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Nanoparticles of the Lead-free Solder Alloy Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu with Large Melting Temperature Depression

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Due to the toxicity of lead (Pb), Pb-containing solder alloys are being phased out from the electronics industry. This has lead to the development and implementation of lead-free solders. Being an environmentally compatible material, the lead-free Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (wt.%) solder alloy is considered to be one of the most promising alternatives to replace the traditionally used Sn-Pb solders. This alloy composition possesses, however, some weaknesses, mainly as a result of its higher melting temperature compared with the Sn-Pb solders. A possible way to decrease the melting temperature of a solder alloy is to decrease the alloy particle size down to the nanometer range. The melting temperature of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu lead-free solder alloy, both as bulk and nanoparticles, was investigated. The nanoparticles were manufactured using the self-developed consumable-electrode direct current arc (CDCA) technique. The melting temperature of the nanoparticles, with an average size of 30 nm, was found to be 213.9°C, which is approximately 10°C lower than that of the bulk alloy. The developed CDCA technique is therefore a promising method to manufacture nanometer-sized solder alloy particles with lower melting temperature compared with the bulk alloy.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program) with Contract No. 2006AA 03Z339. The authors would also like to acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 50571057, 50401023), Shanghai Rising-Star Program (Grant No. 06QA14020), Shanghai Municipal Education Commission Program (Grant No. 2006AZ002), and the National Swedish Research Council for support of the project “Nanointerconnect” with contract No. 621-2007-4660.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Modern Metallurgy & Materials Processing, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200072, P.R. China

    Chang Dong Zou, Yu Lai Gao, Bin Yang, Xin Zhi Xia & Qi Jie Zhai

  2. Department of Microtechnology and Nanosciences (MC2) & SMIT Center, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96, Goteborg, Sweden

    Cristina Andersson & Johan Liu

  3. SMIT Center and␣School of Automation and Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200072, P.R. China

    Johan Liu

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  1. Chang Dong Zou
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  2. Yu Lai Gao
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Correspondence to Yu Lai Gao.

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Zou, C.D., Gao, Y.L., Yang, B. et al. Nanoparticles of the Lead-free Solder Alloy Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu with Large Melting Temperature Depression. J. Electron. Mater. 38, 351–355 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-008-0591-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-008-0591-4

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