• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.33-37
• /
• 2008

A noticeable amount of Kirkendall voids formed at the Sn-3.5Ag solder joint with electroplated Cu, and that became even more significant when an additive was added to Cu electroplating bath. With SPS, a large amount of voids formed at the $Cu/Cu_3Sn$ interface of the solder joint during thermal aging at $150^{\circ}C$. The in-situ AES analysis of fractured joints revealed S segregation on the void surface. Only Cu, Sn, and S peaks were detected at the fractured $Cu/Cu_3Sn$ interfaces, and the S peak decreased rapidly with AES depth profiling. The segregation of S at the $Cu/Cu_3Sn$ interface lowered interface energy and thereby reduced the free energy barrier for the Kirkendall void nucleation. The drop impact test revealed that the electrodeposited Cu film with SPS degraded drastically with aging time. Fracture occurred at the $Cu/Cu_3Sn$ interface where a lot of voids existed. Therefore, voids occupied at the $Cu/Cu_3Sn$ interface are shown to seriously degrade drop reliability of solder joints.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
• /
• 2006.09b
• /
• pp.1207-1208
• /
• 2006

We developed the copper core ball electroplated with Sn-Ag-Cu of the eutectic composition which used mostly as Pb free solder ball with high reliability. In order to search for the practicality of this developed copper core ball, the evaluation was executed by measuring the initial joint strength of the sample mounted on the substrate and reflowed and by measuring the joint strength of the sample after the high temperature leaving test and the constant temperature and the humidity leaving test. This evaluation was compered with those of the usual other copper core balls electroplated with (Sn,Sn-Ag,Sn-Cu,Sn-Bi) and the Sn-Ag-Cu solder ball.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.202-208
• /
• 2009

The effects of aging time on the microstructure and shear strength of the Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC)/Ag pad/Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold (ENIG)/BGA solder joints were investigated through isothermal aging at $150^{\circ}C$ for 1000 h with conventional Sn-37Pb and Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu. $Ni_3Sn_4$ intermetallic compound (IMC) layers was formed at the interface between Sn-37Pb solder and LTCC substrate as-reflowed state, while $(Ni,Cu)_3Sn_4$ IMC layer was formed between Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu solder and LTCC substrate. Additional $(Cu,Ni)_6Sn_5$ layer was found at the interface between the $(Ni,Cu)_3Sn_4$ layer and Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu solder after aging at $150^{\circ}C$ for 500 h. Thickness of the IMC layers increased and coarsened with increasing aging time. Shear strength of both solder joints increased with increasing aging time. Failure mode of BGA solder joints with LTCC substrate after shear testing revealed that shear strength of the joints depended on the adhesion between Ag metallization and LTCC. Fracture mechanism of Sn-37Pb solder joint was a mixture of ductile and pad lift, while that of Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu solder joint was a mixture of ductile and brittle $(Ni,Cu)_3Sn_4$ IMC fracture morphology. Failure mechanisms of LTCC/Ag pad/ENIG/BGA solder joints were also interpreted by finite element analyses.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.13-17
• /
• 2009

A semi-empirical method to estimate the surface tension of molten alloys at different oxygen partial pressures is suggested in this study. The surface tension of molten Ag-Sn and Ag-Cu alloys were calculated using the Butler equation with the surface tension value of pure substance at a given oxygen partial pressure. The oxygen partial pressure ranges were $2.86{\times}10^{-12}$－$1.24{\times}10^{-9}$ Pa for the Ag-Sn system and $2.27{\times}10^{-11}$－$5.68{\times}10^{-4}$ Pa for the Ag-Cu system. In this calculation, the interactions of the adsorbed oxygen with other metallic constituents were ignored. The calculated results of the Ag-Sn alloys were in reasonable accordance with the experimental data within a difference of 8%. For the Ag-Cu alloy system at a higher oxygen partial pressure, the surface tension initially decreased but showed a minimum at $X_{Ag}$ = 0.05 to increase as the silver content increased. This behavior appears to be related to the oxygen adsorption and the corresponding surface segregation of the constituent with a lower surface tension. Nevertheless, the calculated results of the Ag-Cu alloys with the present model were in good agreement with the experimental data within a difference of 10%.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.429-435
• /
• 2009

In this study, we investigated microstructure and the CO gas sensing properties of Ag-CuO-$SnO_2$ thin films prepared by co-evaporation and subsequently thermal oxidation at air atmosphere. The sensitivity of a Cu-Sn films, thermally oxidized at $600^{\circ}C$, is strongly affected by the amount of Cu. At Cu:7 wt%-Sn:93 wt%, the film exhibited a maximum sensitivity of ${\sim}2.3$ to CO gas of 1000 ppm at $300^{\circ}C$. In contrast, the sensitivity of a Sn-Ag film did not change significantly with the amount of Ag. An enhanced sensitivity of ${\sim}3.7$ was observed in the film with a composition of Ag:3 wt%-Cu:4 wt%-Sn:93 wt%, when thermally oxidized at $600^{\circ}C$. In addition, this thin film shows a response time of ${\sim}80$ sec and a recovery time of ${\sim}450$ sec to 1000 ppm CO gas. The results demonstrate that the CO sensitivity of the Ag-CuO-$SnO_2$ thin films may be closely associated with coexistence of $SnO_2$ and SnO phase, decrease in average particle size, and a porous microstructure. We also suggest that co-evaporation and followed by thermal oxidation is a very simple and effective method to prepare oxide gas sensor thin films.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.77-81
• /
• 2002

Many kinds of Pb-free solder have been investigated because of the environmental concerns. Sn-Ag-Cu system is well blown as most competitive Pb-free solder. However, since Sn-Ag-Cu system has relatively high melting point compared to Sn-Pb eutectic, it may a limitation, the some application. In this study, Bi and In contained solder of $Sn_3Ag_8Bi_5In$ which has relatively lower melting point, $188~204^{\circ}C$, was investigated. $Sn_3Ag_8Bi_5In$ solder ball of $500\mu\textrm{m}$ diameter was set on the Ni/Cu/Cr-UBM and reflow soldered in the range of $220~240^{\circ}C$ for 5~15s. The maximum shear strength of the solder ball was around 170mN by reflowing at $240^{\circ}C$ for 10s. Intermetallic compound formed on the UBM of Si-wafer was analysed by SEM(scanning electron microscope) and XRD(X-ray diffractometer).

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.29-35
• /
• 2003

The Sn-based lead-free solders with varying microstructure were prepared by changing the cooling rate from the melt. Bulky as-cast SnAg, SnAgCu, and SnCu, alloys were cold rolled and thermally stabilized before the creep tests so that there would be very small amount of microstructural change during creep (TS), and thin specimens were water quenched from the melt (WQ) to simulate microstructures of the as-reflowed solders in flip chips. Cooling rates of the WQ specimens were 140∼150 K/sec, and the resultant $\beta-Sn$ globule size was 5∼10 times smaller than that of the TS specimens. Subsequent creep tests showed that the minimum strain rate of TS specimens was about $10_2$ times higher than that of the WQ specimens. Fractographic analyses showed that creep rupture of the TS-SnAgCu specimens occurred by the nucleation of voids on the $Ag_3Sn$ Sn or $Cu_6Sn_5$ particles in the matrix, their subsequent growth by the power-law creep, and inter-linkage of microcracks to form macrocracks which led to the fast failure. On the other hand, no creep voids were found in the WQ specimens due to the mode III shear rupture coming from the thin specimens geometry.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.12 no.1 s.34
• /
• pp.41-46
• /
• 2005

A systematic investigation of shear testing was conducted to find a relationship between Ni-Sn intermetallic spatting and the brittle fracture observed in electroless Ni(P)/solder interconnection. Brittle fracture was found in the solder joints made of Sn-3.5Ag, while only ductile fracture was observed in a Cu-containing solder (Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu). For Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu joints, $(Ni,Cu)_3Sn_4$ and/or $(Cu,Ni)_6Sn_5$ compound were formed at the interface without spatting from the Ni(P) film. For Sn-3.5Ag, $Ni_3Sn_4$ compound was formed and brittle fracture occurred in solder pads where $Ni_3Sn_4$ had spalled. From the analysis of fractured surfaces, it was found that the brittle fracture occurs through the $Ni_3SnP$ layer formed between $Ni_3Sn_4$ intermetallic layer and the Ni(P) film. Since the $Ni_3SnP$ layer is getting thicker during/ after $Ni_3Sn_4$ spatting, suppression of $Ni_3Sn_4$ spatting is crucial to ensure the reliability of Ni(P)/solder system.

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