• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.13-19
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• 2018

The soldering property of Pb-containing solder(Sn-Pb) and Pb-free solders(Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-1.0Ag-0.7Cu-1.6Bi-0.2In) for solar combiner box module was compared. The solar combiner box module was composed of voltage and current detecting modules, diode modules, and other modules. In this study, solder paste printability, printing shape inspection, solder joint property, X-ray inspection, and shear force measurements were conducted. For optimization of Pb-free soldering process, step 1 and 2 were divided. In the step 1 process, the printability of Pb-containing and Pb-free solder alloys were estimated by using printing inspector. Then, the relationship between void percentages and shear force has been estimated. Overall, the property of Pb-containing solder was better than two Pb-free solders. In the step 2 process, the property of reflow soldering for the Pb-free solders was evaluated with different reflow peak temperatures. As the peak temperature of the reflow process gradually increased, the void percentage decreased by 2 to 4%, but the shear force did not significantly depend on the reflow peak temperature by a deviation of about 0.5 kgf. Among different surface finishes on PCB, ENIG surface finish was better than OSP and Pb-free solder surface finishes in terms of shear force. In the thermal shock reliability test of the solar combiner box module with a Pb-free solder and OSP surface finish, the change rate of electrical property of the module was almost unchanged within a 0.3% range and the module had a relatively good electrical property after 500 thermal shock cycles.

• 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.11 no.3 s.32
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• pp.23-30
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• 2004

Interfacial reaction of Pb-free $Sn0.7wt{\%}Cu$ and $Sn3.8wt{\%}Ag0.7wt{\%}Cu$ solders and Pt during aging has been investigated. After the $Sn3.8wt{\%}Ag0.7wt{\%}Cu/Pt$ specimens were reflowed at $250^{\circ}C$ for 30s and the $Sn0.7wt{\%}Cu/Pt$ specimens were reflowed at $260^{\circ}C$, the specimens were aged at $125^{\circ}C,\;150^{\circ}C$ and $170^{\circ}C$ for 25-121 hours. The intermetallic thitkness and morphology change during aging were characterized using SEM, EDS and XRD. $PtSn_4$ and $PtSn_2$ were observed in the solder/pt interface and the intermetallic formation was governed by diffusion. The activation energy of intermetallic formation was 145.3 kJ/mol for$Sn3.8wt{\%}Ag0.7wt{\%}Cu/Pt$ specimens for $Sn0.7wt{\%}Cu/Pt$ specimens from the measurement of the intermetallic thickness with aging temperature and time.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.467-471
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• 2015

Thus far, solders used in electronics remain lead-based. Pb-free solutions in electronic components and systems are receiving increased attention in the semiconductor and electronics industries. Pb-free materials currently in used are Sn-37Pb, Sn-4Ag and Sn-4Ag-0.5Cu/Ni plate joints. In this study, solder alloys were used at high temperatures for artificial aging processing that was performed at $150^{\circ}C$ for 0hr, 100hr, 200hr, 400hr, 600hr and 1000hr. The SP test was conducted at $30^{\circ}C$ and $50^{\circ}C$. As a result, the maximum shear strength of all the specimens decreased with the increase in artificial aging time and temperature of the SP test. In addition, Pb-free solders showed higher total fracture energy compared with Sn-37Pb at high temperatures. The mechanical properties of Sn-4Ag-0.5Cu solder/Ni plate joints remained in excellent conditions in electronic parking systems at high temperatures.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.450-455
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• 2002

Cu-cored Sn-Ag solder balls were fabricated by coating pure Sn and Ag on Cu balls. The melting behavior and the solderability of the BGA joint with the Ni/Au coated Cu pad were investigated and were compared with those of the commercial Sn-Ag and Sn-Ag-Cu balls. DSC analyses clarified the melting of Cu-cored solders to start at a rather low temperature, the eutectic temperature of Sn-Ag-Cu. It was ascribed to the diffusion of Cu and Ag into Sn plating during the heating process. After reflow soldering the microstructures of the solder and of the interfacial layer between the solder and the Cu pad were analyzed with SEM and EPMA. By EDX analysis, formation of a eutectic microstructure composing of $\beta$-Sn, Ag$_3$Sn, ad Cu$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ phases was confirmed in the solder, and the η'-(Au, Co, Cu, Ni)$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ reaction layer was found to form at the interface between the solder and the Cu pad. By conducting shear tests, it was found that the BGA joint using Cu-cored solder ball could prevent the degradation of joint strength during aging at 423K because of the slower growth me of η'-(Au, Co, Cu, Ni)$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ reaction layer formed at the solder, pad interface. Furthermore, Cu-cored multi-component Sn-Ag-Bi balls were fabricated by sequentially coating the binary Sn-Ag and Sn-Bi solders on Cu balls. The reflow property of these solder balls was investigated. Melting of these solder balls was clarified to start at the almost same temperature as that of Sn-2Ag-0.75Cu-3Bi solder. A microstructure composing of (Sn), Ag$_3$Sn, Bi and Cu$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ phases was found to form in the solder ball, and a reaction layer containing primarily η'-(Au, Co, Cu, Ni)$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ was found at the interface with Ni/Au coated Cu pad after reflow soldering. By conducting shear test, it was found that the BGA joints using this Cu-core solder balls hardly degraded their joint shear strength during aging at 423K due to the slower growth rate of the η'-(Au, Cu, Ni)$_{6}$Sn$_{5}$ reaction layer at the solder/pad interface.he solder/pad interface.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.77-86
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• 2008

The reliability of leaded and lead-free solders of BGA type packages on a printed circuit board was investigated by employing the standard drop test and 4-point bending test. Tested solder joints were examined by optical microscopy to identify associated failure mode. Three-dimensional finite element analysis(FEM) with ANSYS Workbench v.11 was carried out to understand the mechanical behavior of solder joints under the influence of bending or drop impact. The results of numerical analysis are in good agreement with those obtained by experiments. Packages in the center of the PCB experienced higher stress than those in the perimeter of the PCB. The solder joints located in the outermost comer of the package suffered from higher stress than those located in center region. In both drop and bending impact tests, the lead-free solder showed better performances than the leaded solders. The numerical analysis results indicated that stress and strain behavior of solder joint were dependent on various effective parameters.

• 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 the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.43-47
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• 2001

Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In was developed for the intermediate melting point solder. Although In-contained solder is expensive, its melting point is lower than these of Sn-Ag-Cu alloys. Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In solder used for this research has a melting range of 188~$204^{\circ}C$. On this study wetting characteristics of Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In were evaluated in order to investigate its availability as a Pb-free solder. Wettabilities of Sn-37Pb and Sn-3.5Ag solders were also studied to compare these of the Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In. Experimental results showed that the zero-cross-time and wetting time at $240^{\circ}C$ for the Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In were 1.1 and 2.2 second respectively. These values are a little better than these of Sn-37Pb and Sn-3.5Ag solders. The equilibrium wetting farce of the Sn-3Ag-8Bi-5In was 5.8 mN at $240^{\circ}C$, and it was tuned out to be a little higher than that of Sn-3.5Ag and lower than that of Sn-37Pb.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.53-57
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• 2013

Although the lowering of Ag content in Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu is known to improve the mechanical shock reliability of the solder joint, it is also known to be detrimental to the solderbility. In this study, the quaternary alloying effect of In and the minor alloying effects of Mn and Pd on the solderability, thermal cycling and mechanical shock reliabilities of the low Ag content Sn-1.2Ag-0.7Cu solder were investigated using board-level BGA packages. The solderability of Sn-1.2Ag-0.7Cu-0.4In was proved to be comparable to that of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu but its thermal cycling reliability was inferior to that of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu. While the 0.03 wt% Pd addition to the Sn-1.2Ag-0.7Cu-0.4In decreased the solderability and reliabilities of solder joint, the 0.1 wt% Mn addition was proved to be beneficial especially for the mechanical shock reliability compared to those of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu compositions. It was considered to be due that the Mn addition decreased the Young's modulus of low Ag content Pb-free solders.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.24-24
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• 2009

ENIG(Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold) is the surface treatment method that is used most widely at fine pitch's SMT and BGA packaging process. In this paper, we have studied the effect of P content variation during ENIG process on those phenomena related to the solder joint. The effect of P content was discussed using the results obtained from FE-SEM, EPMA, EDS and FIB. Finally, it was concluded that the more P-content in Ni layer, the thicker P-rich layer.