Abstract
In this paper, various mass fraction (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 wt%) of silicon carbide nanowires (SiC) were incorporated into pure Sn solder to enhance the performances of Sn solder joint. The wetting behavior, shear strength and intermetallic compound (IMC) growth mechanism of Sn-xSiC/Cu solder during solid-liquid diffusion at 250°C was investigated systematically. The experiment results demonstrated that the wettability of Sn-xSiC/Cu solder had a significant improvement when the addition of SiC was up to 0.6 wt%, and excessive additives would degrade the wettability of the composite solder. The formation of the Cu6Sn5 IMC layer was observed at the Sn-xSiC solder/Cu interface. Meanwhile, SiC as an additive was conducive to restraining the growth of interfacial IMC during soldering process and the IMC thickness overtly fell down after doping 0.8 wt% SiC into Sn solder. Moreover, SiC addition would contribute to enhancing the mechanical performance of Sn solder joint. The fracture mechanism of solder joint changed from a mix of brittle and ductile fracture to a characteristic of typical ductile fracture.