Study of Interfacial Reactions Between Sn(Cu) Solders and Ni-Co Alloy Layers

The interfacial reactions between electroplated Ni-yCo alloy layers and Sn(Cu) solders at 250°C are studied. For pure Co layers, CoSn3 is the only interfacial compound phase formed at the Sn(Cu)/Co interfaces regardless of the Cu concentration. Also, the addition of Cu to Sn(Cu) solders has no obvious influence on the CoSn3 compound growth at the Sn(Cu)/Co interfaces. For Ni-63Co layers, (Co,Ni,Cu)Sn3 is the only interfacial compound phase formed at the Sn(Cu)/Ni-63Co interfaces. Unlike in the pure Co layer cases, the Cu additives in the Sn(Cu) solders clearly suppress the growth rate of the interfacial (Co,Ni,Cu)Sn3 compound layer. For Ni-20Co layers, the interfacial compound formation at the Sn(Cu)/Ni-20Co interfaces depends on the Cu content in the Sn(Cu) solders and the reflow time. In the case of high Cu content in the Sn(Cu) solders (Sn-0.7Cu and Sn-1.2Cu), an additional needle-like interfacial (Nix,Coy,Cu1−x−y)3Sn4 phase forms above the continuous (Nix,Cuy,Co1−x−y)Sn2 compound layer. The Ni content in the Ni-yCo layer can indeed reduce the interfacial compound formation at the Sn(Cu)/Ni-yCo interfaces. With pure Sn solders, the thickness of the compound layer monotonically decreases with the Ni content in the Ni-yCo layer. As for reactions with the Sn(Cu) solders, as the compound thickness decreases, the Ni content in the Ni-yCo layers increases.