• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.13-19
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• 2018

The soldering property of Pb-containing solder(Sn-Pb) and Pb-free solders(Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-1.0Ag-0.7Cu-1.6Bi-0.2In) for solar combiner box module was compared. The solar combiner box module was composed of voltage and current detecting modules, diode modules, and other modules. In this study, solder paste printability, printing shape inspection, solder joint property, X-ray inspection, and shear force measurements were conducted. For optimization of Pb-free soldering process, step 1 and 2 were divided. In the step 1 process, the printability of Pb-containing and Pb-free solder alloys were estimated by using printing inspector. Then, the relationship between void percentages and shear force has been estimated. Overall, the property of Pb-containing solder was better than two Pb-free solders. In the step 2 process, the property of reflow soldering for the Pb-free solders was evaluated with different reflow peak temperatures. As the peak temperature of the reflow process gradually increased, the void percentage decreased by 2 to 4%, but the shear force did not significantly depend on the reflow peak temperature by a deviation of about 0.5 kgf. Among different surface finishes on PCB, ENIG surface finish was better than OSP and Pb-free solder surface finishes in terms of shear force. In the thermal shock reliability test of the solar combiner box module with a Pb-free solder and OSP surface finish, the change rate of electrical property of the module was almost unchanged within a 0.3% range and the module had a relatively good electrical property after 500 thermal shock cycles.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.202-204
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• 2006

The reliability of insert mounted components has been considered as their life time was getting increased. The spread of crack and the growth of IMC(intermetallic compound) were observed by SEM(scanning electron microscope) and EDS(energy dispersive spectroscope). The cracks in Sn-37wt%Pb under thermal shock test were found earlier than other solders(Sn-3.0wt%Ag-0.5wt%Cu and Sn-0.7wt%Cu-0.01wt%P). The IMC thickness was increased with increasing number of thermal shock cycles in the following order : Sn-0.7Cu-0.01P; Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu; Sn-37Pb

• 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.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.919-926
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• 2002

In this study, the numerical prediction of the thermal fatigue lie? of a $\mu$BGA (Micro Ball Grid Array) solder joint was focused. Numerical method was performed using the three-dimensional finite element analysis for various solder alloys such as Sn-37%Pb, Sn-3.5%Ag, Sn-3.5%Ag-0.7%Cu and Sn-3.5%Ag-3%In-0.5%Bi during a given thermal cycling. Strain values obtained by the result of mechanical fatigue tests for solder alloys, were used to predict the solder joint fatigue life using the Coffin-Manson equation. The numerical results showed that Sn-3.5%Ag with the 50-degree ball shape geometry had the longest thermal fatigue life in low cycle fatigue. A practical correlation for the prediction of the thermal fatigue life was also suggested by using the dimensionless variable γ. Additionally Sn-3.5Ag-0.75Cu and Sn-2.0Ag-0.5Cu-2.0Bi were applied to 6$\times$8$\mu$BGA obtained from the 63Sn-37Pb Solder. This 6$\times$8$\mu$BGA were tested at different aging conditions at 130$\^{C}$, 150$\^{C}$, 170$\^{C}$ for 300, 600 and 900 hours. Thickness of the intermetallic compound layer was measured thor each condition and the activation energy thor their growth was computed. The fracture surfaces were analyzed using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) with EDS ( Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy).

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2002

Intermetallic compound on the soldered interface plays important role on the bondability and mechanical properties of soldered joint. The formation of intermetallic compounds are influenced by many factors such as temperature, holding time, base metals and so on. On this study the effect of number of reflow times on the intermetallic growth was investigated. For the experimental materials, Sn-3.5Ag-0.7Cu solder ball of 0.3mm diameter and RMA-type flux were used. Thickness of intermetallic compound of solder ball by 2nd reflow showed nearly 60% higher than that of 1st reflow, and shear strength showed 10% higher value. Thickness and shear strength according to the position of interface such as upper side or lower side between two substrates were also investigated.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.43-48
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• 2008

Characteristics of Sn-1.7%Bi-0.7%Cu-0.6%In (hereafter, SBIC) lead-free solder was investigated in this study. The results from SBIC were compared to other lead-free solders such as Sn-3.5%Ag-0.7%Cu (hereafter, SAC), Sn-0.7%Cu (hereafter, SC), and lead-bearing Sn-37%Pb (hereafter, SP) alloy. Tensile properties of bulk solder, wettability, spreading index, bridge and dross were evaluated. As experimental results, tensile strength and elongation of SBIC was 62.5MPa and 21.5%, respectively. The tensile strength was comparable to that of SP solder. The wetting time of SBIC was 1.2 sec at $250^{\circ}C$, and its wetting properties including wetting force were as good as the SAC alloy. However, wettability of the SC was not so good as the SBIC and SAC. The spreading index of SBIC at $250^{\circ}C$ was 71 %, and it was similar level to those of SAC and SC solders. Bridging was not found for all solders of SBIC, SAC and SC in the range from 240 to $260^{\circ}C$. In dross test at $250^{\circ}C$ for an hour, the amount of dross produced from SBIC was about 57% compared to that from SAC.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.7-14
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• 2017

The effect of high temperature-moisture on corrosion and mechanical properties for Sn-0.7Cu, Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solders on flexible substrate was studied using Highly Accelerated Temperature/Humidity Stress Test (HAST) followed by three-point bending test. Both Sn-0.7Cu and SAC305 solders produced the internal $SnO_2$ oxides. Corrosion occurred between the solder and water film near flexible circuit board/copper component. For the SAC305 solder with Ag content, furthermore, octahedral corrosion products were formed near Ag3Sn. For the SAC305 and Sn-0.7Cu solders, the amount of internal oxide increased with the HAST time and the amount of internal oxides was mostly constant regardless of Ag content. The size of the internal oxide was larger for the Sn-0.7Cu solder. Despite of different size of the internal oxide, the fracture time during three-point bending test was not significantly changed. It was because the bending crack was always initiated from the three-point corner of the chip. However, the crack propagation depended on the oxides between the flexible circuit board and the Cu chip. The fracture time of the three-point bending test was dependent more on the crack initiation than on the crack propagation.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.8
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• pp.500-507
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• 2009

Pb-free solder has recently been used in electronics in efforts to meet environmental regulations, and a number of Pb-free solder alloy choices beyond the near-eutectic SnAgCu solder are now available. With increased demand for thin and portable electronics, the high cost of alloys containing significant amounts of silver and their poor mechanical shock performance have spurred the development of low Ag SnAgCu solder, which provides improved mechanical performance at a reasonable cost. Although low Ag SnAgCu solder exhibits significantly higher fracture resistance under high-strain rates, little thermal fatigue data exist for this solder. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate thermal fatigue reliability of low Ag SnAgCu solder under variation of thermal stress in order to allow its implementation in electronic products with high reliability requirements. In this study, the reliability of Sn0.3Ag0.7Cu(SAC0307), a low Ag solder alloy, is discussed and compared with that of Sn3Ag0.5Cu(SAC305). Three sample types and six samples size are evaluated. Mechanical properties and microstructure of the solder joint are investigated under thermal shock cycles. It was observed that the mechanical strength of SAC0307 dropped slightly with thermal cycling relative to that of SAC305. This reveals that the failure mode of SAC0307 is different from that SAC305 under this critical condition.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.12 no.1 s.34
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• pp.35-40
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• 2005

The oxidation of pure Sn and Sn-0.7Cu, Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-lZn, and Sn-9Zn alloys at $150^{\circ}C$ was investigated. Both the chemical nature and the amount of oxides were characterized using electrochemical reduction analysis by measuring the electrolytic reduction potential and total transferred electrical charges. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was also conducted to support the results of reduction analysis. The effect of Cu, Ag and Zn addition on surface oxidation of Sn alloys is reported. For Sn, Sn-0.7Cu and Sn-3.5Ag, SnO grew first and then the mixture of SnO and $SnO_2$ was found. $SnO_2$ grew predominantly for a long-time aging. For Zn containing Sn alloys, both ZnO and $SnO_2$ were formed. Zn promotes the formation of $SnO_2$. Sn oxide growth rate of Pb-free solder alloys was also discussed in terms of alloying elements.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.25-30
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• 2018

Sn-Pb solder has been used in automotive electronics for decades. However, recently, due to the environmental and health concerns, some international environmental organizations such as the end-of-life vehicle (ELV) enacted legislation banning of the Pb usage in automotive electronics. For this reason, many studies to develop and promote Pb-free soldering have been significantly reported. Meanwhile, because of flexibility and lightweight, flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs) have been increasingly used in automotive electronics for lightweight to improve fuel efficiency and space utilization. Although the properties of lead-free solders for automotive electronics have been widely studied, there is a lack of research on the reliability performance of the lead-free solder joint on FPCB under user conditions. This study reported the properties of solder joints between Pb-free solders such as Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu, Sn0.7Cu and Sn0.5Cu0.01Al (Si), and various FPCBs finished with organic solderability preservative (OSP) and electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG). To evaluate on joint properties and reliabilities with different solder compositions and surface-finishing materials, pull strength test, thermal shock test, and bending cycle test were performed and analyzed. After the bending cycle test of solder joint on OSP-finishing, the fractures were occurred in solder and the lifetime of Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu solder joint was the longest.