Effect of phosphorus element on the comprehensive properties of Sn–Cu lead-free solder

Abstract In the present work, the effect of phosphorus on the creep fatigue properties of Sn–Cu eutectic lead-free solder was carried out. The experimental results show that the melting temperature was almost not changed with adding small amount of P element. However, the addition of trace P element led to the decrease in the property of creep fatigue. The fractography analysis by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that ductile fracture was the dominant failure behavior in the process of creep fatigue test of Sn0.7Cu and Sn0.7Cu0.005P specimens. It should be pointed out that there is significant difference in the fractographs between the joints of Sn0.7Cu solder and Sn0.7Cu0.005P solder. In the fractograph of Sn0.7Cu solder joint, the microstructure is prolonged along testing direction, and the dimples were more than the fractograph of Sn0.7Cu0.005P solder joint. In addition, the voids could be found on the Sn0.7Cu0.005P solder joint, and trace P addition may increase the rate of forming void of Sn0.7Cu solder joint. The voids can potentially lead to crack initiation or propagation sites in the solder joint. As a result, the creep fatigue of solder joint containing P such as Sn0.7Cu0.005P offers worse property compared to Sn0.7Cu solder joint.