• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.995-1002
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• 2010

This study investigated the effect of process temperature on the alloying process during synthesis of $Sm_2Fe_{17}$ powder from ball-milled samarium oxide ($Sm_2O_3$) powders and a solid reducing agent of calcium hydrides ($CaH_2$) using iron nanopowder (n-Fe powder) by a reduction-diffusion (R-D) process. The $n-Fe-Sm_2O_3-CaH_2$ mixed powders were subjected to heat treatment at $850{\sim}1100^{\circ}C$ in $Ar-H_2$ for 5 h. It was found that the iron nanopowders in the mixed powders are sintered below $850^{\circ}C$ during the R-D process and the $SmH_2$ is synthesized by a reduced Sm that combines with $H_2$ around $850^{\circ}C$. The results showed that $SmH_2$ is able to separate Sm and $H_2$ respectively depending on an increase in process temperature, and the formed $Sm_2Fe_{17}$ phase on the surface of the sintered Fe nanopowder agglomerated at temperatures of $950{\sim}1100^{\circ}C$ in this study. The formation of the $Sm_2Fe_{17}$ layer is mainly due to the diffusion reaction of Sm atoms into the sintered Fe nanopowder, which agglomerates above $950^{\circ}C$. We concluded that nanoscale $Sm_2Fe_{17}$ powder can be synthesized by controlling the diffusion depth using well-dispersed Fe nanopowders.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.180-186
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• 2011

Isothermal annealing and electromigration tests were performed at $125^{\circ}C$ and $125^{\circ}C$, $3.6{\times}10_4A/cm^2$ conditions, respectively, in order to compare the growth kinetics of the intermetallic compound (IMC) in the Cu/thin Sn/Cu bump. $Cu_6Sn_5$ and $Cu_3Sn$ formed at the Cu/thin Sn/Cu interfaces where most of the Sn phase transformed into the $Cu_6Sn_5$ phase. Only a few regions of Sn were not consumed and trapped between the transformed regions. The limited supply of Sn atoms and the continued proliferation of Cu atoms enhanced the formation of the $Cu_3Sn$ phase at the Cu pillar/$Cu_6Sn_5$ interface. The IMC thickness increased linearly with the square root of annealing time, and increased linearly with the current stressing time, which means that the current stressing accelerated the interfacial reaction. Abrupt changes in the IMC growth velocities at a specific testing time were closely related to the phase transition from $Cu_6Sn_5$ to $Cu_3Sn$ phases after complete consumption of the remaining Sn phase due to the limited amount of the Sn phase in the Cu/thin Sn/Cu bump, which implies that the relative thickness ratios of Cu and Sn significantly affect Cu-Sn IMC growth kinetics.