Purpose
This paper aims to discuss the effect of surface treatment on the wettability between copper and a lead-free solder paste. The industrial applications of laser technologies are increasing constantly. A specific laser treatment can modify the surface energy of copper and affect the wetting properties.
Design/methodology/approach
The surfaces of copper plates were treated using an Nd:YAG laser with varying laser powers. After laser surface treatment, wetting experiments were performed between the copper plates and SAC305 lead-free solder paste. The effect of laser treatment on copper surface was analysed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Findings
The experimental results showed that the wetting contact angles changed with the variation in laser power. Furthermore, it means that the surface energy of copper plates was changed by the laser treatment. The results demonstrated that the contact angles also changed when a different soldering paste was used.
Originality/value
Previous laser surface treatment can be a possible way to optimize the wettability between solders and substrates and to increase the quality of the soldered joints.
A new classification of different laser beam induced surface engineering technologies is offered in this paper. An in situ laser melt injection technology is applied in this paper to modify the surface of an inexpensive carbon steel substrate. Relatively large WCzTi particles were blown into a laser melt steel pool, and the desired (Ti,W)C carbide particles were precipitated upon cooling and solidification. Although these primary (Ti,W)C carbide particles were micrometre sized, additional nanosized (Fe,W) 6 C particles were found to precipitate during the subsequent heat treatment from an oversaturated steel matrix. Thus, a steel matrix surface nanocomposite was produced by the combination of in situ laser melt injection technology and subsequent heat treatment.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.