• Proceedings of the International Microelectronics And Packaging Society Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.49-49
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• 2004

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.43-48
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• 2008

Characteristics of Sn-1.7%Bi-0.7%Cu-0.6%In (hereafter, SBIC) lead-free solder was investigated in this study. The results from SBIC were compared to other lead-free solders such as Sn-3.5%Ag-0.7%Cu (hereafter, SAC), Sn-0.7%Cu (hereafter, SC), and lead-bearing Sn-37%Pb (hereafter, SP) alloy. Tensile properties of bulk solder, wettability, spreading index, bridge and dross were evaluated. As experimental results, tensile strength and elongation of SBIC was 62.5MPa and 21.5%, respectively. The tensile strength was comparable to that of SP solder. The wetting time of SBIC was 1.2 sec at $250^{\circ}C$, and its wetting properties including wetting force were as good as the SAC alloy. However, wettability of the SC was not so good as the SBIC and SAC. The spreading index of SBIC at $250^{\circ}C$ was 71 %, and it was similar level to those of SAC and SC solders. Bridging was not found for all solders of SBIC, SAC and SC in the range from 240 to $260^{\circ}C$. In dross test at $250^{\circ}C$ for an hour, the amount of dross produced from SBIC was about 57% compared to that from SAC.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.151-156
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• 2007

In this paper, the creep characteristics of lead and lead-free solder joint were investigated using the QFP(Quad Flat Package) creep test. Two kind of solder pastes(Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu, Sn-0.2Sb-0.4Ag-37.4Pb) were applied to the QFP solder joints and each specimen was checked the external and internal failures(i.e., wetting failure, void, pin hole, poor-heel fillet) by digital microscope and X-ray inspection. The creep test was conducted at the temperatures of $100^{\circ}C$ and $130^{\circ}C$ under the load of 15$\sim$20% of average pull strength in solder joints. The creep characteristics of each solder joints were compared using the creep strain-time curve and creep strain rate-stress curves. Through the comparison, the Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu solder joints have higher creep resistance than that of Sn-0.3Sb-0.4Ag-37.4Pb. Also, the grain boundary sliding in the fracture surface and the necking of solder joint were observed by FE-SEM.

• 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.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.37-42
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• 2001

The concerns of the toxicity and health hazard of lead in solders have demanded the research to find suitable lead-free solder alloys. It was discussed that effect of the intermetallic formation and structure on the reliability of solder joints. In this study, lead-free solder alloys with compositions of Sn/3.5Ag/0.75Cu, Sn/2.0Ag/0.5Cu/2.0Bi were applied to the 48 $\mu$BGA packages. Also, the lead-free solder alloys compared with eutectic Sn/37Pb solder using shear test under various aging temperature. Common $\mu$BGA with solder components was aged at $130^{\circ}C$, $150^{\circ}C$ and $170^{\circ}C$. And the each temperature applied to 300, 600 and 900 hours. The thickness of the intermetallics was measured for each condition and the activation energy for their growth was computed. The fracture surfaces were analyzed using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) with EDS (Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy). These results for reliability of lead-free interconnections are discussed.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.65-69
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• 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 KWS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.72-73
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• 2003

• 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 the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.49-55
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• 2011

The failure of electronic instruments is mostly caused by heat and shock. This shock causes the crack initiation at the solder joint interface of PCB component which is closely related with the formation of intermetallic compound(IMC). The Ag content in Pb-free Sn-xAg-0.5Cu solder alloy used in this study was 1.0, 1.2 and 3.0 wt.%, respectively. After soldering with PCB component, isothermal aging was performed to 1000 hrs. The growth of IMC layer was observed during isothermal aging. The drop impact property of solder joint was evaluated by impact bending test method. The solder joint made with the solder containing lower Ag content showed better impact bending property compared with that with higher Ag content. On the contrary to this result, the solder joint made with solder containing higher Ag content showed better impact bending property after aging. It should be caused by the formation of fine $Ag_3Sn$, which relieved the impact. It showed consequently the different effect of fine $Ag_3Sn$ and coarse $Cu_6Sn_5$ particles formed in the IMC layer on the impact bending property.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 2002

The intermetallic formation between Sn-Ag-(Cu) solders and metal pads in a real BGA package was characterized using SEM, EDS, and XRD. The intermetallic phase formed in the interface between Sn-Ag-Cu and Au/Ni/Cu pad is likely to be ternary compound of $(Cu,Ni)_6Sn_5$ from EDS analysis High concentration of Cu was observed in the solder/Ni interface. XRD analysis confirmed that $\eta -Cu_6 Sn_5$ type was intermetallic phase formed in the interface between Cu containing solders and Ni substrates and $Ni_3$Sn_4$ intermetallic was formed in the Sn-Ag solder/Ni interface. The thickness of intermetallic phase increased with the reflow times and Cu concentration in solder.