• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.1-8
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• 2018

In the soldering industry, a variety of lead-free solders have been developed as a part of restricting lead in electronic packaging. Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) lead-free solder is regarded as one of the most superior candidates, owing to its low melting point and high solderability as well as the mechanical property. On the other hand, the mechanical property of SAC solder is directly influenced by intermetallic compounds (IMCs) in the solder joint. Although IMCs in SAC solder play an important role in bonding solder joints and impart strength to the surrounding solder matrix, a large amount of IMCs may cause poor strength, due to their brittle nature. In other words, the mechanical properties of SAC solder are of some concern because of the formation of large and brittle IMCs. As the IMCs grow, they may cause poor device performance, resulting in the failure of the electronic device. Therefore, new solder technologies which can control the IMC growth are necessary to address these issues satisfactorily. There are an advanced nanotechnology for microstructural refinement that lead to improve mechanical properties of solder alloys with nanoparticle additions, which are defined as nano-reinforced solders. These nano-reinforced solders increase the mechanical strength of the solder due to the dispersion hardening as well as solderability of the solder. This paper introduces the nano-reinforced solders, including its principles, types, and various properties.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.21-27
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• 2006

This study was focused on the evaluation of the thermo-mechanical board-level reliability of Pb-bearing and Pb-free surface mount assemblies. The composition of Pb-bearing solder was a typical Sn-37Pb and that of Pb-free solder used in this study was a representative Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu in mass %. Thermal shock test was chosen for the reliability evaluation of the solder joints. Typical $Cu_6Sn_5$ intermetallic compound (IMC) layer was formed between both solders and Cu lead frame at the as-reflowed state, while a layer of $Cu_3Sn$ was additionally formed between the $Cu_6Sn_5$ and Cu lead frame during the thermal shock testing. Thickness of the IMC layers increased with increasing thermal shock cycles, and this is very similar result with that of isothermal aging study of solder joints. Shear test of the multi layer ceramic capacitor(MLCC) joints was also performed to investigate the degradation of mechanical bonding strength of solder joints during the thermal shock testing. Failure mode of the joints after shear testing revealed that the degradation was mainly due to the excessive growth of the IMC layers during the thermal shock testing.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.82-88
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• 2007

Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu lead fee solder was generally utilized in electronics assemblies. But it is insufficient to research about activation energy(Q) that is applying to evaluate the solder joint reliability of environmental friendly electronics assemblies. Therefore this study investigated Q values which are needed to IMC formation and growth of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu/Cu and Sn-40pb/Cu solder joints during aging treatment. We bonded Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-40Pb solders on FR-4 PCB with Cu pad$(t=80{\mu}m)$. After reflow soldering, to observe the IMC formation and growth of the solder joints, test specimens were aged at 70, 150 and $170^{\circ}C$ for 1, 2, 5, 20, 60, 240, 960, 15840, 28800 and 43200 min, respectively. SEM and EDS were utilized to analysis the IMCS. From these results, we measured the total IMC$(Cu_6Sn_5+Cu_3Sn)$ thickness of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu/Cu and Sn-40Pb/Cu interface, and then obtained Q values for the IMC$(Cu_6Sn_5,\;Cu_3Sn)$ growth of the solder joints.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.11 no.3 s.32
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• pp.47-53
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• 2004

Eutectic Au-20Sn(compositions are all in weight percent unless specified otherwise) solder alloys were soldered on the Ni substrate with various time and temperature. The composition, phase identification and morphology of intermetallic compounds(IMC) at the interface were examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM). There were two types of IMCs, $(Au,Ni)_3Sn_2$ and $(Au,Ni)_3Sn$ at the interface. The transition in morphology of $(Au,Ni)_3Sn_2$ has been observed at $300{\~}400^{\circ}C$. The morphology transition of $(Au,Ni)_3Sn_2$ is due to the decrease of enthalpy of formation of $(Au,Ni)_3Sn_2$ phase and has been explained well by Jackson's parameter with temperature. Because the number of diffusion channel is different at each soldering temperature, IMC thickness is nearly same at all temperature.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.140-145
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• 2011

The aim of the present study is to derive optimized post heat treatment temperatures to get a proper formability for Ti/STS409L/Ti clad materials. These clad materials were fabricated by cold rolling followed by a post heat treatment process for 10 minutes at temperatures ranging from $500^{\circ}C$ to $850^{\circ}C$. The microstructure of the interface was observed using a Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM) and an Energy Dispersive X-ray Analyser(EDX) in order to investigate the effects of post heat treatment on the bonding properties of the Ti/STS409L/Ti clad materials. Diffusion bonding was observed at the interfaces with a diffusion layer thickness increasing with the post heat treatment temperature. The diffusion layer was composed of a type of(${\varepsilon}+{\zeta}$) intermetallic compound containing additional elements, namely, Fe, Ti and Ni. The micro Knoop hardness of the Ti/STS409L interfaces was found to increase with heat treatment up to $800^{\circ}C$ and then decrease for temperatures rising up to $850^{\circ}C$. The tensile strength was shown to decrease for heat treatment temperature increasing to $750^{\circ}C$ and then increase rapidly for temperature rising up to $850^{\circ}C$. A post heat treatment temperature range of $700{\sim}750^{\circ}C$ was found to optimize the formability of Ti/STS409L/Ti clad materials.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.195-200
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• 2018

This study investigated the effects of the post annealing temperatures on the electrical and interfacial properties of a metal-semiconductor-metal photodetector(MSM-PD) device. The interdigitate type MSM-PD devices had the structure Al(500 nm) / Ti(200 nm) / poly-Si(500 nm). Structural analyses of the MSM-PD devices were performed by employing X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscope(TEM). Electrical characteristics of the MSM-PD were also examined using current-voltage(I-V) measurements. The optimal post annealing condition for the Schottky contact of MSM-PD devices are $350^{\circ}C$-30minutes. However, as the annealing temperature and time are increased, electrical characteristics of MSM-PD device are degraded. Especially, for the annealing conditions of $400^{\circ}C$-180minutes and $500^{\circ}C$-30minutes, the I-V measurement itself was impossible. These results are closely related to the solid phase reactions at the interface of MSM-PD device, which result in the formation of intermetallic compounds such as $Al_3Ti$ and $Ti_7Al_5Si_{12}$.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.134-141
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• 2013

Reflow soldering process is essential in electronic package. Reflow process for a long time results from the decrease of reliability because IMC is formed excessively. Solder alloys of Sn-37Pb and Sn-Ag with different kinds of Cu contents (0, 0.5 and 1 wt.%) as compared with Ni and Cu plate joints are investigated according to varying reflow time. The interfaces of solder joints are observed to analyze IMC (intermetallic compound) growth rate by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Shear test is also performed by using SP (Share-Punch) tester. The test results are compared with the solder joints of two different plates (Ni and Cu plate). $Cu_6Sn_5$ IMCs are formed on Cu plate interfaces after reflows in all samples. Ni3Sn4 and $(Cu,Ni)_6Sn_5$ IMCs are also formed on Ni plate interfaces. The IMC layer forms are affected by reflow time and contents of solder alloy. These results show that mechanical strength of solder joints strongly depends on thickness and shape of IMC.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.153-159
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• 2002

The co-deposited behavior was investigated under varied bath compositions and current densities from Watt Ni plating bath containing Al and A1$_2$O$_3$powders. For single-particle bath, Al and A1$_2$O$_3$particles were agglomerated. The area percentage of A1$_2$O$_3$on plating surface decreased with increasing the current density, while that of Al on plating surface increased. On the other hand, in case of double-particle bath with 1.25g/$\ell$ of Al and 5.0g/$\ell$ of A1$_2$O$_3$5g, the area percentage of Ni-Al-A1$_2$O$_3$increased with increasing current density and the surface morphology was fine without agglomeration. Intermetallic compounds such as $\gamma$'and $\gamma$+$\gamma$' phases appeared when the co-deposited film was annealed.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.293-297
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• 2007

Microstructure and tensile strength of the vacuum brazed stainless steel(STS303) and Cu were investigated. For brazing, the BNi-2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 (A.W.S standard) were used as filler metals. The Oxides such as $Cr_2O_3$ and $SiO_2$ were observed at brazed layers between STS303 and Cu matrix. Also, the intermetallic compounds of Cr-B and Ni-P were observed at brazed layers. Brazed STS303-Cu specimens with BNi-2, 3, 4 filler metals showed almost elastic deformation followed by plastic yielding and strain hardening up to a peak stress. On the other hand, it is likely that the fracture of the brazed specimens with BNi-6 and 7 was occurred in elastic range without plastic yielding up to a peak stress. Among these filler metals, the BNi-2 brazed at $1050^{\circ}C$ showed excellent wettability and the highest tensile strength (101.6MPa).