• International Journal of Korean Welding Society
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.15-28
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• 2005

The ball shear test was investigated in terms of the effects of test parameters, i.e., shear height and shear speed, with an experimental and non-linear finite element analysis for evaluating the solder joint integrity of area array packages. Two representative Pb-free solder compositions were examined in this work: Sn-3.5Ag-0.75Cu and In-48Sn. The substrate was a common SMD type with solder bond pad openings of 460 $\mu$m in diameter. The microstructural investigations were carried out using SEM, and the IMCs were identified with EDS. Shear tests were conducted with the two varying test parameters. It could be observed that increasing shear height, at fixed shear speed, has the effect of decreasing shear force for both Sn-3.5Ag-0.75Cu and In-48Sn solder joints, while the shear force increased with increasing shear speed at fixed shear height. Too high shear height could cause some undesirable effects on the test results such as unexpected high standard deviation values or shear tip sliding from the solder ball. The low shear height conditions were favorable for screening the type of brittle interfacial fractures or the degraded layers in the interfaces. The shear speed conditions were discussed with the stress analyses of the solder ball, and we cannot find any conspicuous finding which is related to optimum shear speed from the stress analyses.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.65-70
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• 2021

In this study, interfacial properties and mechanical properties of joints were reported after Cu pads finished with organic solderability preservative (OSP) on flame retardant-4 (FR-4) printed circuit board (PCB) and electronic components were joined with a Sn-57Bi-1Ag solder paste by using a laser bonding process. The laser bonding process was performed under various bonding conditions with changing a laser power and a bonding time and effects of bonding conditions on interfacial and mechanical properties of joints were analyzed. In order to apply for industry, properties of bonding joints using a reflow bonding process which are widely used were compared. When the laser bonding process were performed, we observed that Cu₆Sn₅ intermetallic compounds (IMCs) were fully formed at the interface although the bonding times were very short about 2 and 3 s. Furthermore, void formations of the joints by using the laser bonding process were suppressed at the joints with comparing to the reflow bonding process and shear strengths of bonding joints were higher than that by using the reflow bonding process. Therefore, in spite of a very short bonding time, it is expected that joints will be stably formed and have a high mechanical strength by using the laser bonding process.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.55-59
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• 2015

Novel low-volume solder-on-pad (SoP) process is proposed for a fine pitch Cu pillar bump interconnection. A novel solder bumping material (SBM) has been developed for the $60{\mu}m$ pitch SoP using screen printing process. SBM, which is composed of ternary Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solder powder and a polymer resin, is a paste material to perform a fine-pitch SoP in place of the electroplating process. By optimizing the volumetric ratio of the resin, deoxidizing agent, and SAC305 solder powder; the oxide layers on the solder powder and Cu pads are successfully removed during the bumping process without additional treatment or equipment. The Si chip and substrate with daisy-chain pattern are fabricated to develop the fine pitch SoP process and evaluate the fine-pitch interconnection. The fabricated Si substrate has 6724 under bump metallization (UBM) with a $45{\mu}m$ diameter and $60{\mu}m$ pitch. The Si chip with Cu pillar bump is flip chip bonded with the SoP formed substrate using an underfill material with fluxing features. Using the fluxing underfill material is advantageous since it eliminates the flux cleaning process and capillary flow process of underfill. The optimized interconnection process has been validated by the electrical characterization of the daisy-chain pattern. This work is the first report on a successful operation of a fine-pitch SoP and micro bump interconnection using a screen printing process.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.37-45
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• 2008

In this study, reliabilities of Cu (60 um)/SnAg (20 um) double-bump flip chip assemblies were investigated for the flip chip interconnections on organic substrates with 100 um pitch. After multiple reflows at $250^{\circ}C\;and\;280^{\circ}C$, bump contact resistances were almost same regardless of number of reflows and reflow temperature. In the high temperature storage test, there was no bump contact resistance change at $125^{\circ}C$ up to 2000 hours. However, bump contact resistances slightly increased at $150^{\circ}C$ due to Kirkendall voids formation. In the electromigration test, Cu/SnAg double-bump flip chip assemblies showed no electromigration until about 600 hours due to reduced local current density. Finally, in the thermal cycling test, thermal cycling failure mainly occurred at Si chip/Cu column interface which was found out the highest stress concentration site in the finite element analysis. As a result, Al pad was displaced out under thermal cycling. This failure mode was caused by normal compressive strain acting Cu column bumps along perpendicular direction of a Si chip.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.9
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• pp.580-585
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• 2009

The effects of shear speed and tip height on the high speed shear test of Sn-3.0wt.%Ag-0.5wt.%Cu ball joints were investigated. Solder balls of $450{\mu}m$ in diameter were reflowed at $245^{\circ}C$ on a FR4 PCB (Printed Circuit Board) in order to obtain a sample for the high-speed shear test. The UBM was comprised of Cu/Ni/Au, and the shear speed and tip height varied from 0.5 to 3.0 m/s, and from 10 to $135{\mu}m$, respectively. According to the experimental results, faster shear speed enhanced the shear strength of the solder joints, regardless of the tip height. The fraction of ductile (solder) fracture decreased when the shearing speed was raised from 0.5 to 3.0 m/s. With an increasing tip height from 10 to 50 and $135{\mu}m$, the fracture mode changed from pad lift to mixed (ductile and brittle) and ductile fracture, respectively, while the shearing energy also increased in the same order. The shear energy had a proportional relationship with the fraction of the solder fracture.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2022

In the era of Fifth-Generation (5G), technology requirements such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud computing, automatic vehicles, and smart manufacturing are increasing. For high efficiency of electronic devices, research on high-intensity circuits and packaging for miniaturized electronic components is important. A solder paste which consists of small solder powders is one of common solder for high density packaging, whereas an electroplated solder has limitation of uniformity of bump composition. Researches are underway to improve wettability through the addition of nanoparticles into a solder paste or the surface finish of a substrate, and to suppress the formation of IMC growth at the metal pad interface. This paper describes the principles of improving the wettability of solder paste and suppressing interfacial IMC growth by addition of nanoparticles.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.25-30
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• 2015

SAC-coated Cu specimens were fabricated by novel pad finish process using a phenomenon that metal nanoparticles less than 20 nm in diameter melted at a temperature lower than the melting point of bulk metal, and their wettabilities were evaluated. The thickness of SAC305 layer coated at low temperature of $160^{\circ}C$ using SAC305 ink was extremely thin as the level of several nanometers. It was analyzed by Auger electron spectroscopy that $Cu_6Sn_5$ intermetallic layer with a thickness of 10~100 nm and $Cu_3Sn$ intermetallic layer with a thickness of 50~150 nm were sequentially formed under the SAC305 coating layer. The thickness of formed intermetallic layers was thicker in electroplated Cu than rolled Cu, which attributed to improved surface roughness in the electroplated Cu. The improved surface roughness induces the contact, melting, and reaction of a larger number of SAC305 nanoparticles per the unit area of Cu specimen. In the wetting angle test using SAC305 solder balls, the Cu coated with SAC305 through the low temperature process presented evidently low wetting angles than those in non-coated Cu, indicating that only a few nanometer-thick SAC305 coating layer on Cu could also cause the enhancement of wettability.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.43-50
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• 2014

By the trends of electronic package to be smaller, thinner and more integrative, the reliability of interconnection between Si chip and printed circuit board is required. This paper reports on a study of high speed shear energy of Sn-4.0wt%Ag-0.5wt%Cu (SAC405) solder joints with different the thicknesses of electroless Ni-P deposit. A high speed shear testing of solder joints was conducted to find a relationship between the thickness of Ni-P deposit and the brittle fracture in electroless Ni-P deposit/SAC405 solder. A focused ion beam (FIB) was used to polish the cross sections to reveal details of the microstructure of the fractured pad surface with and without $HNO_3$ vapor treatment. The high speed shear energy of SAC405 solder joint with $1{\mu}m$ Ni-P deposit was found to be lower without $HNO_3$ vapor, compared to those of over $3{\mu}m$ Ni-P deposit. This could be due to the edge of solder resist in $1{\mu}m$ Ni-P deposit, which provides a fracture location for the weakened shear energy of solder joints and brittle fracture in high speed shear test. With $HNO_3$ vapor, the brittle fracture mode in high speed shear test decreased with increasing the thickness of Ni-P deposit. Then the roughness (Ra) of Ni-P deposits decreased with increasing its thickness. Thus, this gives the evidence that the decrease in roughness of Ni-P deposit for Eelectroless Ni/ Electroless Pd/ Immersion Au (ENEPIG) surface play a critical role for improving the robustness of SAC405 solder joint.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.611-616
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• 2010

A cobalt oxide - tin oxide nanocomposite based gas sensor on an $SiO_2$ substrate was fabricated. Granular thin film of tin oxide was formed by a rheotaxial growth and thermal oxidation method using dc magnetron sputtering of Sn. Nano particles of cobalt oxide were spin-coated on the tin oxide. The cobalt oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by polymer-assisted deposition method, which is a simple cost-effective versatile synthesis method for various metal oxides. The thickness of the film can be controlled over a wide range of thicknesses. The composite structures thus formed were characterized in terms of morphology and gas sensing properties for reduction gas of $H_2$. The composites showed a highest response of 240% at $250^{\circ}C$ upon exposure to 4% $H_2$. This response is higher than those observed in pure $SnO_2$ (90%) and $Co_3O_4$ (70%) thin films. The improved response with the composite structure may be related to the additional formation of electrically active defects at the interfaces. The composite sensor shows a very fast response and good reproducibility.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.63-69
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• 2007

We investigated interconnection processes using Cu vias for MEMS sensor packages. Ag paste layer was formed on a glass substrate and used as a seed layer for electrodeposition of Cu vias after bonding a Si substrate with through-via holes. With applying electrodeposition current densities of $20mA/cm^2\;and\;30mA/cm^2$ at direct current mode to the Ag paste seed-layer, Cu vias of $200{\mu}m$ diameter and $350{\mu}m$ depth were formed successfully without electrodeposition defects. Interconnection processes for MEMS sensor packages could be accomplished with Ti/Cu/Ti line formation, Au pad electrodeposition, Sn solder electrodeposition and reflow process on the Si substrate where Cu vias were formed by Cu electrodeposition into through-via holes.