Joint Strength and Microstructure for Sn-Ag-(Cu) Soldering on an Electroless Ni-Au Surface Finish by Using a Flux Containing a Cu Compound

The effect of a flux containing Cu(II) stearate (barrier flux) on the strength of soldered joints between an electroless Ni-Au surface finish and two Pb-free soldering systems, Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-3.5Ag (wt.%), was examined. Pull and shock tests showed that barrier flux gave a higher joint strength for both solder compositions than did a flux containing no Cu compounds. Interface analysis revealed that a thin P-rich layer and refined Cu-Ni-Sn intermetallic compounds were formed at the joint interface when barrier flux was used. It is assumed that the supply of Cu from barrier flux suppresses diffusion of Ni into the solder.     

Effects of microstructural evolution and intermetallic layer growth on shear strength of ball-grid-array Sn-Cu solder joints

The shear strength of ball-grid-array (BGA) solder joints on Cu bond pads was studied for Sn-Cu solder containing 0, 1.5, and 2.5 wt.% Cu, focusing on the effect of the microstructural changes of the bulk solder and the growth of intermetallic (IMC) layers during soldering at 270°C and aging at 150°C. The Cu additions in Sn solder enhanced both the IMC layer growth and the solder/IMC interface roughness during soldering but had insignificant effects during aging. Rapid Cu dissolution from the pad during reflow soldering resulted in a fine dispersion of Cu₆Sn₅ particles throughout the bulk solder in as-soldered joints even for the case of pure Sn solder, giving rise to a precipitation hardening of the bulk solder. The increased strength of the bulk solder caused the fracture mode of as-soldered joints to shift from the bulk solder to the solder/IMC layer as the IMC layer grew over a critical thickness about 1.2 m for all solders. The bulk solder strength decreased rapidly as the fine Cu₆Sn₅ precipitates coarsened during aging. As a consequence, regardless of the IMC layer thickness and the Cu content of the solders, the shear strength of BGA solder joints degraded significantly after 1 day of aging at 150°C and the shear fracture of aged joints occurred in the bulk solder. This suggests that small additions of Cu in Sn-based solders have an insignificant effect on the shear strength of BGA solderjoints, especially during system use at high temperatures.     

Drop impact reliability of Sn–1.0Ag–0.5Cu BGA interconnects with different mounting methods

The poor drop-shock resistance of near-eutectic Sn–Ag–Cu (SAC) solder interconnects drives the research and application low-Ag SAC solder alloys, especially for Sn–1.0Ag–0.5Cu (SAC105). In this work, by dynamic four-point bend testing, we investigate the drop impact reliability of SAC105 alloy ball grid array (BGA) interconnects with two different surface mounting methods: near-eutectic solder paste printing and flux dipping. The results indicate that the flux dipping method improves the interconnects failure strain by 44.7% over paste printing. Further mechanism studies show the fine interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at the printed circuit board side and a reduced Ag content inside solder bulk are the main beneficial factors overcoming other negative factors. The flux dipping SAC105 BGA solder joints possess fine Cu₆Sn₅ IMCs at the interface of solder/Cu pads, which increases the bonding strength between the solder/IMCs and the fracture resistance of the IMC grains themselves. Short soldering time of flux dipping joints above the solder alloy liquidus mitigates the growth of interfacial IMCs in size. In addition, a reduced Ag content in flux dipping joint bulk causes a low hardness and high compliance, thus increasing fracture resistance under higher-strain rate conditions.     

Effect of Isothermal Aging and Thermal Cycling on Interfacial IMC Growth and Fracture Behavior of SnAgCu/Cu Joints

The growth behavior of interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMCs) of SnAgCu/Cu soldered joints was investigated during the reflow process, isothermal aging, and thermal cycling with a focus on the influence of these parameters on growth kinetics. The SnAgCu/Cu soldered joints were isothermally aged at 125°C, 150°C, and 175°C while the thermal cycling was performed within the temperature ranges from −25°C to 125°C and −40°C to 125°C. It was observed that a Cu₆Sn₅ layer formed, followed by rapid coarsening at the solder/Cu interface during reflowing. The grain size of the interfacial Cu₆Sn₅ was found to increase with aging time, and the morphology evolved from scallop-like to needle-like to rod-like and finally to particles. The rod-like Ag₃Sn phase was formed on the solder side in front of the previously formed Cu₆Sn₅ layer. However, when subject to an increase of the aging time, the Cu₃Sn phase was formed at the interface of the Cu₆Sn₅ layer and Cu substrate. The IMC growth rate increased with aging temperature for isothermally aged joints. During thermal cycling, the thickness of the IMC layer was found to increase with the number of thermal cycles, although the growth rate was slower than that for isothermal aging. The dwell time at the high-temperature end of the thermal cycles was found to significantly influence the growth rate of the IMCs. The growth of the IMCs, for both isothermal aging and thermal cycling, was found to be Arrhenius with aging temperature, and the corresponding diffusion factor and activation energy were obtained by data fitting. The tensile strength of the soldered joints decreased with increasing aging time. Consequently, the fracture site of the soldered joints migrated from the solder matrix to the interfacial Cu₆Sn₅ layer. Finally, the shear strength of the joints was found to decrease with both an increase in the number of thermal cycles and a decrease in the dwell temperature at the low end of the thermal cycle.     

Study of thermal cycling and temperature aging on PbSnAg die attach solder joints for high power modules

High power modules are still facing the challenges to increase their power output, increase the junction temperature, and increase their reliability in harsh conditions. Therefore this study is doing a detail analysis of the soldering joint between a direct copper bonded substrate and a high power IGBT made with the high lead solder alloy Pb_92.5Sn_5.0Ag_2.5. The intermetallic phases and the microstructure of standard chip to substrate solder joint will be analysed and compared to deteriorated joints coming from modules which have undergone an active thermal cycling. As expected, the as soldered joint was clearly different than solder joints made for ball grid array or small components on PCBs. The as soldered joint shows no sign of Cu₆Sn₅ intermetallic layer, but instead shows the presence of Ag₃Sn particles at the solder–chip interface. Furthermore, the failure mechanisms under active thermal cycling also seem to be different. There is no growth of intermetallic phases and no strong delamination of the device. Instead a large network of intermetallic particles (Ag₃Sn) is produced during aging and seems to degrade the solder thermal properties.     

Influence of Cu addition to interface microstructure between Sn-Ag solder and Au/Ni-6P plating

The formation and growth of intermetallics at the interface between Sn-Ag-(Cu) alloy balls and Au/Ni-6P plating were experimentally examined as a function of soldering period. Joint strengths were also evaluated by a ball pull test. For the joint with Sn-3.5Ag, the primary reaction product of Ni₃Sn₄ exhibits growth and shrinkage in thickness repeatedly with a passage of reaction time up to 30 min, while the Ni₃SnP reaction layer monotonously increases its thickness without fluctuation. In the cases of the joints with Cu bearing solder, Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-3.5Ag-0.8Cu, a single η-(Cu,Ni)₆Sn₅ interface layer grows by fast Cu segregation from liquid solder to the interface layer on soldering. For all the soldered joints, a P-rich layer appears at the surface region of a Ni-6P plating layer by Ni depletion to form those intermetallic compounds at interfaces. The growth rate of a P-rich layer for Sn-3.5Ag is faster by about 4–8 times than those of the Sn-Ag-Cu. The presence of Cu in solder enhances the formation of the Cu₆Sn₅ intermetallic layer at the interface resulting in prevention of Ni diffusion to liquid solder. For all the soldered joints, coarsened reaction interfaces decrease the joint strengths.     

Effect of burn-in on shear strength of 63Sn-37Pb solder joints on an Au/Ni/Cu substrate

A study was performed to examine the effect of burn-in and Au-plating thickness on the shear strength of 63Sn-37Pb solder joints in ball grid array (BGA) packages. The Au-plating thicknesses of 0.3 μm, 0.6 μm, 0.9 μm, and 1.4 μm were evaluated. An isothermal aging temperature of 150°C was employed to simulate burn-in conditions. The evolution of the bulk solder microstructure and intermetallic compounds at the solder joint interface were characterized and correlated to the measured shear strength. The strength of the solder joints with 0.3-μm Au plating was approximately three times higher than the thicker platings after aging. Solder joints with 0.3-μm Au plating failed within the solder matrix, and their strength was dependent upon the bulk solder microstructure and composition. The weakness of the solder joints with thicker Au platings was attributed to the formation of a brittle AuSn₄/Ni₃Sn₄ interface and a ductile Pb-rich layer at the interface.     

Failure mechanisms of lead-free chip scale package interconnections under fast mechanical loading

The reliability of chip scale package (CSP) components against mechanical shocks has been studied by employing statistical, fractographic, and microstructural research methods. The components having high tin (Sn0.2Ag0.4Cu) solder bumps were reflow soldered with the Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu (wt.%) solder paste on Ni(P)|Au- and organic solderability preservative (OSP)-coated multilayer printed wiring boards (PWBs), and the assemblies were subjected to the standard drop test procedure. The statistically significant difference in the reliability performance was observed: the components soldered on Cu|OSP were more reliable than those soldered on Ni(P)|Au. Solder interconnections on the Cu|OSP boards failed at the component side, where cracks propagated through the (Cu,Ni)₆Sn₅ reaction layer, whereas interconnections on the Ni(P)|Au boards failed at the PWB side exhibiting the brittle fracture known also as “black pad.” In the first failure mode, which is not normally observed in thermally cycled assemblies, cracks propagate along the intermetallic layers due to the strong strain-rate hardening of the solder interconnections in drop tests. Owing to strain-rate hardening, the stresses in the solder interconnections increase very rapidly in the corner regions of the interconnections above the fracture strength of the ternary (Cu,Ni)₆Sn₅ phase leading to intermetallic fracture. In addition, because of strain-rate hardening, the recrystallization of the as-soldered microstructure is hindered, and therefore the network of grain boundaries is not available in the bulk solder for cracks to propagate, as occurs during thermal cycling. In the black pad failure mode, cracks nucleate and propagate in the porous NiSnP layer between the columnar two-phase (Ni₃P+Sn) layer and the (Cu,Ni)₆Sn₅ intermetallic layer. The fact that the Ni(P)|Au interconnections fail at the PWB side, even though higher stresses are generated on the component side, underlines the brittle nature of the reaction layer.     

Impact strength of Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu solder bumps during isothermal aging

In order to investigate the fracture behavior of Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu solder bump, solder balls with the diameter of 0.76 mm were soldered on Cu pad in this study, then high speed impact test and static shear test of solder bumps were carried out to measure the joint strength of the soldering interface. The effect of isothermal aging on joint strength as well as fracture behavior of solder bumps was investigated, and the composition of the fracture surface was identified by means of EPMA. The results indicate that the fracture is inside the bulk solder in low speed shear test regardless of the aging effect, thus the maximum load reflects the solder strength rather than the interfacial strength. It is also found that under 1 m/s impact loading, the crack initiation position is changed from solder/Cu₆Sn₅ interface to Cu₃Sn/Cu interface after long time isothermal aging, and the fracture occurs inside the bulk solder accompanying with intermetallic compound in both of the as-soldered and aged joints. The thickened multiple IMC layers during isothermal aging account for the degraded impact resistance, and the change of the solder matrix is another factor for reduced impact resistance owing to Sn residue on the fracture surface.     

Interfacial reactions and mechanical properties of ball-grid-array solder joints using Cu-cored solder balls

Interfacial reactions and mechanical properties of the ball-grid-array (BGA) solder joints using monolithic eutectic SnPB and Cu-cored solder balls after reflow and solid-state annealing were investigated. The Cu cores of three different sizes were used in the solder joints. The incorporation of a Cu core into the BGA solder joint effectively inhibits the (Au_1−xNi_x)Sn₄ regrouping and the (Cu_1−x−yAu_xNi_y)₆Sn₅ phase is formed at the joint interface instead. Growth of the intermetallic compounds formed in the monolithic and Cu-cored solder joints approximately obeys the parabolic law. In the Cu-cored solder joints, the larger the Cu core is, the slower the intermetallic compounds grow. The size effect of the Cu core on the intermetallic compound growth results from the inconsistent amount of the outer solder layer. Shear and tensile strengths of the Cu-cored solder joints decrease with increasing solid-state annealing time, and do not have a noticeable relationship with the Cu-core size. Shear and tensile tests also show that the mechanical strength of the Cu-cored solder joint is better than that of the monolithic solder joint.