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The relationship between the bulk and localized mechanical properties is critically needed, especially to understand the mechanical performance of solder alloy because of smaller sizing trend of solder joint. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between tensile and nanoindentation tests toward the mechanical properties and deformation behavior of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) lead-free solder wire at room temperature.

Tensile test with different strain rates of 1.5 × 10-4 s-1, 1.5 × 10-3 s-1, 1.5 × 10-2 s-1 and 1.5 × 10-1 s-1 at room temperature of 25°C were carried out on lead-free Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solder wire. Stress–strain curves and mechanical properties such as yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation were determined from the tensile test. Load-depth (P-h) profiles and micromechanical properties, namely, hardness and reduced modulus, were obtained from nanoindentation test. In addition, the deformation mechanisms of SAC305 lead-free solder wire were obtained by measuring the range of creep parameters, namely, stress exponent and strain rate sensitivity, using both of tensile and nanoindentation data.

It was observed that qualitative results obtained from tensile and nanoindentation tests can be used to identify the changes of the microstructure. The occurrence of dynamic recrystallization and the increase of ductility obtained from tensile test can be used to indicate the increment of grain refinement or dislocation density. Similarly, the occurrence of earliest pop-in event and the highest occurrence of pop-in event observed from nanoindentation also can be used to identify the increase of grain refinement and dislocation density. An increment of strain rates increases the YS and ultimate UTS of SAC305 solder wire. Similarly, the variation of hardness of SAC305 solder wire has the similar trend or linear relationship with the variation of YS and UTS, following the Tabor relation. In contrast, the variation of reduced modulus has a different trend compared to that of hardness. The deformation behavior analysis based on the Holomon’s relation for tensile test and constant load method for nanoindentation test showed the same trend but with different deformation mechanisms. The transition of responsible deformation mechanism was obtained from both tensile and nanoindentation tests which from grain boundary sliding (GBS) to grain boundary diffusion and dislocation climb to grain boundary slide, respectively.

For the current analysis, the relationship between tensile and nanoindentation test was analyzed specifically for the SAC305 lead-free solder wire, which is still lacking. The findings provide a valuable data, especially when comparing the trend and mechanism involved in bulk (tensile) and localized (nanoindentation) methods of testing.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the corrosion behaviors of SAC305 thin film solder alloy in 6 M KOH solution.

The corrosion behavior of bare Cu, as-deposited SAC305/Cu and as-reflowed SAC305/Cu thin films at varying temperatures, was investigated by means of potentiodynamic polarization in a 6 M KOH solution. The microstructure, phase and thickness of the intermetallic compounds formed were determined before and after polarization.

Bare Cu was found to possess the best corrosion resistance, whereas the as-deposited SAC305/Cu had the lowest corrosion resistance. As-reflowed SAC305/Cu with an exposed Cu₃Sn layer exhibited better corrosion resistance than did Cu₆Sn₅. The Ag₃Sn phase has the noblest characteristic because it was retained and did not dissolve in the KOH solution. All of the samples contained the corrosion products of oxide. Bare Cu obeys the well-known duplex structure of a Cu₂O/CuO, Cu(OH)₂ layer. For as-reflowed SAC305/Cu, the corroded surface was also mainly composed of SnO and SnO₂.

New analysis on the polarization of thin film characteristics of SAC305 lead-free solder in alkaline solution.

The purpose of this paper is to produce and investigate the interfacial reaction between Sn‐3.0Ag‐0.5Cu (SAC305) thin films and Cu substrates by solder reflow at various temperatures and times.

SAC305 thin films were deposited on copper substrates using a thermal evaporation technique. The as‐deposited SAC305/Cu was then reflowed on a hot plate at temperatures of 230, 240, 250 and 260°C for 30 s. In addition, solder reflow was conducted at a constant temperature of 230°C for 5, 10, 15 and 20 s. The microstructure, phase and thickness of the intermetallic compounds (IMCs) formed were determined after cross‐sectional metallographic preparation.

Cu₆Sn₅ and Cu₃Sn were observed at the as‐reflowed SAC305/Cu interfacial region. The IMC thicknesses increased with the higher reflow temperature and longer reflow times.

Up to now, studies on the thin film characteristics of SAC305 lead‐free solder have been very limited. Thus, this paper presents the deposition of SAC305 thin film by a thermal evaporation technique and its characteristics after solder reflow.

The author proposed a friction plunge micro-welding (FPMW) method and applied it to column grid array packaging to realize the connection of copper columns without precision molds assisted positioning. The purpose of this paper is to study the flow behavior of the solder undergoing frictional thermo-mechanical action during the FPMW and to determine the source of the solders in the micro-zones with different microstructure characteristics near the solder/Cu column friction interface.

Three kinds of Sn58Bi/SAC305 and SAC305/Pb90Sn composite solder samples were designed to study the flow behavior of the solder during FPMW using Bi and Pb as tracer elements.

The results show that most of the solders in the position occupied by the copper column was softened and plasticized during the welding process and was extruded to side of the copper column, flowing axially, circumferentially and radially along a trajectory similar to a conical spiral line. Under the drive of the tangential friction force and the radial hold-tight force, the extruded out visco-plastic solders fully mixed with the visco-plastic solders on the sides of the copper column, and bonded with the solders that deformed plastically on the periphery, so that a stir zone and a dynamic recrystallization zone finally evolved. The outside plastically deformed solders evolved into a thermo-mechanical affected zone.

The flow behavior of the solder during the FPMW was determined, as well as the source of the solders in micro-zones with different microstructure characteristics.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of different doses of gamma radiation on the micromechanical response (hardness properties and creep behaviour) of 96.5Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solder alloys.

SAC305 solder pastes deposited on printed circuit boards (PCBs) were subjected to a reflow soldering process to form soldered samples. The soldered samples were irradiated with a gamma source at different doses (5–50 Gy). Nanoindentation testing was used to determine the hardness properties and creep behaviour after gamma irradiation.

The results showed that the hardness of SAC305 solder alloys gradually increased up to 15 Gy and then gradually decreased to 50 Gy of gamma irradiation. The highest hardness value (0.37 GPa) was observed on SAC305 solder alloys exposed to 15 Gy irradiation. Hardening of SAC305 solder alloy was suggested to be due to the high defect density induced by the gamma irradiation. Meanwhile, exposure to 50 Gy irradiation resulted in the lowest hardness value, 0.13 GPa. The softening behaviour of SAC305 solder alloy was probably due to the evolution of defect size in the solder joint. In addition, the creep behaviour of the SAC305 solder alloys changed significantly with different gamma irradiation doses. The creep rates were higher at a dose of 10 Gy up to a dose of 50 Gy. Gamma irradiation caused the SAC305 solder alloy to become more ductile compared to the non-irradiated alloy. The stress exponent also showed different deformation mechanisms with varying gamma doses.

Research into the micromechanical properties of solder alloys subjected to gamma irradiation has rarely been reported, especially for Sn-Ag-Cu lead-free solder. Thus, this research provides a fundamental understanding of the micromechanical response (hardness and creep behaviour) of solder, especially lead-free solder alloy, to gamma irradiation.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between microstructure and varied strain rates towards the mechanical properties and deformation behaviour of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) lead-free solder wire at room temperature.

Tensile tests with different strain rates of 1.5 × 10⁻⁶, 1.5 × 10⁻⁵, 1.5 × 10⁻⁴, 1.5 × 10⁻³, 1.5 × 10⁻² and 1.5 × 10⁻¹ s⁻¹ at room temperature of 25°C were carried out on lead-free Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solder wire. Stress-strain curves and mechanical properties such as yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation were determined from the tensile tests. A microstructure analysis was performed by measuring the average grain size and the aspect ratio of the grains.

It was observed that higher strain rates showed pronounced dynamic recrystallization on the stress-strain curve. The increase in the strain rates also decreased the grain size of the SAC305 solder wire. It was found that higher strain rates had a pronounced effect on changing the deformation or shape of the grain in a longitudinal direction. An increase in the strain rates increased the tensile strength and ductility of the SAC solder wire. The primary deformation mechanism for strain rates below 1.5 × 10⁻¹ s⁻¹ was grain boundary sliding, whereas the deformation mechanism for strain rates of 1.5 × 10⁻¹ s⁻¹ was diffusional creep.

Most of the studies regarding the deformation behaviour of lead-free solder usually consider the effect of the elevated temperature. For the current analysis, the effect of the temperature is kept constant at room temperature to analyze the deformation of lead-free solder wire solely because of changes of strain rates, and this is the originality of this paper.

Tin-Silver-Copper is widely accepted as the best alternative to replace Tin-Lead solders in microelectronics packaging due to their acceptable properties. However, to overcome some of the shortcomings related to its microstructure and in turn, its mechanical properties at high temperature, the addition of different elements into Tin-Silver-Copper is important for investigations. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of lanthanum doping on the microstructure, microhardness and tensile properties of Tin-Silver-Copper as a function of thermal aging time for 60, 120 and 180 h at a high temperature of 150°C and at high strain rates of 25, 35 and 45/s.

The microstructure of un-doped and Lanthanum-doped Tin-Silver-Copper after different thermal aging time is examined using scanning electron microscopy followed by digital image analyses using ImageJ. Brinell hardness is used to find out the microhardness properties. The tensile tests are performed using the universal testing machine. All the investigations are done after the above selected thermal aging time at high temperature. The tensile tests of the thermally aged specimens are further investigated at high strain rates of 25, 35 and 45/s.

According to the microstructural examination, Tin-Silver-Copper with 0.4 Wt.% Lanthanum is found to be more sensitive at high temperature as the aging time increases which resulted in coarse microstructure due to the non-uniform distribution of intermetallic compounds. Similarly, lower values of microhardness, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength come in favours of 0.4 Wt.% Lanthanum added Tin-Silver-Copper. Furthermore, when the thermally aged tensile specimen is tested at high strains, two trends in tensile curves of both the solder alloys are noted. The trends showed that yield strength and ultimate tensile strength increase as the strain rate increase and decrease when there is an increase in thermal aging.

The addition of higher supplement (0.4 Wt.%) of Lanthanum into Tin-Silver-Copper showed a lower hardness value, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, ductility, toughness and fatigue in comparison to un-doped Tin-Silver-Copper at high temperature and at high strain rates. Finally, simplified material property models with minimum error are developed which will help when the actual test data are not available.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of titanium nitride (TiN) on microstructure and composition of 96.5Sn3Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) lead-free solder joints under a large temperature gradient.

In this paper, SAC305 lead-free composite solder containing 0.05 Wt.% TiN was prepared by powder metallurgy method. A temperature gradient generator was designed and the corresponding samples were also prepared. The microstructural evolution, internal structure and elemental content of SAC305 and SAC305/TiN solder joints before and after thermal loading were comparatively studied.

The experimental results show that the addition of the TiN reinforcing phase can effectively inhibit the diffusion and migration of copper atoms and, therefore, affect the distribution of newly formed Cu-Sn IMC in solder joints under the condition of thermal migration (TM). Compared with the SAC305 solder joint, the interconnection interface and internal structure of the composite solder joint after 600 h of TM are also relatively complete.

The TiN reinforcing phase is proven effective to mitigate the TM behavior in solder joints under thermal stressing. Specifically, based on the observation and analysis results of microstructure and internal structure of composite solder joint, the TiN particle can change the temperature gradient distribution of the solder joint, so as to suppress the diffusion and migration of Sn and Cu atoms. In addition, the results of Micro-CT and compositional analysis also indicate that the addition of TiN reinforcement is very helpful to maintain the structural integrity and the compositional stability of the solder joint. Different from other ceramic reinforcements, TiN has good thermo- and electro-conductivity and the thermal-electrical performance of composite solder will not be significantly affected by this reinforcement, which is also the main advantage of selecting TiN as the reinforcing phase to prepare composite solder. This study can not only provide preliminary experimental support for the preparation of high reliability lead-free composite solder but also provide a theoretical basis for the subsequent study (such as electro-thermo distribution in solder joints), which has important application significance.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of nickel-plated graphene (Ni-GNS) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 96.5Sn3Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) lead-free solder joints before and after an electro-migration (EM) experiment.

In this paper, SAC305 solder alloy doped with 0.1 Wt.% Ni-GNS was prepared via the powder metallurgy method. A U-shaped sample structure was also designed and prepared to conduct an EM experiment. The EM experiment was carried out with a current density of 1.5 × 104 A/cm2. The microstructural and mechanical evolutions of both solder joints under EM stressing were comparatively studied using SEM and nanoindentation.

The experimental results showed that for the SAC305 solder, the interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMC) formulated a protrusion with an average height of 0.42 µm at the anode after 360 h of EM stressing; however, despite this, the surface of the composite solder joint was relatively smooth. During the stressing period, the interfacial IMC on the anode side of the plain SAC305 solder showed a continuous increasing trend, while the IMC at the cathode presented a decreasing trend for its thickness as the stressing time increased; after 360 h of stressing, some cracks and voids had formed on the cathode side. For the SAC305/ Ni-GNS composite solder, a continuous increase in the thickness of the interfacial IMC was found on both the anode and cathode side; the growth rate of the interfacial IMC at the anode was higher than that at the cathode. The nanoindentation results showed that the hardness of the SAC305 solder joint presented a gradient distribution after EM stressing, while the hardness data showed a relatively homogeneous distribution in the SAC305/ Ni-GNS solder joint.

The experimental results showed that the Ni-GNS reinforcement could effectively mitigate the EM behavior in solder joints under high current stressing. Specifically, the Ni particles that plated the graphene sheets can work as a fixing agent to suppress the diffusion and migration of Sn and Cu atoms by forming Sn-Cu-Ni IMC. In addition, the nanoidentation results also indicated that the addition of the Ni-GNS reinforcement was very helpful in maintaining the mechanical stability of the solder joint. These findings have provided a theoretical and experimental basis for the practical application of this novel composite solder with high current densities.

This paper aims to investigate the bonding of the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) chip with the heat sink using the AlNi self-propagating soldering method.

Compared to industrial optical modules, optical modules for aerospace applications require better reliability and stability, which is hard to achieve via the dispensing adhesive process that is used for traditional industrial optical modules. In this paper, 25 µm SAC305 solder foils and the AlNi nanofoil heat source were used to bond the back of the PIC chip with the heat sink. The temperature field and temperature history were analyzed by the finite element analysis (FEA) method. The junction-to-case thermal resistance is 0.0353°C/W and reduced by 85% compared with the UV hybrid epoxy joint.

The self-propagating reaction ends within 2.82 ms. The maximum temperature in the PIC operating area during the process is 368.5°C. The maximum heating and cooling rates of the solder were 1.39 × 107°C/s and −5.15 × 106°C/s, respectively. The microstructure of SAC305 under self-propagating reaction heating is more refined than the microstructure of SAC305 under reflow. The porosity of the heat sink-SAC305-PIC chip self-propagating joint is only 4.7%. Several metastable phases appear as AuSn3.4 and AgSn3.

A new bonding technology was used to form the bonding between the PIC chip with the heat sink for the aerospace optical module. The reliability and thermal resistance of the joint are better than that of the UV hybrid epoxy joint.