Degradation of Sn37Pb and Sn3.5Ag0.5Cu solder joints between Au/Ni (P)/Cu pads stressed with moderate current density

Sn37Pb (SP) and Sn3.5Ag0.5Cu (SAC) ball grid array (BGA) solder joints between Au/Ni (P)/Cu pads were stressed with a moderate current density of 6.0 × 10² A/cm² at an ambient temperature of 125°C up to 600 h. The solder joint reliability was evaluated in terms of temperature measurement, microstructural analysis and mechanical strength test. It was confirmed that no obvious electromigration occurred with this moderate current density. However, the local temperature of solder joints rose considerably due to massive Joule heating, which degraded the solder joint reliability seriously. Phase coarsening was observed for both solders and it was particularly apparent in the SP solder joints. Compared to the SP, the SAC was found to be more reactive and hence a thicker intermetallic compound (IMC) was developed during the current stressing. Nevertheless, the IMC thickening was not as remarkable as expected with current stressing at high temperature. It exhibited a sub-parabolic growth manner that was mainly controlled by grain boundary diffusion. However, a sufficiently thick IMC layer initially formed during reflow soldering and the low diffusivity of the Ni atoms retarded the growth. The shear strength of the solder joints was found to decrease severely with the current stressing time. This degradation was attributed to the large stresses arising from localized thermal mismatch, phase coarsening, volume shrinkage of IMC evolution, Ni–P layer crystallization and the pad cracking during current stressing.     

Bi Layer Formation at the Anode Interface in Cu/Sn-58Bi/Cu Solder Joints with High Current Density

Bi layer formation in Cu/Sn–58Bi/Cu solder joints was investigated with different current densities and solder thickness. Uniform and continuous Bi layers were formed at the anode interface which indicated that Bi was the main diffusing species migrating from the cathode to the anode. The electromigration force and Joule heating took on the main driving forces for Bi diffusion and migration. In addition, two appearance types of Bi layers, planar-type and groove-type, were found during current stressing. The morphology and thickness of Bi layers were affected by current density and current stressing time.     

Recrystallized grain rotation behavior in a Pb-free BGA solder joint under electron current stress

The grain orientations of a Pb-free ball grid arrays solder joint after thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) were characterized quantitatively using electron backscattered diffraction. Due to subgrain rotation, the small recrystallized grains evolved from the reflowed orientations appeared in a Pb-free solder joint subjected to thermomechanical stress. Also, these recrystallized grains rotated under electron current stress, indicating that the tin orientations of the Pb-free solder joints can significantly affect the response of the solder joints to service conditions such as TMF and electromigration. Meanwhile, two types of double twinning of tin in solder joints were observed in Pb-free solder joints. The change in orientation between the two groups of double twined orientations was in the range of 80°–90° (79.1°, 82.9° and 86.5° corresponding with 57.2° and 62.8°). Four orientations of tin grains, having the same twin grain with a [100] or [010] direction were observed in one of the systems, while the other one presented with two groups of tricrystals perpendicular to each other.     

Inhibition of Electromigration in Eutectic SnBi Solder Interconnect by Plastic Prestraining

Plastic prestraining was applied to a solder interconnect to introduce internal defects such as dislocations in order to investigate the interaction of dislocations with electromigration damage. Above a critical prestrain, Bi interfacial segregation to the anode, a clear indication of electromigration damage in SnBi solder interconnect, was effectively prevented. Such an inhibiting effect is apparently contrary to the common notion that dislocations often act as fast diffusion paths. It is suggested that the dislocations introduced by plastic prestraining acted as sinks for vacancies in the early stage of the electromigration process, but as the vacancies accumulated at the dislocations, climb of those dislocations prompted recovery of the deformed samples under current stressing, greatly decreasing the density of dislocation and vacancy in the solder, leading to slower diffusion of Bi atoms.     

Interfacial evolution in Sn–58Bi solder joints during liquid electromigration

For Sn–58Bi low temperature solder alloy, local molten induced from electromigration Joule heating might change the atomic diffusion and interfacial behavior. In this paper, the diffusion behavior and interfacial evolution of Cu/Sn–58Bi/Cu joints were studied under liquid–solid (L–S) electromigration in molten solder and were compared with the interfacial behaviors in solid–solid (S–S) electromigration in solid solder. L–S or S–S electromigration was realized by applying a current density of 1.0?×?10⁴ A/cm² to molten solder at 150 °C or solid solder at 25 °C, respectively. During S–S electromigration, Bi atoms were driven towards anode side under electromigration induced flux and then accumulated to form Bi-rich layer near anode interface with current stressing time increasing. During L–S electromigration, Bi atoms were reversely migrated from anode to cathode to produce Bi segregation at cathode interface, while Cu atoms were rapidly dissolved into molten solder from cathode and migrated to form large amounts of Cu₆Sn₅ rod-like phases near anode interface. The reversal in the direction of Bi atoms may be attributed to the reversal in the direction of electromigration induced flux and correspondingly the change on effective charge number of Bi atoms from negative to positive.     

Effect of current stressing on the reliability of 63Sn37Pb solder joints

The effect of current stressing on the reliability of 63Sn37Pb solder joints with Cu pads was investigated at temperatures of −5 °C and 125 °C up to 600 h. The samples were stressed with 3 A current (6.0 × 10² A/cm² in the solder joint with diameter of 800 μm and 1.7 × 10⁴ A/cm² in the Cu trace with cross section area of 35 × 500 μm). The temperatures of the samples and interfacial reaction within the solder joints were examined. The microstructural change of the solder joints aged at 125 °C without current flow was also evaluated for comparison. It was confirmed that the current flow could cause the temperature of solder joints to rise rapidly and remarkably due to accumulation of massive Joule heat generated by the Cu trace. The solder joints stressed at 125 °C with 3 A current had an extensive growth of Cu₆Sn₅ and Cu₃Sn intermetallic compounds (IMC) at both top and bottom solder-to-pad interfaces. It was a direct result of accelerated aging rather than an electromigration or thermomigration effect in this experiment. The kinetic is believed to be bulk diffusion controlled solid-state reaction, irrespective of the electron flow direction. When stressed at −5 °C with 3 A current, no significant change in microstructure and composition of the solder joints had occurred due to a very low diffusivity of the atoms as most Joule heat was eliminated at low temperature. The IMC evolution of the solder joints aged at 125 °C exhibited a subparabolic growth behavior, which is presumed to be a combined mechanism of grain boundary diffusion and bulk diffusion. This is mainly ascribed to the retardant effect against the diffusion course by the sufficiently thick IMC layer that was initially formed during the reflow soldering.     

The effect of 0.5 wt.% Ce additions on the electromigration of Sn9Zn BGA solder packages with Au/Ni(P)/Cu and Ag/Cu pads

It has previously been established that Sn-9Zn-0.5Ce alloy possesses mechanical properties superior to those of undoped Sn-9Zn alloy, and is free of the problem of rapid whisker growth. However, no detailed studies have been conducted on the electromigration behavior of Sn-9Zn-0.5Ce alloy. In this research, Sn-9Zn and Sn-9Zn-0.5Ce solder joints with Au/Ni(P)/Cu and Ag/Cu pads were stressed under a current density of 3.1 × 10⁴ A/cm² at room temperature for various periods of time. Due to finer grain sizes, the electromigration effects were more severe in Sn-9Zn-0.5Ce solder joints than in Sn-9Zn solder joints when joint temperature was around 80 °C. In addition, both solder joints (Sn-9Zn and Sn-9Zn-0.5Ce) with Au/Ni(P)/Cu pads possess longer current-stressing lifetimes than those with Ag/Cu pads because Ni is more resistant than Cu to migration driven by electron flow.     

Electromigration of grain boundaries in aluminum

The electromigration of grain boundaries has been investigated with aluminum wires (99.999% purity, 1 mm in diameter) in the temperature range 340°–540°C under a current stress of 6×10³ A cm^-2. Grain boundary migration in aluminum is found to be reduced or enhanced by the currents stress when the grain boundary migrates in or against the current direction, respectively. The effects of additions of copper, silicon and zirconium to aluminum on the electromigration of the grain boundaries have also been examined. The contribution of electromigration to normal grain boundary migration is found to be increased by the addition of solutes. The results are discussed on the basis of the impurity drag mechanism of grain boundary migration.     

In situ observations on shear and creep-fatigue fracture behaviors of SnBi/Cu solder joints

Shear and creep-fatigue fracture behaviors of the SnBi/Cu solder joints were investigated in this study. The deformation and fracture morphologies were in situ observed by scanning electron microscope, and the fracture mechanisms were discussed based on the observation results. It is found that the SnBi solder in the solder joint shows good ductility under shear stress, there is serious deformation mismatch between the Sn and Bi phases in micro-scale but no macro-scale cracking occurs inside the solder, and the shear fracture occurs along the Cu/solder interface. Under creep-fatigue loadings, the strain of the solder joints increases rapidly during the initial few cycles, but the increase rate decreases due to strain hardening. After the strain hardening becomes saturated, the strain increases exponentially with increasing cycles and the damage inside the solder keeps developing, final fracture occurs inside the solder near the joint interface. As the plastic deformation of the SnBi solder concentrates at the grain boundary, it is predicated that grain-boundary sliding is the major creep deformation mechanism. The influencing factors on creep-fatigue resistance include the stress range, holding time and grain size of the solder. Based on the understandings, techniques to enhance the creep-fatigue resistance were proposed.     

Effect of anisotropy of tin on thermomechanical behavior of solder joints

Properties of body centered tetragonal tin are highly anisotropic. As a consequence large stresses can develop at the tin grain boundaries due to coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch during temperature excursions. A modeling approach to evaluate the 3D stress states that develop at grain boundaries during thermomechanical fatigue in tin-based solder is presented. Development of significant amounts of stresses in the plane of the grain boundary can cause grain-boundary sliding and surface-relief effects, while those normal to the grain boundary can cause grain-boundary decohesion and cracking.     

Effect of small amount of rare earth addition on electromigration in eutectic SnBi solder reaction couple

Effect of small amount of rare earth (RE) addition on electromigration behavior of Cu/SnBi/Cu solder reaction couple (SRC) was investigated with current density of 5 × 10³ A/cm² at room temperature and 100 °C, respectively. Results indicate that tiny RE addition to eutectic SnBi solder alloy can make the energy of interfaces and grain boundaries decrease, restrain the movement of dislocations and grain boundary sliding. Therefore, phase segregation and IMC growth will be effectively suppressed which enhances the electromigration resistance.     

Electromigration effect on Sn-58 % Bi solder joints with various substrate metallizations under current stress

The electromigration behavior of low-melting temperature Sn-58Bi (in wt%) solder joints was investigated with a high current density between 3 and 4.5 × 10³ A/cm² between 80 and 110 °C. In order to analyze the impact of various substrate metallizations on the electromigration performance of the Sn-58Bi joint, we used representative substrate metallizations including electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG), electroless nickel electroless palladium immersion gold (ENEPIG), and organic solderability preservatives (OSP). As the applied current density increased, the time to failure (TTF) for electromigration decreased regardless of the temperature or substrate metallizations. In addition, the TTF slightly decreased with increasing temperature. The substrate metallization significantly affected the TTF for the electromigration behavior of the Sn-58Bi solder joints. The substrate metallizations for electromigration performance of the Sn-58Bi solder are ranked in the following order: OSP-Cu, ENEPIG, and ENIG. Due to the polarity effect, current stressing enhanced the fast growth of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at the anode interface. Cracks occurred at the Ni₃Sn₄ + Ni₃P IMC/Cu interfaces on the cathode sides in the Sn-58Bi/ENIG joint and the Sn-58Bi/ENEPIG joint; this was caused by the complete consumption of the Ni(P) layer. Alternatively, failure occurred via deformation of the bulk solder in the Sn-58Bi/OSP-Cu joint. The experimental results confirmed that the electromigration reliability of the Sn-58Bi/OSP-Cu joint was superior to those of the Sn-58Bi/ENIG or Sn-58Bi/ENEPIG joints.     

Influence of solder thickness on interfacial structures and fatigue properties of Cu/Sn/Cu joints

Abstract

Copper plates were soldered with tin foil of different thicknesses to examine the influence of the solder thickness on formation of secondary phases at the interface and fatigue properties. In the case of an initial solder thickness of 60 μm, the thickness of the η (Cu₆ Sn₅) phase and the ? (Cu₃ Sn) phase linearly increased with the square root of the bonding time. The fatigue strength was 3 MPa and the fatigue life decreased with increasing stress amplitude and had a low scatter. In the fatigue process, fine cracks appeared in the η phase and propagated in the solder layer. This process was different from the case of static shear fracture. In the case of a 5 μm solder thickness, the solder was replaced by secondary phases in a short time, and only the ? phase remained at the interface after a bonding time of more than 300 min. The fatigue strength was 13 MPa and was independent of the interfacial structure, but the fatigue life showed a large scatter. In the fatigue test, unstable fracture occurred along the interfaces, similar to that observed in static shear fracture. From these results, it was concluded that solder joints become brittle with decreasing solder thickness.     

Current stressing-induced growth of Cu3Sn in Cu/Sn/Cu solder joints

We investigated the influence of current stressing on a crystallographic microstructure of intermetallics in Cu/Sn/Cu solder joints using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). After direct current (DC) stressing at 150 °C for 10 d, the total Sn of the Cu/Sn/Cu was converted into a tri-layer structure of Cu₃Sn/Cu₆Sn₅/Cu₃Sn. The Cu₃Sn layers that grew on the cathode and anode are asymmetrical during DC stressing. A preferred direction < 010> Cu₃Sn along the current direction on the anode was found after current stressing.     

Effect of electromigration induced joule heating and strain on microstructural recrystallization in eutectic SnPb flip chip solder joints

A refinement of the lamellar microstructure was observed in eutectic SnPb solder joints in electromigration. Electromigration has both atomic flux and electron flow. The latter generated joule heating and the former caused strain. The formation of nanoscale lamellar microstructure spent a large amount of interfacial energy, and we proposed that the driving force comes from the strain induced by electromigration under a high current density. Kinetically, refinement of the lamellar microstructure required fast atomic diffusion at a high homologous temperature. The joule heating mainly from the on-chip Al interconnect lines tremendously increased the temperature of solder bumps and enabled fast atomic diffusion. The strain induced by electromigration, when combined with a high homologous temperature, could lead to recrystallization in the sample to form the nanoscale lamellae.     

Microstructural evolution of 96.5Sn–3Ag–0.5Cu lead free solder reinforced with nickel-coated graphene reinforcements under large temperature gradient

In this study, 96.5Sn–3Ag–0.5Cu (SAC305) lead-free composite solder containing graphene nanosheets (GNS) decorated with Ni nanoparticles (Ni-GNS) was prepared using a powder metallurgy method. A lab-made set-up and a corresponding Cu/solder/Cu sample design for assessing thermo-migration (TM) was established. The feasibility of this setup for TM stressing using an infrared thermal imaging method was verified; a temperature gradient in a solder joint was observed at 1240 K/cm. Microstructural evolution and diffusion of Cu in both plain and composite solder joints were then studied under TM stressing conditions. Compared to unreinforced SAC305 solder, the process of diffusion of Cu atoms in the composite solder joint was significantly reduced. The interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMCs) present in the composite solder joint also provide a more stable morphology after the TM test for 600 h. Furthermore, during the TM test, the Ni-GNS reinforcement affects the formation, migration and distribution of Ni–Cu–Sn and Cu–Sn IMCs by influencing the dissolution rate of Cu atoms.     

Effects of Zn addition on electromigration behavior of Sn–1Ag–0.5Cu solder interconnect

Effects of electromigration on microstructure and tensile property were studied in the Sn–1Ag–0.5Cu and Sn–1Ag–0.5Cu–1Zn solder interconnects. While the polarity effect and strength reduction from electromigration occurred in the Sn–1Ag–0.5Cu solder interconnects, they were suppressed by the Zn addition in the Sn–1Ag–0.5Cu–1Zn solder interconnects. Such a strong effect of Zn was explained by the strong binding of Zn with Cu, which prevented the dissolution of the IMC at the cathode, and by the reverse migration of the Zn elements, which counteracted the increase in the vacancy concentration so that the strength reduction was successfully inhibited.     

Electromigration statistics and damage evolution for Pb-free solder joints with Cu and Ni UBM in plastic flip-chip packages

A series of electromigration (EM) tests were performed as a function of temperature and current density to investigate lifetime statistics and damage evolution for Pb-free solder joints with Cu and Ni under-bump-metallizations (UBMs). The EM lifetime was found to depend on the failure criterion used, so the results were compared based on the first resistance jump and conventional open-failure criterion. Solder joints with Cu UBM had a longer lifetime than Ni UBM based on the open-failure criterion, but the lifetime with Ni UBM became comparable when the first resistance jump criterion was applied. To determine the temperature in solder joints, the Joule heating effect was investigated with experiments and finite element analysis. The temperature of solder joints was determined to be approximately 15°C higher than that at the Si die surface when 1 A of current was applied. With the appropriate temperature correction, the activation energies and the current density exponents were found to be Q = 1.11 eV, n = 3.75 and Q = 0.86 eV, n = 2.1 based on the open-failure criterion for solder joints with Cu and Ni UBM, respectively. Based on the first resistance jump criterion, Q = 1.05 eV, n = 1.45 for Cu UBM and Q = 0.94 eV, n = 2.2 for Ni UBM, respectively. For solder joints with Cu UBM, voids were formed initially at the Cu₆Sn₅/solder interface while the final open failure occurred at the Cu₃Sn/Cu₆Sn₅ interface. For Ni UBM, voids were formed initially at the Ni₃Sn₄/solder interface leading to failure at the same interface. The formation of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) was enhanced under current stressing, which followed linear growth kinetics with time. The IMC growth was accompanied by volume shrinkage, which accelerated damage evolution under EM.     

Role of imposed cyclic straining on the stress relaxation behavior of eutectic Sn-3.5Ag solder joints

Solder joints experience repeated reverse straining during thermal excursions encountered in service, as a consequence of stresses that arise due to coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatches between entities present in the joint. They also undergo stress relaxation under fixed strain during dwell times at temperature extremes encountered during service. In order to understand the fundamental processes involved under such conditions, cyclic shear straining with associated stress relaxation at the shear strain extremes were imposed during stress relaxation of pre-strained solder joints at various temperatures. Results of such studies were compared with previously reported findings from monotonic shear stressing and stress relaxation tests. Residual stress during stress relaxation under repeated reverse straining exhibited significant decrease for specimens deformed to a higher pre-strain at a higher pre-strain rate, at lower temperature. Stress relaxation during subsequent cycles of straining was found to be strongly dependant on the test temperature and the imposed pre-strain amplitude and pre-strain rate.     

Shear deformation behavior of a Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu single solder ball at intermediate strain rates

Shear tests were conducted to evaluate the mechanical behavior of miniature single solder ball joints. The tests were carried out at room temperature under displacement control mode and various displacement rates (2.16-0.019 mm/s) using a miniaturized testing machine with an attached piezo-electric actuator. The mean shear stress was estimated on the basis of the mean cross-section area rather than the minimum cross-section area. The shear fracture strength of the present solder ball joints generally increased as the shear strain rate increased due to the sensitivity of the bulk solder strength to the strain rate. The relationship between strain rate and stress of the current shear tests is consistent with findings from other experimental techniques on the same solder alloy. The unloading shear fracture toughness was found to increase as the shear strain rate increased. The unloading shear fracture toughness is generally consistent with the amount of bulk solder on the fractured surface.