Growth mechanism of intermetallic compounds and damping properties of Sn-Ag-Cu-1 wt% nano-ZrO2 composite solders

Abstract Nano-sized, nonreacting, noncoarsening ZrO 2 ceramic particles reinforced Sn–Ag–Cu composite solders were prepared by mechanically dispersing nano-particles into Sn–Ag–Cu solder and investigated their microstructure, kinetic analysis and mechanical properties i.e., shear strength, hardness and high temperature/mechanical damping characteristics. From microstructures evaluation, it was clear that composite solders containing ZrO 2 ceramic nano-particles significantly impact on the formation of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at their interfaces as well as refined microstructure in the solder ball regions. The growth behavior of IMCs layer at the interfaces in composite solders was lower than that of plain Sn–Ag–Cu solders. Moreover, after long time aging, some microcracks were clearly observed at the interface due to the formation of excessive IMC layer and softening nature of plain Sn–Ag–Cu solder joints. Mechanical properties i.e., shear strength, hardness and high temperature/mechanical damping characteristics were successfully investigated. The experimental results showed that composite solder joints exhibited higher hardness and shear strength as compared to the plain Sn–Ag–Cu solder joints. In addition, composite solder containing ZrO 2 nano-particles exhibited lower damping capacity as compared with plain Sn–Ag–Cu solder due to fine microstructure and uniformly distributed ZrO 2 nano-particles which increase the dislocation density.

[1]  Y. C. Chan,et al.  Failure mechanisms of solder interconnects under current stressing in advanced electronic packages , 2010 .

[2]  Hiroshi Nishikawa,et al.  Interaction behavior between the additives and Sn in Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu-based solder alloys and the relevant joint solderability , 2009 .

[3]  R. J. Perez,et al.  Documentation of damping capacity of metallic, ceramic and metal-matrix composite materials , 1993 .

[4]  William D. Armstrong,et al.  Aging Effects on Microstructure and Tensile Property of Sn3.9Ag0.6Cu Solder Alloy , 2004 .

[5]  C. C. Chang,et al.  The effects of solder volume and Cu concentration on the consumption rate of Cu pad during reflow soldering , 2010 .

[6]  Abhijit Dasgupta,et al.  Multi-scale modeling of the viscoplastic response of As-fabricated microscale Pb-free Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu solder interconnects , 2010 .

[7]  Yang Tian,et al.  Strengthening effects of ZrO2 nanoparticles on the microstructure and microhardness of Sn-3.5Ag lead-free solder , 2006 .

[8]  Han Gao,et al.  Strengthening effects of ZrO2 nanoparticles on the microstructure and microhardness of Sn-3.5Ag lead-free solder , 2006 .

[9]  Guido Schmitz,et al.  Mechanical properties of Pb-free SnAg solder joints , 2011 .

[10]  Seung-Boo Jung,et al.  IMC morphology, interfacial reaction and joint reliability of Pb-free Sn–Ag–Cu solder on electrolytic Ni BGA substrate , 2005 .

[11]  S. Y. Chang,et al.  Effects of Nano-TiO2 additions on thermal analysis, microstructure and tensile properties of Sn3.5Ag0.25Cu solder , 2010 .

[12]  Hsiu-Jen Lin,et al.  Interfacial microstructure and bonding strength of Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu-0.5Ce-xZn solder BGA packages with immersion Ag surface finish , 2011, Microelectron. Reliab..

[13]  Y. Lei,et al.  Effect of rare earth on mechanical creep–fatigue property of SnAgCu solder joint , 2009 .

[14]  Y. C. Chan,et al.  Microstructure, thermal analysis and hardness of a Sn-Ag-Cu-1 wt% nano-TiO2 composite solder on flexible ball grid array substrates , 2011, Microelectron. Reliab..

[15]  L. Tsao,et al.  Suppressing effect of 0.5 wt.% nano-TiO2 addition into Sn–3.5Ag–0.5Cu solder alloy on the intermetallic growth with Cu substrate during isothermal aging , 2011 .

[16]  Fu Guo,et al.  Creep property of composite solders reinforced by nano-sized particles , 2008 .

[17]  Michael Osterman,et al.  Impact of Thermal Aging on the Growth of Cu-Sn Intermetallic Compounds in Pb-Free Solder Joints in 2512 Resistors , 2009 .

[18]  Emeka H. Amalu,et al.  High temperature reliability of lead-free solder joints in a flip chip assembly , 2012 .

[19]  Shyi-Kaan Wu,et al.  Damping characteristics of Sn–3Ag–0.5Cu and Sn–37Pb solders studied by dynamic mechanical analysis , 2010 .

[20]  Y. C. Chan,et al.  The influence of addition of Al nano-particles on the microstructure and shear strength of eutectic Sn-Ag-Cu solder on Au/Ni metallized Cu pads , 2010 .

[21]  Pei Yao,et al.  Effects of multiple reflows on intermetallic morphology and shear strength of SnAgCu–xNi composite solder joints on electrolytic Ni/Au metallized substrate , 2008 .

[22]  Y. C. Chan,et al.  Effect of nano Al2O3 additions on the microstructure, hardness and shear strength of eutectic Sn-9Zn solder on Au/Ni metallized Cu pads , 2010, Microelectronics Reliability.

[23]  Y. C. Chan,et al.  Investigations on microhardness of Sn-Zn based lead-free solder alloys as replacement of Sn-Pb solder , 2005 .

[24]  King-Ning Tu,et al.  Ductile-to-brittle transition in Sn–Zn solder joints measured by impact test , 2004 .

[25]  A. V. Granato,et al.  Temperature dependence of amplitude‐dependent dislocation damping , 1981 .

[26]  Y. C. Chan,et al.  Influence of SrTiO3 nano-particles on the microstructure and shear strength of Sn–Ag–Cu solder on Au/Ni metallized Cu pads , 2011 .

[27]  Fu Guo,et al.  Effect of rare earth element addition on the microstructure of Sn-Ag-Cu solder joint , 2005 .