Abstract
The purpose of this work is to investigate the effect of various percentages of Al addition to bulk microstructure, intermetallic compound (IMC) formation, wetting and mechanical properties of Sn–0.3Ag–0.5Cu (SAC0305) solder. SAC0305, SAC-0.5Al, SAC-1Al, SAC-1.5Al and SAC-2Al solders were prepared via casting process. The solders were reflowed onto Cu substrate at 260 °C for 10 s. The composition of each solders were determined using X-Ray Fluorescent. Differential Scanning Calorimetry was used to evaluate the thermal properties while wetting balance test and spreading test were conducted to analyze the wettability. The microstructures of the bulk solder as well as the interfacial IMC layer were observed using Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray. Meanwhile, ball shear test was carried out to assess the reliability of the solder joints. Addition of Al had increased the melting and crystallization temperature of the solders but decreased the degree of undercooling. The wettability of solders decreased with the increasing amount of Al, but still in the acceptable range. Addition of Al had encouraged the formation of Ag–Al and Cu–Al IMC, suppressed the formation of Ag3Sn and Cu6Sn5 IMC and refined β-Sn dendrites. Further addition of Al above 1 wt% resulted in the formation of primary Al particles. The amount of Ag–Al and Cu–Al IMC and primary Al particles increased with increasing amount of Al. The Al-added solders have thinner IMC layer at the solder joint compared to SAC0305 for reflowed samples. The shear strength of Al added solder were higher than SAC0305 at high and low speed shear.
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Acknowledgments
This work is supported by Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) Grant No. 203/PBAHAN/6071243. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for ASTS fellowship scheme.
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Maslinda, K., Anasyida, A.S. & Nurulakmal, M.S. Effect of Al addition to bulk microstructure, IMC formation, wetting and mechanical properties of low-Ag SAC solder. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 27, 489–502 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-3780-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-3780-y