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Effects of Ce Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Sn-58Bi Solder Joints

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Abstract

The effects of a rare-earth element on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and whisker growth of Sn-58Bi alloys and solder joints in ball grid array (BGA) packages with Ag/Cu pads have been investigated. Mechanical testing indicated that the elongation of Sn-58Bi alloys doped with Ce increased significantly, and the tensile strength decreased slightly, in compar- ison with undoped Sn-58Bi. In addition, the growth of both fiber- and hillock-shaped tin whiskers on the surface of Sn-58Bi-0.5Ce was retarded in the case of Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu-0.5Ce alloys. The growth of interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMC) in Sn-58Bi-0.5Ce solder joints was slower than that in Sn-58Bi because the activity of Ce atoms at the interface of the Cu6Sn5 IMC/solder was reduced. The reflowed Sn-58Bi and Sn-58Bi-0.5Ce BGA packages with Ag/Cu pads had a ball shear strength of 7.91 N and 7.64 N, which decreased to about 7.13 N and 6.87 N after aging at 100°C for 1000 h, respectively. The reflowed and aged solder joints fractured across the solder balls with ductile characteristics after ball shear tests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Tung-Han Chuang & Hsing-Fei Wu

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  1. Tung-Han Chuang
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  2. Hsing-Fei Wu
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Correspondence to Tung-Han Chuang.

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Chuang, TH., Wu, HF. Effects of Ce Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Sn-58Bi Solder Joints. J. Electron. Mater. 40, 71–77 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-010-1385-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-010-1385-z

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