Effect of type of thermo-mechanical excursion on growth of interfacial intermetallic compounds in Cu/Sn-Ag-Cu solder joints

This study reports the effect of different types of thermo-mechanical excursion (TME) on growth of intermetallic compound (IMC) layer formed at the interface of Sn-3.0%Ag-0.5%Cu solder and Cu substrate. 1 mm thick solder joints were prepared by reflowing at 270 °C for either 60 or 90 s. Solder joints were then exposed to one of the following TME: (i) isothermal aging at 60 °C for 48, 96 and 144 h, (ii) thermal cycling between − 25 and 125 °C for 100, 200 and 400 cycles, and (iii) thermo-mechanical cycling between − 25 and 125 °C for 100, 200 and 400 cycles, wherein a shear strain of 10% per cycle was imposed on the joint. Finite element analysis (FEA) was performed to ascertain the effects of imposed shear strain and volumetric expansion due to the formation of IMC on the stress field in the solder joint. Irrespective of the type of TME, the thickness of the IMC layer increased with time. However, IMC thickness increased relatively more rapidly under thermo-mechanical cycling condition, indicating strain enhanced coarsening of the interfacial IMC layer. FEA showed that high stresses were generated in the IMC layer and near solder-IMC interface due to the formation of IMC layer as well as imposed external strain, which might then not only enhance the IMC growth kinetics, but also affect the morphology of the IMC layer.     

Creep lifetime prediction of solder joint for heat sink assembly

The heat sink assembly in a server station is anticipated to creep to fail at the solder joint under a constant load and temperature condition. To predict the lifetime of solder joint in the system, accelerated creep-rupture tests are conducted. Three loads of 4, 6, and 8 kg and temperatures of 35, 55, and 65 °C are selected for the tests. Larson–Miller model is adopted for the lifetime prediction, which requires tested lifetime data and stress analyses for the solder joint. An FE model for the stress analyses is developed and validated experimentally. Analyzed Larson–Miller constants show different tendency in the 8 kg load cases. Extensive failure analyses on the failed solder joints reveal the transition of failure mechanism at 8 kg load cases from the intergranular to the transgranular creep. Using only the validated test data of 4 and 6 kg load cases, creep lifetime prediction model for the solder joint in the heat sink assembly is developed and applied for a field condition.     

Effect of nano Al2O3 particles doping on electromigration and mechanical properties of Sn–58Bi solder joints

In the present study, the effect of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles on performances of Sn–58Bi solder were investigated in aspects of electro-migratio, shear strength and microhardness. The experimental results show that the Al₂O₃ nanoparticles significantly improved microstructure and mechanical performances of solder joints. With the addition of 0.5 wt% Al₂O₃, the intermetallic compounds (IMC) reduced from 2.5 μm to 1.27 μm after 288 aging hours at 85 °C. Furthermore, after electromigration test under a current density of 5 × 10³ A/cm² at 85 °C, Bi-rich layers formed at the anode side of both Al₂O₃ doped and plain solder. Moreover, the addition of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles reduced the mean thickness of Bi-rich layer. In addition, the growth rate of the IMC layer of Al₂O₃ doped solder decreased by 8% compared with the plain solder. Besides, the Al₂O₃ doped solder exhibited better performance than plain solder in microhardness after different aging times. While, the addition of Al₂O₃ significantly impeded the degradation of the shear strength of solder joint after aging for 48 and 288 h. Furthermore, it was worth noting that the fracture surface of doped solder showed a typical rough and ductile structure. However, plain solder exhibited a relatively smooth and fragile surface.     

Power electronic assemblies: Thermo-mechanical degradations of gold-tin solder for attaching devices

The eutectic Au₈₀Sn₂₀ solder alloy has been applied in semiconductor assemblies and other industries for years. Due to some superior physical properties, Au/Sn alloy gradually becomes one of the best materials for soldering in electronic devices and components packaging but the voids growth in AuSn solder joints is one of the many critical factors governing the solder joint reliability. Voids may degrade the mechanical robustness of the die attach and consequently affect the reliability and thermal conducting performance of the assembly. Severe thermal cycles [− 55 °C/+175 °C] have highlighted degradations in AuSn die attach solder. The inspection of as-prepared die-attachments by X-ray and SEM (observation of cross-section) shows that the initial voids sizes were increased and a propagation of transverse cracks inside the joint between voids has appeared after ageing, it was featured also the existence of the IMC typical scallop-shape morphology with the phase structure of (Ni, Au)₃Sn₂ on as-reflowed joints. In this paper, we evaluate the origin of these degradations and ways to address them.     

An investigation of the reliability of solderable ICA with low-melting-point alloy (LMPA) filler

Conductive adhesives play a major role in the electronic packaging industry as an alternative to solder due to their potential advantages that include mild processing conditions and superior thermo-mechanical performance. In a conductive adhesive interconnection, adequate mechanical and electrical performance and long-term reliability are critical.In this paper, the reliability of solderable isotropic conductive adhesive (ICA) interconnections was investigated. Reliability testing was performed via thermal shock (−55 to 125 °C, 1000 cycles) and high-temperature and high-humidity tests (85 °C, 85% RH, 1000 h). The interfacial microstructure of the solderable ICA was also investigated. Additionally, the fracture mode was investigated via mechanical pull strength testing before and after the reliability test. The electrical resistance of the solderable ICA interconnection showed improved stability compared to conventional ICAs, and similar stability to conventional solder paste (Sn–3Ag–0.5Cu and Sn–58Bi) due to the metallurgical interconnection formed by the molten LMPA fillers between the corresponding metallization layers. After the reliability tests, the grown IMC layer was composed of Cu₆Sn₅ (η-phase) and Cu₃Sn (ε-phase), and the scallop-type IMC transformed into a layer-type IMC. The fracture propagated along the Cu–Sn IMC/SnBi interface and the fracture surface showed a semi-brittle fracture mode mixed with cleavage and ductile tear bands.     

Experimental analysis of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder joint board-level drop/vibration impact failure models after thermal/isothermal cycling

Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu board-level lead-free solder joint drop (1000g, 1 ms)/vibration (15g, 25–35 Hz) reliability after thermal (− 40–125 °C, 1000 cycle)/isothermal (150 °C, 500 h) cycling was reported in this study. The failure performance of solder joint and testing life were analyzed under design six testing conditions (1. Single drop impact, 2. Order thermal cycling and drop impact, 3. Order isothermal cycling and drop impact, 4. Single vibration 5. Order thermal cycling and vibration 6. Order isothermal cycling and vibration). The results revealed that the pre-cracks initiation during thermal cycling do not affect the solder joint drop impact reliability, but decrease the vibration reliability. The formation of voids weaken both drop and vibration reliability of solder joint. After thermal cycling, the crack initiated from β-Sn near IMC layer, and continued propagation through the same path when under second in order vibration impact. But propagation path turn to IMC layer when under second in order drop impact. The drop life increases from 41 times to 49 times, and vibration life decrease from 77 min to 45 min. After isothermal cycling, the formation of voids let the cracks occurred at IMC layer under second in order no matter drop impact or vibration. The drop and vibration life is 19 times and 62 min respectively.     

Effect of trace platinum additions on the interfacial morphology of Sn–3.8Ag–0.7Cu alloy aged for long hours

While the Sn–Ag–Cu (SAC) family of solders are considered good candidate as lead-free solder replacement materials, their relatively short processing history and application result in a host of materials as well as reliability problems. For good metallurgical bonding and electrical connection, a thin, even layer of intermetallic compound (IMC) is required but excessive growth of the IMC layer will cause various reliability problems. This is especially critical for miniaturized solder pitches in very large scale integration circuits. This work adopts the composite approach of adding 0.15 and 0.30 wt.% of Pt into Sn–3.8Ag–0.7Cu alloy to study the effect of these additions to the IMC layer thickness between the solder and substrate. Alloys were isothermally aged at 150 °C for up to 1000 h to observe contribution of Pt in suppressing excessive IMC growth. It was found that when more Pt was added to the alloy, the IMC layer became more even and continuous. Voids and IMC layer thickness were reduced. This is attributed to the role of Pt in replacing Cu in the solder and thus impeding excessive diffusion.     

Planar copper-tin inter-metallic film formation on strained substrates

This paper presents the results of four-point bending tests investigating the effects of substrate strain on the growth ɛ of interfacial Cu–Sn inter-metallic compounds (IMCs). Test specimens were cut into strips, 27.5 mm in length and 5 mm in width, from 4 in. double polished silicon wafers. A very thin adhesion layer (Ta) was deposited on the silicon substrate by sputtering followed by a 10 μm thick layer of copper using electroplating. Finally, a 30 μm tin layer was deposited over the copper film also by electroplating. Samples were then placed in a furnace at 200 °C to undergo bending in order to introduce in-plane strain under tension or compression. Control samples also underwent the same treatment without applied strain. Our aim was to investigate the influence of substrate strain and aging time on the formation of IMCs (1.54 × 10⁻⁴, 2.3 × 10⁻⁴ and 3.46 × 10⁻⁴). The thickness and separation of each phase (Cu₃Sn) and η (Cu₆Sn₅) are clearly visible in scanning electron microscope images. Compressive strain and tensile strain both increased the thickness of the IMC layer during the aging process; however, the effects of compressive strain were more pronounced than those of tensile strain. We hypothesize that the increase in IMC thickness is related to the strain enhanced out-diffusion of Cu towards the solder as well as strain in the underlying lattice at the diffusion interface.     

Evaluation of creep properties for Sn–Ag–Cu micro solder joint by multi-temperature stress relaxation test

The creep properties of a Sn–Ag–Cu micro solder joint with a solder ball with 500 μm were investigated by a multi-temperature stress relaxation test performed using a specimen at three temperatures (298, 348, and 398 K). The stress exponents in Norton’s law were 8 at 398 K, 8.8 at 348 K, and 9 at 298 K, and the activation energies were found to be 39 kJ/mol in the high-stress region and 80 kJ/mol in the low-stress region. The stress exponent in Norton’s law for a micro solder joint was lower than that for a large-scale specimen, which resulted in more coarsened intermetallics in the microstructure than in the large-scale specimen. The activation energies for the micro solder joint were almost equal to those for the large-scale specimen in the high- and low-stress regions. These results reflect the microstructure of the micro solder joint, and the creep constitutive equation for the Sn–Ag–Cu joint could be derived by the multi-temperature stress relaxation test proposed in this study.     

Effect of elevated temperature on PCB responses and solder interconnect reliability under vibration loading

In this paper, vibration tests are conducted to investigate the influence of temperature on PCB responses. A set of combined tests of temperature and vibration is designed to evaluate solder interconnect reliability at 25 °C, 65 °C and 105 °C. Results indicate that temperature significantly affects PCB responses, which leads to remarkable differences in vibration loading intensity. The PCB eigenfrequency shifts from 290 Hz to 276 Hz with an increase of test temperature from 25 °C to 105 °C, during which the peak strain amplitude is almost the same.Vibration reliability of solder interconnects is greatly improved with temperature rise from 25 °C to 105 °C. Mean time to failure (MTTF) of solder joint at 65 °C and 105 °C is increased by 70% and 174% respectively compared to that of solder joint at 25 °C. Temperature dominates crack propagation path of solder joint during vibration test. Crack propagation path is changed from the area between intermetallic compound (IMC) layer and Cu pad to the bulk solder with temperature increase.     

Non-conductive film with Zn-nanoparticles (Zn-NCF) for 40 μm pitch Cu-pillar/Sn–Ag bump interconnection

Non-conductive film with Zn nano-particles (Zn-NCF) is an effective solution for fine-pitch Cu-pillar/Sn–Ag bump interconnection in terms of manufacturing process and interfacial reliability. In this study, NCFs with Zn nano-particles of different acidity, viscosity, and curing speed were formulated and diffused Zn contents in the Cu pillar/Sn–Ag bumps were measured after 3D TSV chip-stack bonding. Amount of Zn diffusion into the Cu pillar/Sn–Ag bumps increased as the acidity of resin increased, as the viscosity of resin decreased, as the curing speed of resin decreased, and as the bonding temperature increased. Diffusion of Zn nano-particles into the Cu pillar/Sn–Ag bumps are maximized when the resin viscosity became lowered and the solder oxide layer was removed. To analyze the effects of Zn-NCF on IMC reduction, IMC height depending on aging time was measured and corresponding activation energies for IMC growth were calculated. For the evaluation of joint reliabilities, test vehicles were bonded using NCFs with 0 wt%, 1 wt%, 5 wt%, and 10 wt% of Zn nano-particles and aged at 150 °C up to 500 h. NCF with 10 wt% Zn nano-particle showed remarkable suppression in Cu₆Sn₅ and (Cu,Ni)₆Sn₅ IMC compared to NCFs with 0 wt%, 1 wt%, and 5 wt% of Zn nano-particles. However, in terms of Cu₃Sn IMC suppression, which is the most critical goal of this experiment NCFs with 1 wt%, 5 wt%, and 10 wt% showed an equal amount of IMC suppression. As a result, it was successfully demonstrated that the suppression of Cu–Sn IMCs was achieved by the addition of Zn nano-particles in the NCFs resulting an enhanced reliability performance in the Cu/Sn–Ag bumps bonding in 3D TSV interconnection.     

Mechanical reliability of Sn-rich Au–Sn/Ni flip chip solder joints fabricated by sequential electroplating method

In this study, we evaluated the mechanical reliability of Sn-rich, Au–Sn/Ni flip chip solder bumps by using a sequential electroplating method with Sn and Au. After reflowing, the average diameter of the solder bump was approximately 80 μm and only a (Ni,Au)₃Sn₄ intermetallic compound (IMC) layer was formed at the interface. Due to the preferential consumption of Sn atoms within the solder matrix during aging, the solder matrix was transformed sequentially in the following order: β-Sn and η-phase, η-phase, and η-phase and ε-phase. In the bump shear test, the shear force was not significantly changed despite aging at 150 °C for 1000 h and most of the fractures occurred at the interfaces. The interfacial fracture was significantly related to the formation of brittle IMCs at the interface. The Sn-rich, Au–Sn/Ni flip chip joint was mechanically much weaker than the Au-rich, Au–Sn/Ni flip chip joint. The study results demonstrated that the combination of Sn-rich, Au–Sn solder and Ni under bump metallization (UBM) is not a viable option for the replacement of the conventional, Au-rich, Au–20Sn solder.     

Interfacial reaction and mechanical evaluation in multi-level assembly joints with ENEPIG under bump metallization via drop and high speed impact test

The criteria of mechanical reliability in solder joints can be identified and described by comparative evaluation via drop test and high speed pendulum impact test. Systematic samples of assembly and attachment joints with various Pd additions were employed and investigated in this study. The statistical values of mechanical performances were calculated and compared. Better high speed impact performance of SAC305/ENEPIG attachment joints with 0.06 μm Pd layers was confirmed owing to the single Cu₆Sn₅ phase growth. However, the comparative measurement of the better performance on drop testing exhibited in ENEPIG/SAC305/immersion Sn assembly joints with 0.1 μm Pd layers deposit resulted from the thinner and layer-type IMC growth. The correlation between the cracks propagation and Pd addition was established on the basis of the elemental X-ray color mapping via Field-Emission Electron Probe Microanalyzer (FE-EPMA). It is expected that through comparison between impact and drop test in mechanical reliability, a criterion of joints reliability can be established. Besides, the optimal Pd layer deposit for the ENEPIG surface finish in the attachment and assembly solder joints was demonstrated and confirmed.     

Interfacial behaviors of Sn-Pb,Sn-Ag-Cu Pb-free and mixed Sn-Ag-Cu/Sn-Pb solder joints during electromigration

SnPb-SnAgCu mixed solder joints with Sn-Pb soldering Sn-Ag-Cu Pb-free components are inevitably occurred in the high reliability applications. In this study, the interfacial behaviors in Sn-37Pb and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu mixed solder joints was addressed and compared with Sn-37Pb solder joints and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder joints with the influence from isothermal aging and electromigration. Considering the difference on the melting point between Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-37Pb solder, two mixed solder joints: partial mixing and full mixing between Sn-Pb and Sn-Ag-Cu solders were reached with the peak reflowing temperature of 190 and 250 °C, respectively. During isothermal aging, the intermetallic compound (IMC) layer increased with aging time and its growth was diffusion controlled. There was also no obvious affect from the solder composition on IMC growth. After electromigration with the current density of 2.0 × 10³ A/cm², Sn-37Pb solder joints showed the shortest lifetime with the cracks observed at the cathode for the stressing time < 250 h. In Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu Pb-free solder joints, current stressing promoted the growth of IMC layer at the interfaces, but the growing rate of IMC at the anode interface was far faster than that at the cathode interface. Therefore, there existed an obvious polarity effect on IMC growth in Sn-Ag-Cu Pb-free solder joints. After Sn-37Pb was mixed with Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu Pb-free solder, whether the partial mixing or the full mixing between Sn-Pb and Sn-Ag-Cu can obviously depress both the crack formation at the cathode side and the IMC growth at the anode.     

Numerical analysis of thermo-mechanical characteristics of solder joint depending on change in solder junction structure of MCP

This study suggests an improved junction structure of solder joints that enable an increased junction area and enhance the reliability of solder joints. A finite element analysis was carried out to compare the thermo-mechanical characteristics of the solder joints before and after the improvement. In the suggested junction structure, holes were created in the existing Cu pillar bump to increase its junction area, compared to that of the existing junction structure, and to raise the solder quantity of the joint. Drawing from the analysis results of the thermo-mechanical characteristics on the existing junction structure and the newly suggested junction structure, it was confirmed that shear stress was reduced in the solder joint with the suggested junction structure, as it was lower by around 5–20 MPa in the suggested junction structure. It was also found that the final value of the equivalent stress during a thermal cycle was lower by around 30 MPa in the suggested junction structure. Moreover, in terms of its equivalent strain value, the suggested junction structure had a slightly higher value of elastic equivalent strain although it carried a lower value of plastic equivalent strain in the high-temperature range. Therefore, it is considered that the suggested junction structure will be advantageous in terms of its long-term reliability of thermo-mechanical characteristics.     

Reliability study of package-on-package stacking assembly under vibration loading

The vibration reliability of lead-free solder joints of Package-on-Package (PoP) is investigated by experimental tests and finite element method (FEM) simulations in this paper. A 14 × 14 mm two-tier PoP module was selected for this study. The natural frequencies and modes were determined by FEM and verified by experimental tests. The printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies are tested under harmonic vibration. Vibration test results show that the vibration reliability of top package is better than the bottom package, and the outermost corner solder joints of the bottom package are the critical solder joints for the PoP under vibration loading. The stress characteristics of solder joints obtained by FEM are well correlated with the experimental results. Failure mechanism analysis indicates that the bottom solder joints become the most vulnerable part of the PoP under vibration due to the bigger relative displacements between the PCB and the bottom package. The micro-structural analysis indicates that cracks usually originate in the bottleneck position of the solder balls, extend within bulk solder and then propagate along the interface between the IMC layer and the bulk solder. The influence of bottom solder joints standoff for vibration reliability was analyzed by FEM as well. Results show that the higher the bottom solder joints' standoff, the more difficult the failure for the PoP assembly.     

Effects of acrylic adhesives property and optimized bonding parameters on Sn58Bi solder joint morphology for flex-on-board assembly

Acrylic resin with a fast curable property has been used in low temperature ACFs applications. However, its poor thermo-mechanical property was a concern for solder ACFs applications. In this study, a novel thermomechanical analysis (TMA) method was introduced to measure its polymer rebound amounts due to pressures removal after a thermo-compression (TC) bonding process. Polymer resin was laminated between two silicon chips (7 1 7 mm²), and then a compressive mode TMA measurement was done on the prepared samples. Constant compressive pressures were applied until the temperature was gradually increased to target temperature, and the forces were removed at the target temperatures. The polymer rebound was measured by monitoring the z-axis dimension change after the compressive forces was removed. In addition, the effects of bonding temperatures (from 150 to 250 °C) and the bonding pressures (1, 2 and 3 MPa) on the SnBi58 (139 °C melting point) solder joints morphologies and joint resistances were evaluated to investigate acrylic resin property and find out the optimized bonding conditions for low Tg acrylic-based solder ACFs applications.     

Nanomechanical properties of Ag solder bumps doped with Pd and Au

As an approach to increasing their reliability, we doped Ag solder bumps with Pd and Au alloys to enhance their creep resistance, which we characterized using a nanoindentation technique. The hardnesses of the pure Ag and the Ag solders doped with Pd:3%, Pd:5%, and Pd:2%-Au:3% were 0.6 ± 0.1, 1.8 ± 0.2, 2.8 ± 0.3, and 3.1 ± 0.5 GPa, respectively. Although the hardness of the Ag solder was enhanced significantly when it contained Pd:2%-Au:3%, it exhibited a lower creep exponent (n > 2). The mechanism of the thermal recovery of the sample appears to be associated with activation of dislocation sources—also the reason for the decrease in hardness. The compounds doped with Pd:2%-Au:3% displayed significantly greater bond strengths and creep exponents, whereas the Pd-only compounds exhibited poorer reliability.     

Enhancing the microstructure and tensile creep resistance of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder alloy by reinforcing nano-sized ZnO particles

Sn-Ag-Cu lead-free solders are regarded as a potential substitute for Pb-Sn solder alloys. In the current study, the non-reacting, non-coarsening ZnO nano-particles (ZnO NPs) were successfully incorporated into Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu (SAC305) lead-free solder by mechanical mixing of ZnO powders and melting at 900 °C for 2 h. Tensile creep testing was performed for plain SAC305 solder and SAC305-0.7 wt% ZnO NPs composite solders and a Garofalo hyperbolic sine power-law relationship was created from the experimental data to predict the creep mechanism as a function of tensile stress and temperature. Based on the tensile creep results, the creep resistance of SAC305 solder alloy was improved considerably with ZnO NPs addition, although the creep lifetime was increased. From microstructure observation, reinforcing ZnO NPs into SAC305 solder substantially suppressed the enlargement of Ag₃Sn and Cu₆Sn₅ intermetallic compound (IMC) particles and decreased the spacing of the inter-particles between them, reduced the grain size of β-Sn and increased the eutectic area in the alloy matrix. The modification of microstructure, which leaded to a strong adsorption effect and high surface-free energy of ZnO NPs, could result in hindering the dislocation slipping, and thus provides standard dispersion strengthening mechanism. Moreover, the average activation energy (Q) for SAC305 and SAC305-0.7ZnO alloys were 50.5 and 53.1 kJ/mol, respectively, close to that of pipe diffusion mechanism in matrix Sn.