Abstract
The reaction between the Sn-Ag-Cu solders and Ni at 250°C for 10 min and 25 h was studied. Nine different Sn-Ag-Cu solders, with the Ag concentration fixed at 3.9 wt.% and Cu concentrations varied between 0.0–3.0 wt.%, were used. When the reaction time was 10 min, the reactions strongly depended on the Cu concentration. At low-Cu concentrations (≦0.2 wt.%), only a continuous (Ni1−xCux)3Sn4 layer formed at the interface. When the Cu concentration increased to 0.4 wt.%, a continuous (Ni1−xCux)3Sn4 layer and a small amount of discontinuous (Cu1−yNiy)6Sn5 particles formed at the interface. When the Cu concentration increased to 0.5 wt.%, the amount of (Cu1−yNiy)6Sn5 increased and (Cu1−yNi6)6Sn5 became a continuous layer. Beneath this (Cu1−yNiy)6Sn5 layer was a very thin but continuous layer of (Ni1−xCux)3Sn4. At higher Cu concentrations (0.6–3.0 wt.%), (Ni1−xCux)3Sn4 disappeared, and only (Cu1−yNiy)6Sn5 was present. The reactions at 25 h also depended strongly on the Cu concentration, proving that the strong concentration dependence was not a transient phenomenon limited to a short reaction time. The findings of this study were rationalized using the Cu-Ni-Sn isotherm. This study shows that precise control over the Cu concentration in solders is needed to produce consistent results.
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Ho, C.E., Tsai, R.Y., Lin, Y.L. et al. Effect of Cu concentration on the reactions between Sn-Ag-Cu solders and Ni. J. Electron. Mater. 31, 584–590 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-002-0129-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-002-0129-0