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The purpose of this paper is to fabricate a new Cu-Sn-Ni-Cu interconnection microstructure for electromigration studies in 3D integration.

The Cu-Sn-Ni-Cu interconnection microstructure is fabricated by a three-mask photolithography process with different electroplating processes. This microstructure consists of pads and conductive lines as the bottom layer, Cu-Sn-Ni-Cu pillars with the diameter of 10-40 μm as the middle layer and Cu conductive lines as the top layer. A lift-off process is adopted for the bottom layer. The Cu-Sn-Ni-Cu pillars are fabricated by photolithography with sequential electroplating processes. To fabricate the top layer, a sputtered Cu layer is introduced to prevent the middle-layer photoresist from being developed. With the final Cu electroplating processes, the Cu-Sn-Ni-Cu interconnection microstructure is successfully achieved.

The surface morphology of Cu-Sn pillars consists of densely packed clusters which are formed by an ordered arrangement of tetragonal Sn grains. The diffusion of Cu atoms into the Sn phases is observed at the Cu/Sn interface. Furthermore, the obtained Cu-Sn-Ni-Cu pillars have a flat surface with an average roughness of 13.9 nm. In addition, the introduction of Ni layer between the Sn and the top Cu layers in the Cu-Sn-Ni-Cu pillars can mitigate the diffusion of Cu atoms into Sn phases. The process is verified by checking the electrical performance using four-point probe measurements.

The method described in this paper which combined a three-mask photolithography process with sequential Cu, Sn, Ni and Cu electroplating processes provides a new way to fabricate the interconnection microstructure for future electromigration studies.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate growth kinetics of interfacial Cu-Sn intermetallic compound (IMC) at the solid Cu/liquid Sn interface.

The Sn/Cu solid–liquid interfacial IMCs are fabricated under various soldering temperatures (240°C-270°C) and soldering times (5-240 s) by dipping method. The thickness and morphology of IMC are observed and analyzed by the optical microscope and scanning electron microscope.

Holding at 260°C, Cu/Sn solid–liquid interface Cu₆Sn₅ growth index experience a change from 0.08 to 0.30 within 10-190 s. The growth index is 0.08 in 10-40 s; the growth index is 0.30 in 40-190 s. Cu₆Sn₅ grain coarsening index is constant within 10-190 s. It is 0.13. The result of the index of Cu₆Sn₅ grain coarsening is different from predecessors 27 results Cu₆Sn₅ grain coarsening index for 1/3. This is because Cu₆Sn₅ grain grows at the expense of its near small grain to reduce the surface Gibbs free energy, and its morphology changes from regular shape to irregular shape. It sets up the mathematical expression about the initial formation time and temperature of Cu₃Sn in 240°C-270°C.

It obtains a mathematical model to express the changes of solid–liquid interface frontier concentration which has an effect on the interfacial Cu₆Sn₅ layer growth index and the Cu₆Sn₅ grain coarsening index. Different indexes can be obtained by establishing relevance equations, which can be used to predict the growth of the interface IMC layer. This mathematical model is established to design the solder pads and the sizes of the solder joints.

The work aims to study the direct bonding of silicon substrate with solders type Sn-Ag-Ti.

During the bonding process with ultrasound assistance, the active element (Ti,Ce,Mg) is distributed from the solder to interface with a silicon substrate, where it supports the bond formation.

Formation of a reaction layer, 1-2 μm in thickness, was observed. The new Si2Ti phases and Mg2Si phase were identified in the reaction layer.

The results of analysis suggest that the Si/Sn-Ag-Ti joint is of diffusion character. The highest average strength on silicon substrate (39 MPa) was achieved with Sn-Ag-Ti(Mg) solder.

This study aims to investigate the interfacial microstructures of ultrasonic-assisted solder joints at different soldering times.

Solder joints with different microstructures are obtained by ultrasonic-assisted soldering. To analyze the effect of ultrasounds on Cu₆Sn₅ growth during the solid–liquid reaction stage, the interconnection heights of solder joints are increased from 30 to 50 μm.

Scallop-like Cu₆Sn₅ nucleate and grow along the Cu₆Sn₅/Cu₃Sn interface under the traditional soldering process. By comparison, some Cu₆Sn₅ are formed at Cu₆Sn₅/Cu₃Sn interface and some Cu₆Sn₅ are randomly distributed in Sn when ultrasonic-assisted soldering process is used. The reason for the formation of non-interfacial Cu₆Sn₅ has to do with the shock waves and micro-jets produced by ultrasonic treatment, which leads to separation of some Cu₆Sn₅ from the interfacial Cu₆Sn₅ to form non-interfacial Cu₆Sn₅. The local high pressure generated by the ultrasounds promotes the heterogeneous nucleation and growth of Cu₆Sn₅. Also, some branch-like Cu₃Sn formed at Cu₆Sn₅/Cu₃Sn interface render the interfacial Cu₃Sn in ultrasonic-assisted solder joints present a different morphology from the wave-like or planar-like Cu₃Sn in conventional soldering joints. Meanwhile, some non-interfacial Cu₃Sn are present in non-interfacial Cu₆Sn₅ due to reaction of Cu atoms in liquid Sn with non-interfacial Cu₆Sn₅ to form non-interfacial Cu₃Sn. Overall, full Cu₃Sn solder joints are obtained at ultrasonic times of 60 s.

The obtained microstructure evolutions of ultrasonic-assisted solder joints in this paper are different from those reported in previous studies. Based on these differences, the effects of ultrasounds on the formation of non-interfacial IMCs and growth of interfacial IMCs are systematically analyzed by comparing with the traditional soldering process.

The purpose of this paper is to quickly manufacture full Cu₃Sn-microporous copper composite joints for high-temperature power electronics applications and study the microstructure evolution and the shear strength of Cu₃Sn at different bonding times.

In this paper, a novel structure of Cu/composite solder sheet/Cu was designed. The composite solder sheet was made of microporous copper filled with Sn. The composite joint was bonded by thermo-compression bonding under pressure of 0.6 MPa at 300°C. The microstructure evolution and the growth behavior of Cu₃Sn at different bonding times were observed by electron microscope and metallographic microscope. The shear strength of the joint was measured by shear machine.

At initial bonding stage the copper atoms in the substrate and the copper atoms in the microporous copper dissolved into the liquid Sn. Then the scallop-liked Cu₆Sn₅ phases formed at the interface of liquid Sn/microporous copper and liquid Sn/Cu substrates. During the liquid Sn changing to Cu₆Sn₅ phases, Cu₃Sn phases formed and grew at the interface of Cu₆Sn₅/Cu substrates and Cu₆Sn₅/microporous copper. After that the Cu₃Sn phases continued to grow and the Cu₃Sn-microporous copper composite joint with a thickness of 100 µm was successfully obtained. The growth rule of Cu₃Sn was parabolic growth. The shear strength of the composite joints was about 155 MPa.

This paper presents a novel full Cu₃Sn-microporous copper composite joint with high shear strength for high-temperature applications based on transient liquid phase bonding. The microstructure evolution and the growth behavior of Cu₃Sn in the composite joints were studied. The shear strength and the fracture mechanism of the composite joints were studied.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of minor addition of the rare earth (RE) element cerium, Ce, on the microstructures and creep properties of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys.

The pure Sn, Sn-Cu alloy, Sn-Ag alloy and Cu-Ce alloy were used as raw materials. Sn-Ag-Cu alloys with different contents of RE Ce were chosen to compare with Sn-Ag-Cu. The raw materials of Sn, Sn-Cu alloy, Sn-Ag alloy, Cu-Ce alloy were melted in a ceramic crucible, and were melted at 550°C ± 1°C for 40 minutes. To homogenize the solder alloy, mechanical stirring was performed every ten minutes using a glass rod. During the melting, KC1 + LiCI (1.3:1), were used over the surface of liquid solder to prevent oxidation. The melted solder was chill cast into a rod.

It is found that the microstructure exhibits smaller grains and the Ag₃Sn/Cu₆Sn₅ intermetallic compound (IMC) phases are modified in matrix with the addition of Ce. In particular, the addition of 0.03 wt.% Ce to the Sn-Ag-Cu solder can refine the microstructures and decrease the thickness of the IMC layers of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys. Meanwhile, thermodynamic analysis showed that these phenomena could be attributed to the reduction of the driving force for Cu-Sn IMC formation due to the addition of Ce. Results calculated using the thermodynamic method are close to the above experimental data. Thus, the optimum content of Ce in Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys should be about 0.030 percent. Additionally, the effect of Ce on the creep rupture life of Sn-Ag-Cu soldered joints was studied. It was found that the creep rupture life may be increased up to 7.5 times more than that of the original Sn-Ag-Cu alloy, when Ce accounts for 0.030 percent.

This paper usefully investigates the effects of the RE cerium (Ce), on the microstructures and creep properties of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys, optimizing the quantity of Ce in the Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloy through a thermodynamic method and by creep-rupture life testing.

This study aims to investigate the effect of ultrasound on interfacial microstructures and growth kinetics of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at different temperatures.

To investigate the effect of ultrasound on IMCs growth quantitatively, the cross-sectional area of IMCs layers over a confirmed length was obtained for calculating the thickness of the IMCs layer.

The generation of dimensional difference in normal direction between Cu₆Sn₅ and its adjacent Cu₆Sn₅, formation of bossed Cu₆Sn₅ and non-interfacial Cu₆Sn₅ in ultrasonic solder joints made the interfacial Cu₆Sn₅ layer present a non-scallop-like morphology different from that of traditional solder joints. At 260°C and 290°C, the Cu₃Sn layer presented a wave-like shape. In contrast, at 320°C, the Cu₃Sn in ultrasonic solder joints consisted of non-interfacial Cu₃Sn and interfacial Cu₃Sn with a branch-like shape. The Cu₆Sn₅/Cu₃Sn boundary and Cu₃Sn/Cu interface presented a sawtooth-like shape under the effect of ultrasound. The predominant mechanism of ultrasonic-assisted growth of Cu₆Sn₅ growth at 260°C, 290°C and 320°C involved the grain boundary diffusion accompanied by grain coarsening. The Cu₃Sn growth was controlled by volume diffusion during the ultrasonic soldering process at 260°C and 290°C. The diffusion mechanism of Cu₃Sn growth transformed to grain boundary diffusion accompanied by grain coarsening when the ultrasonic soldering temperature was increased to 320°C.

The microstructural evolution and growth kinetics of IMCs in ultrasonically prepared ultrasonic solder joints at different temperatures have rarely been reported in previous studies. In this study, the effect of ultrasound on microstructural evolution and growth kinetics of IMCs was systematically investigated.

In flip‐chip interconnection on organic substrates using eutectic tin/lead solder bumps, a highly reliable under bump metallurgy (UBM) is required to maintain adhesion and solder wettability. Various UBM systems such as 1μm Al/0.2μm Ti/5μm Cu, 1μm Al/02μm Ti/1μm Cu, 1μm Al/0.2μm Ni/1μm Cu and 1μm Al/0.2μm Pd/1μm Cu, applied under eutectic tin/lead solder bumps, have been investigated with regard to their interfacial reactions and adhesion properties. The effects of the number of solder reflow cycles and the aging time on the growth of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) and on the solder ball shear strength were investigated. Good ball shear strength was obtained with 1μm Al/0.2μm Ti5μm Cu and 1μm Al/0.2μm Ni/1μm Cu even after four solder reflows or seven‐day aging at 150∞C. In contrast, 1μm Al/0.2μm Ti/1μm Cu and 1μm Al/0.2μm Pd/1μm Cu showed poor ball shear strength. The decrease of the shear strength was mainly due to the direct contact between solder and non‐wettable metals such as Ti and AL, resulting in a delamination. In this case, thin 1μm Cu and 0.2μm Pd diffusion barrier layers were completely consumed by Cu‐Sn and Pd‐Sn reaction.

This paper aims to examine the effects of bonding temperature, bonding time, bonding pressure and the presence of a Pt catalyst on the bonding strength of Cu/SB/P-Cu/SB/Cu joints by transient liquid phase bonding (TLPB).

TLPB is promising to assemble die-attaching packaging for power devices. In this study, porous Cu (P-Cu) foil with a distinctive porous structure and Sn-58Bi solder (SB) serve as the bonding materials for TLPB under a formic acid atmosphere (FA). The high surface area of P-Cu enables efficient diffusion of the liquid phase of SB, stimulating the wetting, spreading and formation of intermetallic compounds (IMCs).

The higher bonding temperature decreased strength due to the coarsening of IMCs. The longer bonding time reduced the bonding strength owing to the coarsened Bi and thickened IMC. Applying optimal bonding pressure improved bonding strength, whereas excessive pressure caused damage. The presence of a Pt catalyst enhanced bonding efficiency and strength by facilitating reduction–oxidation reactions and oxide film removal.

Overall, this study demonstrates the feasibility of low-temperature TLPB for Cu/SB/P-Cu/SB/Cu joints and provides insights into optimizing bonding strength for the interconnecting materials in the applications of power devices.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the morphology evolution and the composition transformation of Au-Sn intermetallic compounds (IMCs) of the new Au/Sn-5Sb-1Cu-0.1Ni-0.1Ag/(Au)Ni solder joint during the high temperature aging.

Sn-5Sb-1Cu-0.1Ni-0.1Ag solder balls (500 µm in diameter), heat sink with structure of 7.4 µm Au layer on 5 µm Ni-plated Cu alloy and Si chip with 5.16 µm plated Au were used to fabricate micro-solder joints. The joints were performed in a furnace at 150°C for 150, 250 and 350 h aging. The samples were polished and deep etched before analyzed by metallographic microscope and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy was used to identify the composition of the IMCs.

ß-(Au,Ni,Cu)₁₀Sn phase is formed during the soldering process. The IMCs evolution has two periods during the aging. The first is the ξ-(Au,Ni,Cu)₅Sn, ξ-(Au,Cu)₅Sn and δ-AuSn were formed and grew to form a full-compound joint after about 150 h aging. The second is the conversion of the full-compound joint. The IMCs converted to ξ′ phase when the aging time extends to 250 h, and transformed to ε-(Au,Ni,Cu)Sn₂ and η-(Au,Ni,Cu)Sn₄ after 350 h aging. The thicker gold layer and thinner solder joint can promote the growth of the IMCs. ß-(Au,Ni,Cu)₁₀Sn emerged in Au/SnSb-CuNiAg/(Au)Ni in this research, which is not usually found.

The results in this study have a significant meaning for the application of the new Sn-5Sb-1Cu-0.1Ni-0.1Ag in harsh conditions.