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Surface Precipitation and Growth of Bismuth Particles in Sn-Ag-Cu-Bi Solder Joints

  • Topical Collection: Electronic Packaging and Interconnections 2022
  • Published:
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Abstract

With the advance in heterogeneous integration packaging, there has been a demand for solders with ideal mechanical properties and ideal melting temperatures. Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) solders provide a reliable alternative to PbSn solders, with ideal mechanical properties and low melting points when alloyed with other elements. SAC-3Bi is observed to have bismuth precipitation at room temperature when aged over a period of time. This is only observed on the exposed surface, as removing the observed surface resets the nucleation and coarsening progress. Once the bismuth phase separates from the β-Sn matrix, it will coarsen over time. The results show that different cooling rates during the solder solidification will affect the coarsening rates, indicating different diffusion and nucleation rates affected by the cooling process.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge funding for this work from the SCALE program on Heterogeneous Integration in Packaging and the U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47906, USA

    John A. Wu, Amey Luktuke & Nikhilesh Chawla

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  1. John A. Wu
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  2. Amey Luktuke
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  3. Nikhilesh Chawla
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Correspondence to Nikhilesh Chawla.

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Wu, J.A., Luktuke, A. & Chawla, N. Surface Precipitation and Growth of Bismuth Particles in Sn-Ag-Cu-Bi Solder Joints. J. Electron. Mater. 52, 801–809 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-022-10126-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-022-10126-7

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