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The effect of microstructure on shear tensile properties and microhardness profile of trace germanium added Cu/Sn–5Sb–0.7Cu lead-free solder joint

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Abstract

The proven ability of solder to joining electronic components in printed circuit boards with usable metallurgical, mechanical, and conductive properties has led to its widespread use in the electronics industry. In the current research, the joints of Sn–Sb–Cu (SSC) solder alloy containing little amounts of germanium with copper substrate were prepared by furnace soldering process. After preparing SEM images of interface of the joints, the relationship between germanium content and the appearance of the IMC interfacial layer was investigated. Also, the percentage of Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn IMC layers formed in the interface of joints was determined by ImageJ software. Microhardness profile test and shear tensile test were performed. Fractography of joints was performed with FESEM. Due to the reduction of copper diffusion rate from the substrate into the solder in the presence of germanium additive, the thickness of the intermetallic layer of the joint is reduced. Also, with the addition of germanium, the results of shear tensile test have shown higher strength and toughness than the base solder joint. The shear test showed a remarkable improvement for ultimate tensile strength of sample SSC-0.02Ge (i.e., 15.6 MPa) in comparison to the reference sample (i.e., 6.1 MPa). Also, the thickness of intermetallics in the joints interface decreased from 13.9 to 6.33 μm by increasing the amount of Ge from 0 to 0.02 wt%.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-143, Tehran, Iran

    Hoda Pooshgan & Homam Naffakh-Moosavy

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  1. Hoda Pooshgan
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  2. Homam Naffakh-Moosavy
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by HP and HN-M. The first draft of the manuscript was written by HP and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Homam Naffakh-Moosavy.

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Pooshgan, H., Naffakh-Moosavy, H. The effect of microstructure on shear tensile properties and microhardness profile of trace germanium added Cu/Sn–5Sb–0.7Cu lead-free solder joint. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 21137–21147 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-08918-y

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