• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.449-454
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• 2009

This paper presents an experimental study on the failure characteristics of SnAgCu lead-free solder balls. To estimate the effect of Ag, three types of SnAgCu balls are first prepared by varying the weight percent of Ag(1.0, 3.0, 4.0 wt%) and then analyzed by reliability tests such as thermal shock, high speed ball shear, and drop tests. Thermal shock test reveals that the higher the weight percent of Ag is, the longer the fatigue lift becomes. To the contrary, high speed ball-shear test and drop test show that the shear strength and the fracture toughness of solder balls are inversely proportional to the weight percent of Ag, respectively, Reasons for these observations will be further investigated In the future work.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.919-926
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• 2002

In this study, the numerical prediction of the thermal fatigue lie? of a $\mu$BGA (Micro Ball Grid Array) solder joint was focused. Numerical method was performed using the three-dimensional finite element analysis for various solder alloys such as Sn-37%Pb, Sn-3.5%Ag, Sn-3.5%Ag-0.7%Cu and Sn-3.5%Ag-3%In-0.5%Bi during a given thermal cycling. Strain values obtained by the result of mechanical fatigue tests for solder alloys, were used to predict the solder joint fatigue life using the Coffin-Manson equation. The numerical results showed that Sn-3.5%Ag with the 50-degree ball shape geometry had the longest thermal fatigue life in low cycle fatigue. A practical correlation for the prediction of the thermal fatigue life was also suggested by using the dimensionless variable γ. Additionally Sn-3.5Ag-0.75Cu and Sn-2.0Ag-0.5Cu-2.0Bi were applied to 6$\times$8$\mu$BGA obtained from the 63Sn-37Pb Solder. This 6$\times$8$\mu$BGA were tested at different aging conditions at 130$\^{C}$, 150$\^{C}$, 170$\^{C}$ for 300, 600 and 900 hours. Thickness of the intermetallic compound layer was measured thor each condition and the activation energy thor their growth was computed. The fracture surfaces were analyzed using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) with EDS ( Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy).

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

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.8
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• pp.500-507
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• 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
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2004

The requirements for harsh environment electronic controllers in automotive applications have been steadily becoming more and more stringent. Electronic substrate technologists have been responding to this challenge effectively in an effort to meet the performance, reliability and cost requirements. An effect of the plasma cleaning at the ECM(Engine Control Module) alumina substrate and the intermetallic compound layer between Sn-37wt%Pb solder and pad joints after reflow soldering has been studied. Organic residual carbon layer was removed by the substrate plasma cleaning. So the interfacial adhesive strength was enhanced. As a result of AFM measurement, conductor pad roughness were increased from 304 nm to 330 nm. $Cu_6/Sn_5$ formed during initial reflow process at the interface between TiWN/Cu pad and solder grew by the succeeding reflow process, so the grains became coarse. A cellular-shaped $Ag_3Sn$ was observed at the interface between Ag-Pd conductor pad and solder. The diameters of the $Ag_3Sn$ grains ranged from about 0.1∼0.6 $\mu\textrm{m}$. And a needle-shaped was also observed at the inside of the solder.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.450-455
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• 2002

Cu-cored Sn-Ag solder balls were fabricated by coating pure Sn and Ag on Cu balls. The melting behavior and the solderability of the BGA joint with the Ni/Au coated Cu pad were investigated and were compared with those of the commercial Sn-Ag and Sn-Ag-Cu balls. DSC analyses clarified the melting of Cu-cored solders to start at a rather low temperature, the eutectic temperature of Sn-Ag-Cu. It was ascribed to the diffusion of Cu and Ag into Sn plating during the heating process. After reflow soldering the microstructures of the solder and of the interfacial layer between the solder and the Cu pad were analyzed with SEM and EPMA. By EDX analysis, formation of a eutectic microstructure composing of $\beta$-Sn, Ag$_3$Sn, ad Cu$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ phases was confirmed in the solder, and the η'-(Au, Co, Cu, Ni)$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ reaction layer was found to form at the interface between the solder and the Cu pad. By conducting shear tests, it was found that the BGA joint using Cu-cored solder ball could prevent the degradation of joint strength during aging at 423K because of the slower growth me of η'-(Au, Co, Cu, Ni)$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ reaction layer formed at the solder, pad interface. Furthermore, Cu-cored multi-component Sn-Ag-Bi balls were fabricated by sequentially coating the binary Sn-Ag and Sn-Bi solders on Cu balls. The reflow property of these solder balls was investigated. Melting of these solder balls was clarified to start at the almost same temperature as that of Sn-2Ag-0.75Cu-3Bi solder. A microstructure composing of (Sn), Ag$_3$Sn, Bi and Cu$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ phases was found to form in the solder ball, and a reaction layer containing primarily η'-(Au, Co, Cu, Ni)$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ was found at the interface with Ni/Au coated Cu pad after reflow soldering. By conducting shear test, it was found that the BGA joints using this Cu-core solder balls hardly degraded their joint shear strength during aging at 423K due to the slower growth rate of the η'-(Au, Cu, Ni)$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ reaction layer at the solder/pad interface.he solder/pad interface.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• v.43
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• pp.31-32
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• 2004

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.333-337
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• 2008

This study investigates crack propagation behavior of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder under pull-push loading conditions. Fatigue Crack Growth (FCG) tests were conducted on Center Cracked Plate (CCP) specimens in fast-fast (pp) strain waveform. The fast-slow (pc), slow-fast (cp) and slow-slow (cc) strain waveforms were also used to study the effect of strain rates. The crack propagation rates for the four strain waveforms were correlated with J-integral range and a scatter band of factor 4 was found. The crack growth rates for the pc waveform was highest, followed by cp, cc and then pp waveforms.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.25-30
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• 2018

Sn-Pb solder has been used in automotive electronics for decades. However, recently, due to the environmental and health concerns, some international environmental organizations such as the end-of-life vehicle (ELV) enacted legislation banning of the Pb usage in automotive electronics. For this reason, many studies to develop and promote Pb-free soldering have been significantly reported. Meanwhile, because of flexibility and lightweight, flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs) have been increasingly used in automotive electronics for lightweight to improve fuel efficiency and space utilization. Although the properties of lead-free solders for automotive electronics have been widely studied, there is a lack of research on the reliability performance of the lead-free solder joint on FPCB under user conditions. This study reported the properties of solder joints between Pb-free solders such as Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu, Sn0.7Cu and Sn0.5Cu0.01Al (Si), and various FPCBs finished with organic solderability preservative (OSP) and electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG). To evaluate on joint properties and reliabilities with different solder compositions and surface-finishing materials, pull strength test, thermal shock test, and bending cycle test were performed and analyzed. After the bending cycle test of solder joint on OSP-finishing, the fractures were occurred in solder and the lifetime of Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu solder joint was the longest.

• Proceedings of the International Microelectronics And Packaging Society Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.141-145
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• 2001

Sn-3.5Ag 무연 솔더에 Cu를 첨가한 3원계 합금을 만든 후 압연과 열처리한 후 크리프 특성을 연구하였다. 모든 솔더 합금에서 1차 크리프는 거의 관찰되지 않았으며, 2차와 3차 크리프가 대부분을 차지하였고, 최소 크리프 변형율은 Cu 함량이 0.75 wt %에서 최소이었고, 응력 지수는 약 4이었으며, 파단 시간 또한 0.75 wt% Cu에서 가장 길었다. 크리프 기구는 격자 확산에 의한 전위의 상승과 전위 활주에 의한 고온 크리프임을 앞 수 있었으며, Cu의 첨가는 1 wt% 가지 연성에 큰 영향을 주지 않았으나, 1.5 wt% 첨가했을 경우 연성은 크게 감소하였다.