Composition distribution studies of Sn/Ag/Cu solder material using TOF-SIMS, XPS and EDX

Abstract

Determination of compositional distribution for solder material is of particular interest in the area of failure analysis, specifically in the investigation of various solder alloy formations during the joining processes and interconnection failures. In this paper, we explored several advanced techniques such as time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF SIMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (ED X) for characterizing the composition of SnAgCu solder material. Each analysis technique has its advantages in the information attained, thus stimulating multi-technique approaches for material analysis in future.