• Proceedings of the International Microelectronics And Packaging Society Conference
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• 2004.09a
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• pp.233-241
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• 2004

A new alloy definition will be presented concerning increasing demands for the board level reliability of miniaturized interconnections. The damage mechanism for LFBGA components on different board finishes is not quite understood. Further demands from mobile phones are the drop test, characterizing interface performance of different package constructions in relation to decreased pad constructions and therefore interfaces. The paper discusses the characterization of interfaces based on SnPb, SnPbXYZ, SnAgCu and SnAgCuInNd ball materials and SnAgCuInNd as solder paste, the stability after accelerated tests and the description of modified interfaces strictly related to the assembly conditions, dissolution behavior of finishes on board side and the influence of intermetallic formation. The type of intermetallic as well as the quantity of intermetallics are observed, primaliry the hardness, E modules describing the ability of strain/stress compensation. First results of board level reliability are presented after TCT-40/+150. Improvement steps from the ball formulation will be discussed in conjunction to the implementation of lead free materials In order to optimize ball materials for area array devices accelareted aging conditions like TCTs were used to analyze the board level reliability of different ball materials for BGA, LFBGA, CSP, Flip Chip. The paper outlines lead-free ball analysis in comparison to conventional solder balls for BGA and chip size packages. The important points of interest are the description of processability related to existing ball attach procedures, requirements of interconnection properties and the knowledge gained the board level reliability. Both are the primary acceptance criteria for implementation. Knowledge about melting characteristic, surface tension depend on temperature and organic vehicles, wetting behavior, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, specific heat, mechanical strength, creep and relaxation properties, interactions to preferred finishes (minor impurities), intermetallic growth, content of IMC, brittleness depend on solved elements/IMC, fatigue resistance, damage mechanism, affinity against oxygen, reduction potential, decontamination efforts, endo-/exothermic reactions, diffusion properties related to finishes or bare materials, isothermal fatigue, thermo-cyclic fatigue, corrosion properties, lifetime prediction based on board level results, compatibility with rework/repair solders, rework temperatures of modified solders (Impurities, change in the melting point or range), compatibility to components and laminates.

• Proceedings of the International Microelectronics And Packaging Society Conference
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• 2004.09a
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• pp.211-219
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• 2004

A new alloy definition will be presented concerning increasing demands for the board level reliability of miniaturized interconnections. The damage mechanism for LFBGA components on different board finishes is not quite understood. Further demands from mobile phones are the drop test, characterizing interface performance of different package constructions in relation to decreased pad constructions and therefore interfaces. The paper discusses the characterization of interfaces based on SnPb, SnPbXYZ, SnAgCu and SnAgCuInNd ball materials and SnAgCuInNd as solder paste, the stability after accelerated tests and the description of modified interfaces stric시y related to the assembly conditions, dissolution behavior of finishes on board side and the influence of intermetallic formation. The type of intermetallic as well as the quantity of intermetallics are observed, primaliry the hardness, E modules describing the ability of strain/stress compensation. First results of board level reliability are presented after TCT-40/+150. Improvement steps from the ball formulation will be discussed in conjunction to the implementation of lead free materials. In order to optimize ball materials for area array devices accelareted aging conditions like TCTs were used to analyze the board level reliability of different ball materials for BGA, LFBGA, CSP, Flip Chip. The paper outlines lead-free ball analysis in comparison to conventional solder balls for BGA and chip size packages. The important points of interest are the description of processability related to existing ball attach procedures, requirements of interconnection properties and the knowledge gained the board level reliability. Both are the primary acceptance criteria for implementation. Knowledge about melting characteristic, surface tension depend on temperature and organic vehicles, wetting behavior, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, specific heat, mechanical strength, creep and relaxation properties, interactions to preferred finishes (minor impurities), intermetallic growth, content of IMC, brittleness depend on solved elements/IMC, fatigue resistance, damage mechanism, affinity against oxygen, reduction potential, decontamination efforts, endo-/exothermic reactions, diffusion properties related to finishes or bare materials, isothermal fatigue, thermo-cyclic fatigue, corrosion properties, lifetime prediction based on board level results, compatibility with rework/repair solders, rework temperatures of modified solders (Impurities, change in the melting point or range), compatibility to components and laminates.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.53-57
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• 2013

Although the lowering of Ag content in Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu is known to improve the mechanical shock reliability of the solder joint, it is also known to be detrimental to the solderbility. In this study, the quaternary alloying effect of In and the minor alloying effects of Mn and Pd on the solderability, thermal cycling and mechanical shock reliabilities of the low Ag content Sn-1.2Ag-0.7Cu solder were investigated using board-level BGA packages. The solderability of Sn-1.2Ag-0.7Cu-0.4In was proved to be comparable to that of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu but its thermal cycling reliability was inferior to that of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu. While the 0.03 wt% Pd addition to the Sn-1.2Ag-0.7Cu-0.4In decreased the solderability and reliabilities of solder joint, the 0.1 wt% Mn addition was proved to be beneficial especially for the mechanical shock reliability compared to those of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu compositions. It was considered to be due that the Mn addition decreased the Young's modulus of low Ag content Pb-free solders.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.536-542
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• 2005

Recently European Council(EU) published the RoHS(restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment) which is prohibit the use of Pb, Hg, Cd, $Cr^{+6}$, PBB or PBDE in the electrical and electronic equipments. So EU member States shall ensure that, from 1 July 2006, new electrical and electronic equipment put on the market does not contain 6 hazardous substances. The one of the most important in electronics manufacturing process is soldering. Soldering process use the chemical substances which are applied in fluxing and cleaning processes and it can generate the malfunction of electronics caused by corrosion in the fields conditions. Therefore this study researched on the polarization and Tafel properties of Sn40Pb and Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu(SAC) solder based on the electrochemical theory. We prepared SnPb specimens which was aged in $150^{\circ}C,\;180^{\circ}C$ for 15 minutes ana Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu specimens that was aged in $180^{\circ}C,\;220^{\circ}C$ for 10 minutes. Experimental polarization curves were measured in distilled ionized water and $3.5 wt\%$, 1 mole NaCl electrolyte of $40^{\circ}C$, pH 7.5. Ag/AgCl and graphite were utilized by reference and counter electrode, respectively. To observe the electrochemical reaction, polarization test was conducted from -250 mV to +250 mV. From the polarization curves that were composed of anodic and cathodic curves, we obtained Tafel slop, reversible electrode potential(Ecorr) and exchange current density(Icorr). In these results, corrosion rate for two specimen were compared Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu with SnPb solders

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.21-27
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• 2006

This study was focused on the evaluation of the thermo-mechanical board-level reliability of Pb-bearing and Pb-free surface mount assemblies. The composition of Pb-bearing solder was a typical Sn-37Pb and that of Pb-free solder used in this study was a representative Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu in mass %. Thermal shock test was chosen for the reliability evaluation of the solder joints. Typical $Cu_6Sn_5$ intermetallic compound (IMC) layer was formed between both solders and Cu lead frame at the as-reflowed state, while a layer of $Cu_3Sn$ was additionally formed between the $Cu_6Sn_5$ and Cu lead frame during the thermal shock testing. Thickness of the IMC layers increased with increasing thermal shock cycles, and this is very similar result with that of isothermal aging study of solder joints. Shear test of the multi layer ceramic capacitor(MLCC) joints was also performed to investigate the degradation of mechanical bonding strength of solder joints during the thermal shock testing. Failure mode of the joints after shear testing revealed that the degradation was mainly due to the excessive growth of the IMC layers during the thermal shock testing.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.29-35
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• 2003

The Sn-based lead-free solders with varying microstructure were prepared by changing the cooling rate from the melt. Bulky as-cast SnAg, SnAgCu, and SnCu, alloys were cold rolled and thermally stabilized before the creep tests so that there would be very small amount of microstructural change during creep (TS), and thin specimens were water quenched from the melt (WQ) to simulate microstructures of the as-reflowed solders in flip chips. Cooling rates of the WQ specimens were 140∼150 K/sec, and the resultant $\beta-Sn$ globule size was 5∼10 times smaller than that of the TS specimens. Subsequent creep tests showed that the minimum strain rate of TS specimens was about $10_2$ times higher than that of the WQ specimens. Fractographic analyses showed that creep rupture of the TS-SnAgCu specimens occurred by the nucleation of voids on the $Ag_3Sn$ Sn or $Cu_6Sn_5$ particles in the matrix, their subsequent growth by the power-law creep, and inter-linkage of microcracks to form macrocracks which led to the fast failure. On the other hand, no creep voids were found in the WQ specimens due to the mode III shear rupture coming from the thin specimens geometry.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.169-171
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• 2006

Solderability and reaction properties were investigated for four Pb-free alloys as a function of Ag contents; Sn-4.0Ag-0.5Cu, Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu, Sn-2.5Ag-0.5Cu, and Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu. The alloy of the lowest Ag content, i.e., Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu, showed poor wetting properties as the reaction temperature decreased to 230oC. Variation of Ag concentration in the Sn-xAg-0.5Cu alloy shifted exothermic peaks indicating the undercooling temperature in DSC curve. For the aging process at 170oC, the thickness of IMCs at the board-side solder/Cu interface increased with the Ag concentration.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.74-80
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• 2014

Due to environmental regulations (RoHS, WEEE and ELV) of the European Union, electronics and automotive electronics have to eliminate toxic substance from their devices and system. Especially, reliability issue of lead-free solder joint is increasing in car electronics due to ELV (End-of-Life Vehicle) banning from 2016. We have prepared engine control unit (ECU) modules soldered with Sn-40Pb and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solders, respectively. Degradation characteristics of solder joint strength were compared with various conditions of automobile environment such as cabin and engine room. Thermal cycle test (TC, $-40^{\circ}C$ ~ ($85^{\circ}C$ and $125^{\circ}C$), 1500 cycles) were conducted with automotive company standard. To compare shear strength degradation rate with eutectic and Pb-free solder alloy, we measured shear strength of chip components and its size from cabin and engine ECU modules. Based on the TC test results, finally, we have known the difference of degradation level with solder alloys and use environmental conditions. Solder joints degradation rate of engine room ECU is superior to cabin ECU due to large CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) mismatch in field condition. Degradation rate of engine room ECU is 50~60% larger than cabin room electronics.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.77-86
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• 2008

The reliability of leaded and lead-free solders of BGA type packages on a printed circuit board was investigated by employing the standard drop test and 4-point bending test. Tested solder joints were examined by optical microscopy to identify associated failure mode. Three-dimensional finite element analysis(FEM) with ANSYS Workbench v.11 was carried out to understand the mechanical behavior of solder joints under the influence of bending or drop impact. The results of numerical analysis are in good agreement with those obtained by experiments. Packages in the center of the PCB experienced higher stress than those in the perimeter of the PCB. The solder joints located in the outermost comer of the package suffered from higher stress than those located in center region. In both drop and bending impact tests, the lead-free solder showed better performances than the leaded solders. The numerical analysis results indicated that stress and strain behavior of solder joint were dependent on various effective parameters.

• Proceedings of the International Microelectronics And Packaging Society Conference
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• 2004.09a
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• pp.93-99
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• 2004

At present, LG Electronics pushes ahead to eliminate the Pb(Lead) -a hazardous material- from all products. Especially, we have performed to select the optimum standard composition of lead free alloy for the application to products for about 3 years from 2000. These days, we have the chance for applying to the mass-production. This project constructed the system for applying the lead free solders on consumer electronic products, which is one of the major products of the LG Electronics. To select the lead free solders with corresponding to the product features, we have passed through the test and applied with Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu alloy system to our products, and for the application to the high melting temperature composition, we secured the thermal resistance of the many parts and substrate and optimized the processing conditions. We have operated the temperature cycling test and the high temperature storage test under the standards to confirm the reliability of the products. On these samples, we considered the consequence of our decision by the operating test. For the long life time of the product, we have operated the temperature cycling test at $-45^{\circ}C-+125^{\circ}C$, 1 cycle/hour, 1000 cycles. Also we have tested the tin whisker growth about lead free plating on lead finish. We have analyzed with the SEM, EDS and any other equipment for confirming the failure mode at the joint and the tin whisker growth on lead free finish.