 0.2mm의 0402 MLCC칩이며, 사용된 시험보드는 OSP 표면처리된 PCB이었다. 인쇄성을 판단하기 위한 공정인자는 금속마스크 두께, 마스크홀 크기, 패드크기 및 모양, 인쇄각도, 인쇄속도, 판분리속도이었다. ANOVA분석을 통해 주인자를 파악하였으며, 인쇄성에 영향을 미치는 주인자는 마스크두께와 인쇄각도임이 확인되었다. 그 후 중심 합성법을 이용하여 인쇄성 최적 조건을 확인하였다. 결과로 나타난 등고선/표면도를 통해, 마스크두께가 작을 때에는 인쇄각도가 작아야 높은 인쇄성을 갖으며, 또한 마스크 두께가 클 경우에는 인쇄각도가 커야 높은 인쇄성을 가짐을 알 수 있었다. 추가실험을 통해서 인쇄성 표면도의 정확도를 확인하였으며, 실험값은 표면도에서 표시된 인쇄성값과 비슷함을 알 수 있었다. 또한, 인쇄성이 낮은 영역과 높은 영역에서 접합강도값을 측정하였으며, 인쇄성이 좋은 영역에서 접합강도도 높음을 알 수 있었다.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.47 no.8
• /
• pp.500-507
• /
• 2009

Pb-free solder has recently been used in electronics in efforts to meet environmental regulations, and a number of Pb-free solder alloy choices beyond the near-eutectic SnAgCu solder are now available. With increased demand for thin and portable electronics, the high cost of alloys containing significant amounts of silver and their poor mechanical shock performance have spurred the development of low Ag SnAgCu solder, which provides improved mechanical performance at a reasonable cost. Although low Ag SnAgCu solder exhibits significantly higher fracture resistance under high-strain rates, little thermal fatigue data exist for this solder. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate thermal fatigue reliability of low Ag SnAgCu solder under variation of thermal stress in order to allow its implementation in electronic products with high reliability requirements. In this study, the reliability of Sn0.3Ag0.7Cu(SAC0307), a low Ag solder alloy, is discussed and compared with that of Sn3Ag0.5Cu(SAC305). Three sample types and six samples size are evaluated. Mechanical properties and microstructure of the solder joint are investigated under thermal shock cycles. It was observed that the mechanical strength of SAC0307 dropped slightly with thermal cycling relative to that of SAC305. This reveals that the failure mode of SAC0307 is different from that SAC305 under this critical condition.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.29-34
• /
• 2020

The behavior of brittle fracture of electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) /Sn-3.0wt.%Ag-0.5wt.%Cu (SAC305) solder joints was evaluated. The pH of the electroless nickel plating solution for ENIG surface treatment was changed from 4.0 to 5.5. As the pH of the Ni plating solution increased, pin hole in the Ni-P layer increased. The thickness of the interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) of the solder joint increased with pH of Ni plating solution. The high speed shear strength of the SAC305 solder joint on ENIG surface finish decreased with the pH of the Ni plating solution. In addition, the brittle fracture rate of the solder joint was the highest when the pH of the Ni plating solution was 5.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.7-14
• /
• 2017

The effect of high temperature-moisture on corrosion and mechanical properties for Sn-0.7Cu, Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solders on flexible substrate was studied using Highly Accelerated Temperature/Humidity Stress Test (HAST) followed by three-point bending test. Both Sn-0.7Cu and SAC305 solders produced the internal $SnO_2$ oxides. Corrosion occurred between the solder and water film near flexible circuit board/copper component. For the SAC305 solder with Ag content, furthermore, octahedral corrosion products were formed near Ag3Sn. For the SAC305 and Sn-0.7Cu solders, the amount of internal oxide increased with the HAST time and the amount of internal oxides was mostly constant regardless of Ag content. The size of the internal oxide was larger for the Sn-0.7Cu solder. Despite of different size of the internal oxide, the fracture time during three-point bending test was not significantly changed. It was because the bending crack was always initiated from the three-point corner of the chip. However, the crack propagation depended on the oxides between the flexible circuit board and the Cu chip. The fracture time of the three-point bending test was dependent more on the crack initiation than on the crack propagation.

• ETRI Journal
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.1152-1155
• /
• 2013

A cost-effective and simple solder on pad (SoP) process is proposed for a fine-pitch microbump interconnection. A novel solder bump maker (SBM) material is applied to form a 60-${\mu}m$ pitch SoP. SBM, which is composed of ternary Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) solder powder and a polymer resin, is a paste material used to perform a fine-pitch SoP through a screen printing method. By optimizing the volumetric ratio of the resin, deoxidizing agent, and SAC305 solder powder, the oxide layers on the solder powder and Cu pads are successfully removed during the bumping process without additional treatment or equipment. Test vehicles with a daisy chain pattern are fabricated to develop the fine-pitch SoP process and evaluate the fine-pitch interconnection. The fabricated Si chip has 6,724 bumps with a 45-${\mu}m$ diameter and 60-${\mu}m$ pitch. The chip is flip chip bonded with a Si substrate using an underfill material with fluxing features. Using the fluxing underfill material is advantageous since it eliminates the flux cleaning process and capillary flow process of the underfill. The optimized bonding process is validated through an electrical characterization of the daisy chain pattern. This work is the first report on a successful operation of a fine-pitch SoP and microbump interconnection using a screen printing process.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.152-158
• /
• 2016

The bonding characteristics of MLCCs (multi layer ceramic capacitor, C1608) lead-free solder (SAC305) joints were evaluated through thermal shock test ($-40^{\circ}C{\sim}125^{\circ}C$, total 1,800 cycle). After the test, IMCs( intermetallic compounds) growth and cracks were verified, also shear strengths were measured for degradation of solder joints. In addition, The thermal stress distributions at solder joints were analyzed to compare the solder joints changes before and after according to thermal shock test by FEA (finite elements analysis). We considered the effects of IMCs growth at solder joints. As results, the bonding characteristics degradation was occurred according to initial crack, crack propagations and thermal stress concentration at solder-IMCs interface, when the IMCs grown to solder inside.