• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.43-49
• /
• 2019

In this study, a new approach using graphene oxide (GO) powder-composited Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu(in wt.%) solder paste for improving the bending reliability of solder joints between a flexible substrate and small outline package (SOP) was suggested. The GO addition slightly affected the melting temperature, however, the change in the melting temperature was not significant. Meanwhile, we observed the addition of GO could suppress IMC growth and IMC thickness of solder joint during the reflow process. Moreover, the cyclic bending test was also performed for evaluation of reliability in solder joint and we could improve the cyclic bending reliability of solder joint by adding GO powders. For 0.2 wt.% of GO added to the solder joint, the bending lifetime was increased to 20% greater than that without GO. Pull strength and ductility of the solder joint with GO were also higher than those of the joint without GO and it was assumed that this effect by adding GO could contribute to improve cyclic bending reliability of solder joint.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.61-68
• /
• 2023

In this study, Sn-3.5Ag-15.0Fe composite solder was manufactured and applied to TLP bonding to change the entire joint into a Sn-Fe IMC(intermetallic compound), thereby applying it as a high-temperature solder. The FeSn₂ IMC formed during the bonding process has a high melting point of 513℃, so it can be stably applied to power modules for power semiconductors where the temperature rises up to 280℃ during use. As a result of applying ENIG surface treatment to both the chip and substrate, a multi-layer IMC structure of Ni₃Sn₄/FeSn₂/Ni₃Sn₄ was formed at the joint. During the shear test, the fracture path showed that cracks developed at the Ni₃Sn₄/FeSn₂ interface and then propagated into FeSn₂. After 2hours of the TLP joining process, a shear strength of over 30 MPa was obtained, and in particular, there was no decrease in strength at all even in a shear test at 200℃. The results of this study can be expected to lead to materials and processes that can be applied to power modules for electric vehicles, which are being actively researched recently.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.12 no.1 s.34
• /
• pp.41-46
• /
• 2005

A systematic investigation of shear testing was conducted to find a relationship between Ni-Sn intermetallic spatting and the brittle fracture observed in electroless Ni(P)/solder interconnection. Brittle fracture was found in the solder joints made of Sn-3.5Ag, while only ductile fracture was observed in a Cu-containing solder (Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu). For Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu joints, $(Ni,Cu)_3Sn_4$ and/or $(Cu,Ni)_6Sn_5$ compound were formed at the interface without spatting from the Ni(P) film. For Sn-3.5Ag, $Ni_3Sn_4$ compound was formed and brittle fracture occurred in solder pads where $Ni_3Sn_4$ had spalled. From the analysis of fractured surfaces, it was found that the brittle fracture occurs through the $Ni_3SnP$ layer formed between $Ni_3Sn_4$ intermetallic layer and the Ni(P) film. Since the $Ni_3SnP$ layer is getting thicker during/ after $Ni_3Sn_4$ spatting, suppression of $Ni_3Sn_4$ spatting is crucial to ensure the reliability of Ni(P)/solder system.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.17-22
• /
• 2013

We investigated the optimum bonding conditions for thermo-compression bonding of electrodes between flexible printed circuit board(FPCB) and rigid printed circuit board(RPCB) with Sn-58Bi solder as interlayer. In order to figure out the optimum bonding conditions, peel test of FPCB/RPCB joint was conducted. The peel strength was affected by the bonding conditions, such as temperature and time. The fracture energies were calculated through F-x (Force-displacement) curve during peel test and the relationships between bonding conditions and fracture behaviors were investigated. The optimum condition for the thermo-compression bonding with Sn-58Bi solder was found to be temperature of $195^{\circ}C$ and time of 7 s.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.60-67
• /
• 2014

The ability of electronic packages and assemblies to resist solder joint failure is becoming a growing concern. This paper reports on a study of high speed shear energy of Sn-4.0wt%Ag-0.5wt%Cu (SAC405) solder with different electroless Ni-P thickness, with $HNO_3$ vapor's status, and with various pre-conditions. 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 interconnection. 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. A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and an energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDS) confirmed that there were three intermetallic compound (IMC) layers at the SAC405 solder joint interface: $(Ni,Cu)_3Sn_4$ layer, $(Ni,Cu)_2SnP$ layer, and $(Ni,Sn)_3P$ layer. The high speed shear energy of SAC405 solder joint with $3{\mu}m$ Ni-P deposit was found to be lower in pre-condition level#2, compared to that of $6{\mu}m$ Ni-P deposit. Results of focused ion beam and energy dispersive x-ray analysis of the fractured pad surfaces support the suggestion that the brittle fracture of $3{\mu}m$ Ni-P deposit is the result of Ni corrosion in the pre-condition level#2 and the $HNO_3$ vapor treatment.

• Electronic Materials Letters
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.678-688
• /
• 2018

The repeated-bending properties of Sn-0.7Cu, Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu (SAC0307), and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solders mounted on flexible substrates were studied using highly accelerated stress testing (HAST), followed by repeated-bending testing. In the Sn-0.7Cu joints, the $Cu_6Sn_5$ intermetallic compound (IMC) coarsened as the HAST time increased. For the SAC0307 and SAC305 joints, the $Ag_3Sn$ and $Cu_6Sn_5$ IMCs coarsened mainly along the grain boundary as the HAST time increased. The Sn-0.7Cu solder had a high contact angle, compared to the SAC0307 and SAC305 solders; consequently, the SAC0307 and SAC305 solder joints displayed smoother fillet shapes than the Sn-0.7Cu solder joint. The repeated-bending for the Sn-0.7Cu solder produced the crack initiated from the interface between the Cu lead wire and the solder, and that for the SAC solders indicated the cracks initiated at the surface, but away from the interface between the Cu lead wire and the solder. Furthermore, the oxide layer was thickest for Sn-0.7Cu and thinnest for SAC305, regardless of the HAST time. For the SAC solders, the crack initiation rate increased as the oxide layer thickened and roughened. $Cu_6Sn_5$ precipitated and grew along the grain and subgrain boundaries as the HAST time increased, embrittling the grain boundary at the crack propagation site.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.41-47
• /
• 2010

The effect of PCB and BGA pad designs was investigated on the mechanical property of Pb-free solder joints. The mechanical property of solder joint was tested by three different test methods of drop impact tests, bending impact test, and high speed shear test. Two kinds of pad design such as NSMD (Non-Solder Mask Defined) and SMD (Solder Mask Defined) were applied with the OSP finished Pb-free solder (Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu, Sn-1.2Ag-0.5Cu). in the drop impact test and bending impact test, the characterized lifetime showed the same tendency, and SMD design showed better mechanical property of solder joint than NSMD regardless of test method, which was due to the different crack path. The fracture crack on SMD pad was propagated along the intermetallic compound (IMC) layer of solder joint, while the fracture crack on NSMD pad propagated through upper edge of land which shields pattern. In the high speed shear test, pad lift occurred on the solder joint of NSMD. SMD/SMD combination of pad design consequently illustrated the best mechanical property of BGA/PCB solder joint, followed by SMD/NSMD, NSMD/SMD, and NSMD/NSMD.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.83-90
• /
• 2017

In this paper, we evaluated the solderability of thin electroless nickel-electroless palladium-immersion gold (ENEPIG) plating layer for fine-pitch package applications. Firstly, the wetting behavior, interfacial reactions, and mechanical reliability of a Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solder alloy on a thin ENEPIG coated substrate were evaluated. In the wetting test, maximum wetting force increased with increasing immersion time, and the wetting force remained a constant value after 5 s immersion time. In the initial soldering reaction, $(Cu,Ni)_6Sn_5$ intermetallic compound (IMC) and P-rich Ni layer formed at the SAC305/ENEPIG interface. After a prolonged reaction, the P-rich Ni layer was destroyed, and $(Cu,Ni)_3Sn$ IMC formed underneath the destroyed P-rich Ni layer. In the high-speed shear test, the percentage of brittle fracture increased with increasing shear speed.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.65-70
• /
• 2008

The mechanical shear strength of BGA(Ball Grid Array) solder joints under high impact loading was investigated. The Sn-37Pb solder balls with a diameter of $500{\mu}m$ were placed on the pads of FR-4 substrates with ENIG(Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold) surface treatment and reflowed. For the High Temperature Storage(HTS) test, the samples were aged a constant testing temperature of $120^{\circ}C$ for up to 250h. After the HTS test, high speed shear tests with various shear speed of 0.01, 0.1, 1, 3 m/s were conducted. $Ni_3Sn_4$ intermetallic compound(IMC) layer was observed at the solder/Ni-P interface and thickness of IMC was increased with aging process. The shear strength increased with increasing shear speed. The fracture surfaces of solder joints showed various fracture modes dependent on shear speed and aging time. Fracture mode was changed from ductile fracture to brittle fracture with increasing shear speed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
• /
• 2018.06a
• /
• pp.102-102
• /
• 2018

Electronic industry had required the finer size and the higher performance of the device. Therefore, 3-D die stacking technology such as TSV (through silicon via) and micro-bump had been used. Moreover, by the development of the 3-D die stacking technology, 3-D structure such as chip to chip (c2c) and chip to wafer (c2w) had become practicable. These technologies led to the appearance of HBM (high bandwidth memory). HBM was type of the memory, which is composed of several stacked layers of the memory chips. Each memory chips were connected by TSV and micro-bump. Thus, HBM had lower RC delay and higher performance of data processing than the conventional memory. Moreover, due to the development of the IT industry such as, AI (artificial intelligence), IOT (internet of things), and VR (virtual reality), the lower pitch size and the higher density were required to micro-electronics. Particularly, to obtain the fine pitch, some of the method such as copper pillar, nickel diffusion barrier, and tin-silver or tin-silver-copper based bump had been utillized. TCB (thermal compression bonding) and reflow process (thermal aging) were conventional method to bond between tin-silver or tin-silver-copper caps in the temperature range of 200 to 300 degrees. However, because of tin overflow which caused by higher operating temperature than melting point of Tin ($232^{\circ}C$), there would be the danger of bump bridge failure in fine-pitch bonding. Furthermore, regulating the phase of IMC (intermetallic compound) which was located between nickel diffusion barrier and bump, had a lot of problems. For example, an excess of kirkendall void which provides site of brittle fracture occurs at IMC layer after reflow process. The essential solution to reduce the difficulty of bump bonding process is copper to copper direct bonding below $300^{\circ}C$. In this study, in order to improve the problem of bump bonding process, copper to copper direct bonding was performed below $300^{\circ}C$. The driving force of bonding was the self-annealing properties of electrodeposited Cu with high defect density. The self-annealing property originated in high defect density and non-equilibrium grain boundaries at the triple junction. The electrodeposited Cu at high current density and low bath temperature was fabricated by electroplating on copper deposited silicon wafer. The copper-copper bonding experiments was conducted using thermal pressing machine. The condition of investigation such as thermal parameter and pressure parameter were varied to acquire proper bonded specimens. The bonded interface was characterized by SEM (scanning electron microscope) and OM (optical microscope). The density of grain boundary and defects were examined by TEM (transmission electron microscopy).