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Influence of Microstructure Evolution on the Current Density and Temperature Gradient of Line-Type Cu/Sn58Bi/Cu Microscale Solder Joints Under Current Stressing

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Abstract

Sn58Bi is a promising lead-free solder alloy for low-temperature soldering of electronic packaging. Because of the uneven distribution of the tin (Sn)- and bismuth (Bi)-rich phases, the microstructure of Sn58Bi has clear inhomogeneous characteristics. In this study, Sn and Bi solid-solution samples with the same composition as the Sn- and Bi-rich phases in the microstructure of Sn58Bi were prepared, and their resistivities, thermal conductivities, specific heat capacities, coefficient of thermal expansions, and densities were measured. Then, by employing the measured physical properties, the finite element method was used to analyze the effect of the microstructure evolution, including phase coarsening and phase separation, on the current density and temperature gradient of line-type Cu/Sn58Bi/Cu microscale solder joints under a current stress of 1.0 × 108 A/m2. The results demonstrated that the differences in the physical properties between the Sn- and Bi-rich phases induce significant crowding effects in terms of current density and temperature gradient. The relationship between the evolutionary microstructures and their resistivities were also clarified, and the influence of both phase coarsening and phase separation on the average current densities and average temperature gradients of the Sn-rich phase, Bi-rich phase, and Sn58Bi solder were revealed.

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Acknowledgments

This study was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under grant (52065015, 51505095 and 51805103), Guangxi Natural Science Foundation under grant (2018GXNSFAA281222, 2018GXNSFBA281065 and 2021GXNSFAA075010), Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangxi Province under grant (GuiKe AD18281022 and GuiKe AD18281021), Director Fund Project of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Manufacturing System and Advanced Manufacturing Technology (19-050-44-003Z and 20-065-40-002Z), Self-Topic Fund of Engineering Research Center of Electronic Information Materials and Devices (EIMD-AB202005 and EIMD-AB202007). Innovation Project of GUET Graduate Education under grant (2020YCXS001 and 2021YCXS006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Engineering Research Center of Electronic Information Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, 541004, China

    Hongbo Qin, Chuyi Lei, Xinghe Luan, Quanzhang Wen & Wangyun Li

  2. Guangxi Key Laboratory of Manufacturing System and Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, 541004, China

    Hongbo Qin, Chuyi Lei, Xinghe Luan, Quanzhang Wen & Wangyun Li

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  1. Hongbo Qin
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Correspondence to Wangyun Li.

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Qin, H., Lei, C., Luan, X. et al. Influence of Microstructure Evolution on the Current Density and Temperature Gradient of Line-Type Cu/Sn58Bi/Cu Microscale Solder Joints Under Current Stressing. J. Electron. Mater. 51, 1116–1127 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-021-09377-7

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