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Effect of 0.5 wt % Cu addition in Sn–3.5% Ag solder on the dissolution rate of Cu metallization

Effect of 0.5 wt % Cu addition in Sn–3.5% Ag solder on the dissolution rate of Cu metallization

Alam, M.O., Chan, Y.C. and Tu, K.N. (2003) Effect of 0.5 wt % Cu addition in Sn–3.5% Ag solder on the dissolution rate of Cu metallization. Journal of Applied Physics, 94 (12). pp. 7904-7909. ISSN 0021-8979 (Print), 1089-7550 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1628387)

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Abstract

The dissolution of thin film under-bump-metallization (UBM) by molten solder has been one of the most serious processing problems in electronic packaging technology. Due to a higher melting temperature and a greater Sn content, a molten lead-free solder such as eutectic SnAg has a faster dissolution rate of thin film UBM than the eutectic SnPb. The work presented in this paper focuses on the role of 0.5 wt % Cu in the base Sn–3.5%Ag solder to reduce the dissolution of the Cu bond pad in ball grid array applications. We found that after 0.5 wt % Cu addition, the rate of dissolution of Cu in the molten Sn–3.5%Ag solder slows down dramatically. Systematic experimental work was carried out to understand the dissolution behavior of Cu by the molten Sn–3.5%Ag and Sn–3.5%Ag–0.5%Cu solders at 230–250 °C, for different time periods ranging from 1 to 10 min. From the curves of consumed Cu thickness, it was concluded that 0.5 wt % Cu addition actually reduces the concentration gradient at the Cu metallization/molten solder interface which reduces the driving force of dissolution. During the dissolution, excess Cu was found to precipitate out due to heterogeneous nucleation and growth of Cu6Sn5 at the solder melt/oxide interface. In turn, more Cu can be dissolved again. This process continues with time and leads to more dissolution of Cu from the bond pad than the amount expected from the solubility limit, but it occurs at a slower rate for the molten Sn–3.5%Ag–0.5%Cu solder. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: alloying additions, copper alloys, dissolving, eutectic alloys, integrated circuit metallisation, nucleation, silver alloys, soldering, tin alloys
Subjects: Q Science > QD Chemistry
Pre-2014 Departments: School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences
School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences > Centre for Numerical Modelling & Process Analysis
School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences > Centre for Numerical Modelling & Process Analysis > Computational Mechanics & Reliability Group
Related URLs:
Last Modified: 14 Oct 2016 09:02
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/1070

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