Distribution and Microstructure Analysis of Ceramic Particles in the Lead-Free Solder Matrix

Abstract

The Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder alloy is a prominent candidate for the Pb-free solder, and SAC305 solder is generally employed in today’s electronic enterprise. In this study, the formation of intermetallic compounds (Cu6Sn5 and Ag3Sn) at the interface, average neighbour’s particle distance, and the morphological mosaic are examined by the addition of SiC and nickel-coated silicon carbide reinforcements within Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder. Results revealed that the addition of SiC and SiC(Ni) particles are associated with a small change to the average neighbor’s particle distance and a decrease of clustering rate to a certain limit of the Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder composites. Moreover, the development of the Cu6Sn5 and the structure of the Ag3Sn are improved with the addition of SiC and Ni coated SiC.

Archives of Metallurgy and Materials

“…They concluded liquid sn-zn alloys need protective environment for good wetting of metallic substrates [44]. more recently, similar experimental results were also reported in [45][46] where the focus was kept on formation of intermetallic layers during the wetting by sn-alloys.…”

Distribution and Microstructure Analysis of Ceramic Particles in the Lead‐Free Solder Matrix

“…The surfaces of sintered samples were ground and polished to expel any irregularity. [12] More than 100 pictures were taken by focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) for inspection. The pictures have a brightening view problem, the focal point of convergence of the right is more suitable.…”

“…Such IMCs played a key role in the matrix since IMCs provide the strength of the matrix -Sn. [3,[9][10][11][12] A high percentage of -Sn reduces the modulus of elasticity and yield strength of the lead-free solder composites. However, the existence of IMCs improves the strength and elastic modulus and gives stiffness to the composites.…”

“…Particle size and shape are of critical quality and have a huge impact on the overall performance of downstream processes (such as powder treatment) and directly influences the properties of the end products (e.g., uniformity, strength, and stability). [6,12] Numerous off-line tools may be used to evaluate the particle size distribution (PSD) of particles produced during a crystallization technique. Utilization of an in situ method is of specific significance and Image analysis techniques can also be used for evaluating size and shape data of particles dispersed in a composite.…”