• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.12 no.9
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• pp.750-760
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• 2002

In this study, three solders, Sn-37Pb, Sn-3.5Ag, and Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu were screen printed on both electroless Ni/Au and OSP metal finished micro-via PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards). The interfacial reaction between PCB metal pad finish materials and solder materials, and its effects on the solder bump joint mechanical reliability were investigated. The lead free solders formed a large amount of intermetallic compounds (IMC) than Sn-37Pb on both electroless Ni/Au and OSP (Organic Solderabilty Preservatives) finished PCBs during solder reflows because of the higher Sn content and higher reflow temperature. For OSP finish, scallop-like $Cu_{6}$ /$Sn_{5}$ and planar $Cu_3$Sn intermetallic compounds (IMC) were formed, and fracture occurred 100% within the solder regardless of reflow numbers and solder materials. Bump shear strength of lead free solders showed higher value than that of Sn-37Pb solder, because lead free solders are usually harder than eutectic Sn-37Pb solder. For Ni/Au finish, polygonal shaped $Ni_3$$Sn_4$ IMC and P-rich Ni layer were formed, and a brittle fracture at the Ni-Sn IMC layer or the interface between Ni-Sn intermetallic and P-rich Ni layer was observed after several reflows. Therefore, bump shear strength values of the Ni/Au finish are relatively lower than those of OSP finish. Especially, spalled IMCs at Sn-3.5Ag interface was observed after several reflow times. And, for the Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu solder case, the ternary Sn-Ni-Cu IMCs were observed. As a result, it was found that OSP finished PCB was a better choice for solders on PCB in terms of flip chip mechanical reliability.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.505-509
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• 2002

Pb is considered to be eliminated from solder, due to its toxicity. However, melting temperatures of most Pb-free solders are known higher than that of Sn37Pb. Therefore, there is a difficulty to apply Pb-free solders to electronic industry. Since Sn3Ag8Bi5In has relatively lower melting range as $188~200^{\circ}C$, on this study. Wettability and soldering characteristics of Sn3Ag8Bi5In solder in BGA were investigated to solve for what kind of problem. Zero cross time, wetting time, and equilibrium force of Sn3Ag8Bi5In solder for Cu and plated Cu such as Sn, Ni, and Au/Ni-plated on Cu were estimated. Plated Sn on Cu showed best wettability for zero cross time, wetting time and equilibrium farce. Shear strength of the reflowed joint with Sn3Ag8Bi5In ball in BGA was investigated. Diameter of the ball was 0.5mm, UBM(under bump metallurgy) was $Au(0.5\mu\textrm{m})Ni(5\mu\textrm{m})/Cu(18\mu\textrm{m})$ and flux was RMA type. For the reflow soldering, the peak reflow temperature was changed in the range of $220~250^{\circ}C$, and conveyor speed was 0.6m/min.. The shear strength of Sn3Ag8Bi5In ball showed similar level as those of Sn37Pb. The soldered balls are aged at $110^{\circ}C$ for 36days and their shear strengths were evaluated. The shear strength of Sn3Ag8Bi5In ball was increased from 480gf to 580gf by aging for 5 days.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.43-47
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• 2001

Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In was developed for the intermediate melting point solder. Although In-contained solder is expensive, its melting point is lower than these of Sn-Ag-Cu alloys. Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In solder used for this research has a melting range of 188~$204^{\circ}C$. On this study wetting characteristics of Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In were evaluated in order to investigate its availability as a Pb-free solder. Wettabilities of Sn-37Pb and Sn-3.5Ag solders were also studied to compare these of the Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In. Experimental results showed that the zero-cross-time and wetting time at $240^{\circ}C$ for the Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In were 1.1 and 2.2 second respectively. These values are a little better than these of Sn-37Pb and Sn-3.5Ag solders. The equilibrium wetting farce of the Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In was 5.8 mN at $240^{\circ}C$, and it was tuned out to be a little higher than that of Sn-3.5Ag and lower than that of Sn-37Pb.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.71-77
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• 2007

In this study, the mechanical and electrical properties of three different ball grid array (BGA) solder joints, consisting of Sn-37Pb, Sn-3.5Ag and Sn-3.5Ag-0.75Cu (all wt.%), with organic solderability preservative (OSP)-finished Cu pads were investigated as a function of reflow number. Based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis results, a continuous $Cu_6Sn5$, intermetallic compound (IMC) layer was formed at the solder/substrate interface, which grew with increasing reflow number. The ball shear testing results showed that the shear force peaked after 3 reflows (in case of Sn-Ag solder, 4 reflows), and then decreased with increasing reflow number. The electrical property of the joint gradually decreased with increasing reflow number.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.59-59
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• 2002

Sn-Ag-Cu solder is known as most competitive in many kinds of Pb-free solders. In this study, effects of solderability with plated layers such as Cu, Cu/Sn, Cu/Ni and Cu/Ni/Au were investigated. Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu solder balls were reflowed in commercial reflow machine (peak temp. : 250℃ and conveyer speed : 0.6m/min). In wetting test, immersion speed was 5mm/sec., immersion time 5sec., immersion depth 4mm and temperature of solder bath was 250℃. Wettability of Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu on Cu, Cu/Sn (5㎛), Cu/Ni (5㎛), and Cu/Ni/Au (5㎛/500Å) layers was investigated. Cu/Ni/Au layer had the best wettability as zero cross time and equilibrium force, and the measured values were 0.93 sec and 7mN, respectively. Surface tension of Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu solder turmed out to be 0.52N/m. The thickness of IMC is reduced in the order of Cu, Cu/Sn, Cu/Mi and Cu/Ni/Au coated layer. Shear strength of Cu/Ni, Cu/Sn and Cu was around 560gf but Cu/Ni/Au was 370gf.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.783-788
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• 2002

Sn-Ag-Cu solder is known as most competitive in many kinds of Pb-free solders. In this study, effects of solderability with plated layers such as Cu, Cu/Sn, Cu/Ni and Cu/Ni/Au were investigated. Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu solder balls were reflowed in commercial reflow machine (peak temp.:$250^{\circ}C$and conveyer speed:0.6m/min). In wetting test, immersion speed was 5mm/sec., immersion time 5sec., immersion depth 4mm and temperature of solder bath was $250^{\circ}C$. Wettability of Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu on Cu, Cu/Sn ($5\mu\textrm{m}$), Cu/Ni ($5\mu\textrm{m}$), and Cu/Ni/Au ($5\mu\textrm{m}/500{\AA}$) layers was investigated. Cu/Ni/Au layer had the best wettability as zero cross time and equilibrium force, and the measured values were 0.93 sec and 7mN, respectively. Surface tension of Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu solder turmed out to be 0.52N/m. The thickness of IMC is reduced in the order of Cu, Cu/Sn, Cu/Mi and Cu/Ni/Au coated layer. Shear strength of Cu/Ni, Cu/Sn and Cu was around 560gf but Cu/Ni/Au was 370gf.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.89-96
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• 2000

As solder becomes small and fine, the reliability and solderability of solder joint are the critical issue in present electronic packaging industry. Besides the use of lead(Pb) containing solders for the interconnections of microelectronic subsystem assembly and packaging has enviromental problem. In this study, using Sn/Pb and Sn/Ag eutectic solder paste, in order to obtain decrease of solder joint strength with increasing aging time, initial solder joint strength and aging strength after 1000 hour aging at $100^{\circ}C$ were measured by peel test. And in order to obtain the growth of intermetallic compound(IMC) layer thickness, IMC layer thickness was measured by scanning electron microscope(SEM). As a result, solder joint strength was decreased with increasing aging time. The mean IMC layer thickness was increased linearly with the square root of aging time. The diffusion coefficient(D) of IMC layer was found to $1.29{\times}10^{-13}{\;}cm^2/s$ at using Sn/Pb solder paste, 7.56{\times}10^{-14}{\textrm}{cm}^2/s$ at using Sn/Ag solder paste.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.12
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• pp.842-851
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• 2009

The long-term reliability of Sn-0.3wt%Ag-0.7wt%Cu solder joints was evaluated and compared with Sn-3.0wt%Ag-0.5wt%Cu under thermal shock conditions. Test vehicles were prepared to use Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder alloys. To compare the shear strength of the solder joints, 0603, 1005, 1608, 2012, 3216 and 4232 multi-layer ceramic chip capacitors were used. A reflow soldering process was utilized in the preparation of the test vehicles involving a FR-4 material-based printed circuit board (PCB). To compare the shear strength degradation following the thermal shock cycles, a thermal shock test was conducted up to 2,000 cycles at temperatures ranging from $-40^{\circ}C$ to $85^{\circ}C$, with a dwell time of 30 min at each temperature. The shear strength of the solder joints of the chip capacitors was measured at every 500 cycles in each case. The intermetallic compounds (IMCs) of the solder joint interfaces werealso analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that the reliability of Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu solder joints was very close to that of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu. Consequently, it was confirmed that Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu solder alloy with a low silver content can be replaced with Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.36-42
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• 1997

In this paper, stability of initial strength at solder joint with lead free solders, such as Sn-In (52-48%) and Sn-Ag (96.5-3.5wt%) was studied. To obtain at solder joint with high quality, it is very important to control the temperature at the interface of solder joints. It is found that the thermal EMF (electro motive force) occurs betwee lead frame and copper pad on a substrate during reflow soldering process using heated tip. As a result of control the temperature at interface of solder joints, variation of initial strength at solder joint decreases from about $\pm40%$ to $\pm20%$, and it is realized Pb free soldering process using Sn/In and Sn-Ag solder paste.

• 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.