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Interface behavior and performance of Sn–Ag–Cu lead-free solder bearing Tb

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Abstract

To further improve the performance of the Sn–3.5Ag–0.5Cu solder, trace amount of rare earth Tb was added. The wettability, shear strength and interface compounds (IMCs) were investigated in this work. The finding indicated that the addition of the Tb element in the Sn–Ag–Cu solder could delay the formation of IMCs during soldering, and the thinner IMC layers were obtained. The maximum shear strength can be found with 0.025 wt% Tb addition, and the wettability of the solder could be somewhat improved. Moreover, the addition of 0.025 wt% Tb could slow down the growth of IMC during aging, which was of great significance to extend the reliability of the joint interface and the service life of the solder joint. This work has provided a theoretical basis for the development and application.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are given to Mr. Guoyang Li for his help during sample preparation.

Funding

This work was supported by the Science and Technology Research Project of Education Agency of Jiangxi Province (Grant No. GJJ190479), Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Grant Program for College Students of Jiangxi University of Science and Technology (Grant No. 202110407007).

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Authors

Contributions

ZYY: Experimental, visualization and validation. YJH: Investigation process. RZW: Conducting research. MX: Visualization and validation. JZ: Experimental. YQZ: Experimental ideas and scheme design. QLW: Writing and editing. WBX: Data curation and supervision. HMC: Resources, supervision, and project administration.

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Correspondence to Qiaoli Wang or Huiming Chen.

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Yuan, Z., He, Y., Wu, R. et al. Interface behavior and performance of Sn–Ag–Cu lead-free solder bearing Tb. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 20769–20777 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-08886-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-08886-3

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