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Effect of SiC Nanoparticle Additions on Microstructure and Microhardness of Sn-Ag-Cu Solder Alloy

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In this work, lead-free composite solders were produced by mechanically mixing nominal 20 nm moissanite SiC particles with Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu solder paste. The effects of the amount of SiC addition on the melting behavior, microstructure, and microhardness of as-solidified composite solders were systematically investigated. In comparison with solder without the addition of SiC nanoparticles, the subgrain of β-Sn, the intermetallic compounds (IMCs) average grain size and distance decreased significantly in the composite solder matrix. This was possibly ascribed to the strong adsorption effect and high surface free energy of the SiC nanoparticles. Our results showed that 0.05 wt.% addition of SiC nanoparticles could improve the microhardness by 44% compared with the noncomposite and that the average grain size and distance changed from 0.5 μm to 0.2 μm and from 0.6 μm to 0.32 μm, respectively. The refined IMCs, acting as a strengthening phase in the solder matrix, enhanced the microhardness of the composite solders, in good agreement with the prediction of the classic theory of dispersion strengthening.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the finance and project support of Physical and Digital Realization Research (PDR-Asia) of Motorola, Inc. The support of Wang Hui, Du Haiyan, and Xue Tao with the SEM and XRD analyses is greatly appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Material Science & Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P.R. China

    Ping Liu & Pei Yao

  2. PDR-Asia, Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd., Tianjin, 300457, P.R. China

    Ping Liu & Jim Liu

  3. Institute of Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Pei Yao

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  1. Ping Liu
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  2. Pei Yao
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  3. Jim Liu
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Correspondence to Pei Yao.

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Liu, P., Yao, P. & Liu, J. Effect of SiC Nanoparticle Additions on Microstructure and Microhardness of Sn-Ag-Cu Solder Alloy. J. Electron. Mater. 37, 874–879 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-007-0366-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-007-0366-3

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