• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.39-43
• /
• 2002

The eutectic solder Sn-37Pb and the lead free solder alloys with the compositions of Sn-0.7Cu, Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-3.5Ag-0.75Cu, Sn-2.0Ag-0.7Cu-3.0Bi were applied to the 48 BGA packages, and then it was discussed for the shear strength at the solder joints as the hardness and the composition of the small solder ball. As a result of experiments, the high degree of hardness with the displacement of 0.043 mm was obtained in Sn-2.0Ag-0.7Cu-3.0Bi. The shear strength of the lead free solder was higher than that of Sn-37Pb solder, and it can be obtained the maximum value of about 52% in Sn-2.0Ag-0.7Cu-3.0Bi.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.26-32
• /
• 2008

Examination of two bronze vessels supposedly from the Koryo dynasty revealed that they consist of bowls and stands that are fixed together using rivet joints made of Cu-Ag alloys. The bowls and stands were forged out of unleaded bronze alloys of approximately 22 weight % Sn before being quenched from the ${\alpha}+{\beta}$ region of the Cu-Sn phase diagram. This specific alloy and the thermo-mechanical treatment constitute two key elements of the unique technical tradition called Bangcha (방짜) that has long been established in Korea. The high Sn content ensures better casting and the thermal treatment causes the brittle ${\delta}$ phase to be avoided in forging as well as in services. The experiment on the laboratory Cu-Ag alloys of varying Ag contents suggested that the Cu-Ag system was the best choice of materials for the rivets at the time in view of their color, availability, ductility and low melting points.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.12 no.1 s.34
• /
• pp.35-40
• /
• 2005

The oxidation of pure Sn and Sn-0.7Cu, Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-lZn, and Sn-9Zn alloys at $150^{\circ}C$ was investigated. Both the chemical nature and the amount of oxides were characterized using electrochemical reduction analysis by measuring the electrolytic reduction potential and total transferred electrical charges. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was also conducted to support the results of reduction analysis. The effect of Cu, Ag and Zn addition on surface oxidation of Sn alloys is reported. For Sn, Sn-0.7Cu and Sn-3.5Ag, SnO grew first and then the mixture of SnO and $SnO_2$ was found. $SnO_2$ grew predominantly for a long-time aging. For Zn containing Sn alloys, both ZnO and $SnO_2$ were formed. Zn promotes the formation of $SnO_2$. Sn oxide growth rate of Pb-free solder alloys was also discussed in terms of alloying elements.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.57-63
• /
• 2007

Electrochemical migration characteristics of Pb-free solder alloys are quantitatively correlated with corrosion characteristics in harsh environment conditions. In-situ water drop test and corrosion resistance test for Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder alloys were carried out in NaBr and NaF solutions to obtain the electrochemical migration lifetime and pitting potential, respectively. Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder alloy shows similar ionization and electrochemical migration behavior with pure Sn because of Ag and Cu do not migrate due to the formation of resistant intermetallic compounds inside solder itself. Electrochemical migration lifetime in NaBr is longer than in NaF, which seems to be closely related to higher pitting potential in NaBr than NaF solution. Therefore, it was revealed that electrochemical migration lifetime of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder alloys showed good correlation to the corrosion resistance, and also the initial ionization step at anode side is believed to be the rate-determining step during electrochemical migration of Pb-free solders in these environments.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.92-98
• /
• 2003

This paper describes the numerical prediction of the thermal fatigue life of a $\mu$BGA(Micro Ball Grid Array) solder joint. Finite element analysis(FEA) was employed to simulate thermal cycling loading for solder joint reliability. Strain values, along with the result of mechanical fatigue tests for solder alloys were then used to predict the solder joint fatigue life using the Coffin-Manson equation. The results show that Sn-3.5mass%Ag solder had the longest thermal fatigue life in low cycle fatigue. Also a practical correlation for the prediction of the thermal fatigue life was suggested by using the dimensionless variable ${\gamma}$, which was possible to use several lead free solder alloys for prediction of thermal fatigue life. Furthermore, when the contact angle of the ball and chip has 50 degrees, solder joint has longest fatigue life.

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

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2000.11a
• /
• pp.146-146
• /
• 2000

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.19-27
• /
• 2003

Surface finishes of PCB laminates are important in the solder joint reliability of flip chip package because the types and thicknesses of intermetallic compound(IMC), and compositions and hardness of solders are affected by them. In this study, effects of surface finishes of PCB on the low cycle fatigue resistance of Sn-based lead-free solders; Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-3.5Ag-XCu(X=0.75, 1.5), Sn-3.5Ag-XBi(X=2.5, 7.5) and Sn-0.7Cu were investigated for the Cu and Au/Ni surface finish treatments. Displacement controlled room temperature lap shear fatigue tests showed that fatigue resistance of Sn-3.5Ag-XCu(X=0.75, 1.5), Sn-3.5Ag and Sn-0.7Cu alloys were more or less the same each other but much better than that of Bi containing alloys regardless of the surface finish layer used. In general, solder joints on the Au/Ni finish showed better fatigue resistance than those on the Cu finish. Cross-sectional fractography revealed microcracks nucleation inside of the interfacial IMC near the solder mask edge, more frequently on the Cu than the Au/Ni surface finish. Macro cracks followed the solder/IMC interface in the Bi containing alloys, while they propagated in the solder matrix in other alloys. It was ascribed to the Bi segregation at the solder/IMC interface and the solid solution hardening effect of Bi in the $\beta-Sn$ matrix.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.65-69
• /
• 2012

Environmental and health concerns over the lead have led to investigation of the alternative Pb-free solders to replace commonly used Pb-Sn solders in microelectronic packaging application. The leading candidates for lead-free solder alloys are presently the near eutectic Sn-Ag-Cu alloys. Therefore, extensive studies on reliability related with the composition have been reported. However, the insufficient drop property of the near eutectic Sn-Ag-Cu alloys has demanded solder compositions of low Ag content. In addition, the solder interconnections in automobile applications like a smart box require significantly improved vibration resistance. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of alloying elements (Ag, Bi, In) on the vibration fatigue strength. The vibration fatigue was conducted in 10~1000Hz frequency and 20Grms. The interface of the as-soldered cross section close to the Cu pad indicated the intermetallic compound ($Cu_6Sn_5$) regardless of solder composition. The type and thickness of IMC was not significantly changed after the vibration test. It indicates that no thermal activities occurred significantly during vibration. Furthermore, as a function of alloying composition, the vibration crack path was investigated with a focus on the IMCs. Vibration crack was initiated from the fillet surface of the heel for QFP parts and from the plating layer of chip parts. Regardless of the solder composition, the crack during a vibration test was propagated as same as that during a thermal fatigue test.

• Proceedings of the International Microelectronics And Packaging Society Conference
• /
• 2002.05a
• /
• pp.126-129
• /
• 2002

This article presents that the affecting factors to solderability and initial reliability. It was discussed that effect of the solder ball hardness and composition on the reliability of solder joints. In this study, lead free solder alloys with compositions of Sn-Cu, Sn-Ag, Sn-Ag-Cu, Sn-Ag-Cu-Bi were applied to the $\muBGA$ packages. As a result of experiments, the high degree of hardness with the displacement of 0.22mm was obtained Sn-2.0Ag-0.7Cu-3.0Bi. The shear strength of lead free solder was higher than of Sn-37Pb solder, and it was increased about 150% in Sn-2.0Ag-0.7Cu-3.0Bi.