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The Effect of Temperature on the Electrical Resistivity of Sn-Bi Alloys

  • Topical Collection: Electronic Packaging and Interconnections 2023
  • Published:
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Abstract

With low liquidus temperatures, low raw material costs, and non-toxicity, Sn-Bi low-temperature solders are promising candidates for the replacement of the currently widely-used lead-free solders in situations in which process temperatures have to be reduced. Electrical resistivity is one of the most important properties of solder alloys, as one of their primary functions is to conduct electrons between the connected components. The electrical resistivity of an alloy of a given composition at a specific temperature and pressure is affected by the microstructure and the crystal structure of the phases present. For Sn-Bi solders, the solubility of Bi in Sn is highly temperature-sensitive and increases from 3 wt.% at room temperature to 21 wt.% at 139°C, the eutectic temperature of the Sn-Bi system. As the temperature increases within that interval, Bi will dissolve in Sn, while it will precipitate as the temperature decreases. The resulting significant changes in the overall microstructure and the lattice parameters of the Sn phase can be expected to affect the electrical resistivity. In this study, the electrical resistivity of hypo-eutectic Sn-37wt.%Bi and near-eutectic Sn-57wt.%Bi alloys was measured as a function of temperature and the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) calculated. It was found that the electrical resistivity increases linearly with increasing temperature up to 70°C, while above 80°C, a deviation from the linear relationship was observed. This deviation is attributed to the rapid dissolution of Bi in Sn at 80°C and above.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Mr. Rodney Young from Masters & Young Pty Ltd and Mr. Blair Knight from The University of Queensland for their support on the electrical resistance measurements. The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Qinfen Gu at the Australian Synchrotron powder diffraction beamline for the support on the in-situ PXRD experiment.

Funding

This work was supported by The University of Queensland, Australia, Knowledge Exchange & Translation fund [2021002690] with Nihon Superior Co., Ltd. and Masters & Young Pty Ltd.; UQ-Nihon Superior Co., Ltd, Japan, collaborative research Grants [2016001895, 2021002341]; Australian Research Council, Australia, Discovery project [DP200101949]; ANSTO Australian Synchrotron beamtime [Grant Number AS211/PD/16842].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Xin F. Tan, Qichao Hao, Jiye Zhou, Stuart D. McDonald, Keith Sweatman & Kazuhiro Nogita

  2. Department of Applied Quantum Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan

    Xin F. Tan

  3. Nihon Superior Co., Ltd, Suita City, Osaka, 564-0063, Japan

    Keith Sweatman

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  1. Xin F. Tan
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  2. Qichao Hao
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Correspondence to Xin F. Tan.

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Tan, X.F., Hao, Q., Zhou, J. et al. The Effect of Temperature on the Electrical Resistivity of Sn-Bi Alloys. J. Electron. Mater. 53, 1183–1191 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-023-10849-1

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