• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.81-89
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• 2022

The in-situ electromigration(EM) and annealing test were performed at 110, 130, and 150℃ with a current density of 1.3×10⁵ A/cm² conditions to investigate the effect of non-conductive film (NCF) on growth kinetics of intermetallic compound (IMC) in Cu/Ni/Sn-2.5Ag microbump. As a result, the activation energy of the Ni₃Sn₄ IMC growth in the annealing and EM conditions according to the NCF application was about 0.52 eV, and there was no significant difference. This is because the growth rate of Ni-Sn IMC is much slower than that of Cu-Sn IMC, and the growth behavior of Ni-Sn IMC increases linearly with the square root of time, so it has the same reaction mechanism dominated by diffusion. In addition, there is no difference in the activation energy of the Ni₃Sn₄ IMC growth because the EM resistance effect of the back stress according to the NCF application is not large.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.124-128
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• 2020

Output power of photovoltaic (PV) modules installed outdoors decreases every year due to environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, and ultraviolet irradiations. In order to promote the installation of PV modules, the reliability must be guaranteed. One of the important factors affecting reliability is intermetallic compounds (IMC) layer formed in ribbon solder joint. For this reason, various studies on soldering properties between the ribbon and cell have been performed to solve the reliability deterioration caused by excessive growth of the IMC layer. However, the IMC layer of the PV module interconnected by multi-wires has been studied less than using the ribbon. It is necessary to study soldering characteristics of the multi-wire module for improvement of its reliability. In this study, we analyzed the growth of IMC layer of the PV module with multi-wire and the degradation of output power through damp-heat test. The fabricated modules were exposed to damp-heat conditions (85 ºC and 85 % relative humidity) for 1000 hours and the output powers of the modules before and after the damp-heat test were measured. Then, the process of dissolving ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) as an encapsulant of the modules was performed to observe the IMC layer. The growth of IMC layer was evaluated using OM and FE-SEM for cross-sectional analysis and EDS for elemental mapping. Based on these results, we investigated the correlation between the IMC layer and output power of modules.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.73-79
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• 2022

In this study, a reaction study between Ga, which has recently been spotlighted as a low-temperature bonding material, and Cu, a representative electrode material, was conducted to investigate information necessary for low-temperature soldering applications. Interfacial reaction and intermetallic compound (IMC) growth were observed and analyzed by reacting Ga and Cu/Au substrates in the temperature range of 80-200℃. The main IMC growing at the reaction interface was CuGa₂ phase, and AuGa₂ IMC with small particle sizes was formed on the upper part and Cu₉Ga₄ IMC with a thin band shape on the lower part of the CuGa₂ layer. CuGa₂ particles showed a scallop shape, and the particle size increased without significant shape change as the reaction time increased, similar to the case of Cu₆Sn₅ growth. As a result of analyzing the CuGa₂ growth mechanism, the time exponent was calculated to be ~3.0 in the temperature range of 120-200℃, and the activation energy was measured to be 17.7 kJ/mol.

• Proceedings of the International Microelectronics And Packaging Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.133-137
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• 2003

The effect of Bi additions to the eutectic Sn-3.5Ag solder alloy on the growth kinetics of the intermetallic compound (IMC) layers during solid-state aging of Sn-Ag-Bi/Cu solder joints has been Investigated. The Bi additions enhanced the growth rate of the total IMC layer comprising of $Cu_6Sn_5$ and $Cu_3Sn$ sublayers. This enhanced IMC growth rate was primarily due to the rapid increase In the growth rate of $Cu_6Sn_5$ sublayer. The growth rate of $Cu_3Sn$ sublayers was little influenced and appeared to be retarded by the Bi additions. The observed growth behavior of $Cu_6Sn_5$ and $Cu_3Sn$ sublayers could be understood if the interfacial reaction barrier at the $Cu_6Sn_5/solder$ interface were reduced by the segregation of Bi at the interface.

• Proceedings of the International Microelectronics And Packaging Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.84-87
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• 2003

Since Pb-free solder alloys have been used extensively in microelectronic packaging industry, the interaction between UBM (Under Bump Metallurgy) and solder is a critical issue because IMC (Intermetallic Compound) at the interface is critical for the adhesion of mechanical and the electrical contact for flip chip bonding. IMC growth must be fast during the reflow process to form stable IMC. Too fast IMC growth, however, is undesirable because it causes the dewetting of UBM and the unstable mechanical stability of thick IMC. UP to now. Ni and Cu are the most popular UBMs because electroplating is lower cost process than thin film deposition in vacuum for Al/Ni(V)/Cu or phased Cr-Cu. The consumption rate and the growth rate of IMC on Ni are lower than those of Cu. In contrast, the wetting of solder bumps on Cu is better than Ni. In addition, the residual stress of Cu is lower than that of Ni. Therefore, the alloy of Cu and Ni could be used as optimum UBM with both advantages of Ni and Cu. In this paper, the interfacial reactions of Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu solder on Ni-xCu alloy UBMs were investigated. The UBMs of Ni-Cu alloy were made on Si wafer. Thin Cr film and Cu film were used as adhesion layer and electroplating seed layer, respectively. And then, the solderable layer, Ni-Cu alloy, was deposited on the seed layer by electroplating. The UBM consumption rate and intermetallic growth on Ni-Cu alloy were studied as a function of time and Cu contents. And the IMCs between solder and UBM were analyzed with SEM, EDS, and TEM.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.1295-1300
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• 2008

During the manufacturing and the service life of Au-Al wire bonded electronic packages, the ball bonds experience elevated temperatures and hence accelerated thermal diffusion reactions that promote the transformation of the Au-Al phases and the IMC growth. In this paper, the IC under high temperature storage (HTS) tests at $175^{\circ}C,\;200^{\circ}C$, and $250^{\circ}C$ are meticulously investigated. Thermal exposure resulted in the IMC growth, Kirkendall void and the crack of the Au-Al phases. The crack propagation occurs resulting in the failure of the Au-Al ball bonds. As the IC was exposed at the high temperature, decreased in the lifetime.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 2024

Recently, with the miniaturization and high integration of semiconductor chips, the bump bridge phenomenon caused by fine pitches is drawing attention as a problem. Accordingly, Cu pillar bump, which can minimize the bump bridge phenomenon, is widely applied in the semiconductor package industry for fine pitch applications. When exposed to a high-temperature environment, the thickness of the intermetallic compound (IMC) formed at the joint interface increases, and at the same time, Kirkendall void is formed and grown inside some IMC/Cu and IMC interfaces. Therefore, it is important to control the excessive growth of IMC and the formation and growth of Kirkendall voids because they weaken the mechanical reliability of the joints. Therefore, in this study, isothermal aging evaluation of Cu pillar bump joints with a CS (Cu+ Sn-1.8Ag Solder) structure was performed and the corresponding results was reported.

• Proceedings of the International Microelectronics And Packaging Society Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.85-91
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• 2002

Even though electroless Hi and Sn-Ag-Cu solder are widely used materials in electronic packaging applications, interfacial reactions of the ternary Ni-Cu~Sn system have not been known well because of their complexity. Because the growth of intermetallics at the interface affects reliability of solder joint, the intermetallics in Ni-Cu-Sn system should be identified, and their growth should be investigated. Therefore, in present study, interfacial reactions between electroless Ni UB7f and 95.5Sn-4.0Ag-0.5Cu alloy were investigated focusing on morphology of the IMCs, thermodynamics, and growth kinetics. The IMCs that appear during a reflow and an aging are different each other. In early stage of a reflow, ternary IMC whose composition is Ni$_{22}$Cu$_{29}$Sn$_{49}$ forms firstly. Due to the lack of Cu diffusion, Ni$_{34}$Cu$_{6}$Sn$_{60}$ phase begins growing in a further reflow. Finally, the Ni$_{22}$Cu$_{29}$Sn$_{49}$ IMC grows abnormally and spalls into the molten solder. The transition of the IMCs from Ni$_{22}$Cu$_{29}$Sn$_{49}$ to Ni$_{34}$Cu$_{6}$Sn$_{60}$ was observed at a specific temperature. From the measurement of activation energy of each IMC, growth kinetics was discussed. In contrast to the reflow, three kinds of IMCs (Ni$_{22}$Cu$_{29}$Sn$_{49}$, Ni$_{20}$Cu$_{28}$Au$_{5}$, and Ni$_{34}$Cu$_{6}$Sn$_{60}$) were observed in order during an aging. All of the IMCs were well attached on UBM. Au in the quaternary IMC, which originates from immersion Au plating, prevents abnormal growth and separation of the IMC. Growth of each IMC is very dependent to the aging temperature because of its high activation energy. Besides the IMCs at the interface, plate-like Ag3Sn IMC grows as solder bump size inside solder bump. The abnormally grown Ni$_{22}$Cu$_{29}$Sn$_{49}$ and Ag$_3$Sn IMCs can be origins of brittle failure.failure.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.402-407
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• 2007

In electronics manufacturing processes, soldering process has generally been used in surface mounting technology. Because of environmental restriction, lead free solders as like a SnAgCu ternary system are being used widely. After soldering process, the formation and growth of intermetalic compounds(IMCs) are formed in the interface between solder and Cu substrate as follows isothermal temperature and time. In this studies, therefore, we investigated the effects of the Cu substrate thickness on the IMC formation and growth of Sn-40Pb/Cu and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu/Cu solder joints, respectively. The effect of the Cu thickness in PCB Cu pad and pure Cu plate was analyzed as measuring of thickness of each IMC. After solder was soldered on PCB and Cu plate which have different Cu thickness, we measured the IMC thickness in solder joints respectively. Also we compared with the effectiveness of Cu thickness on the IMC growth. From these results, we calculated the activation energy.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.30-32
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• 2006

The interfacial reaction and reliability of eutectic Sn-Pb and Pb-free eutectic Sn-Ag ball-grid-array (BGA) solders with an immersion Ag-plated Cu substrate were evaluated following isothermal aging at $150^{\circ}C$. During reflowing, the topmost Ag layer was dissolved completely into the molten solder, leaving the Cu layer exposed to the molten solder for both solder systems. A typical scallop-type Cu-Sn intermetallic compound (IMC) layer was formed at both of the solder/Cu interfaces during reflowing. The thickness of the Cu-Sn IMCs for both solders was found to increase linearly with the square root of isothermal aging time. The growth of the $Cu_3Sn$ layer for the Sn-37Pb solder was faster than that for the Sn-3.5Ag solder, In the case of the Sn-37Pb solder, the formation of the Pb-rich layer on the Cu-Sn IMC layer retarded the growth of the $Cu_6Sn_5$ IMC layer, and thereby increased the growth rate of the $Cu_3Sn$ IMC layer. In the ball shear test conducted on the Sn-37Pb/Ag-plated Cu joint after aging for 500h, fracturing occurred at the solder/$Cu_6Sn_5$ interface. The shear failure was significantly related to the interfacial adhesion strength between the Pb-rich and $Cu_6Sn_5$ IMC layers. On the other hand, all fracturing occurred in the bulk solder for the Sn-3.5Ag/Ag-plated Cu joint, which confirmed its desirable joint reliability.