Investigation of the Effects of High Temperature Aging on the Mechanical Behavior of Lead Free Solders

Author(s):  
Mohammad S. Alam ◽  
K. M. Rafidh Hassan ◽  
Jeffrey C. Suhling ◽  
Pradeep Lall

Lead free solders are renowned as interconnects in electronic packaging due to their relatively high melting point, attractive mechanical properties, thermal cycling reliability, and environment friendly chemical properties. The mechanical behavior of lead free solders is highly dependent on the operating temperature. Previous investigations on mechanical characterization of lead free solders have mainly emphasized stress-strain and creep testing at temperatures up to 125 °C. However, electronic devices, sometimes, experience harsh environment applications including well drilling, geothermal energy, automotive power electronics, and aerospace engines where solders are exposed to very high temperatures from 125–200 °C. Mechanical properties of lead free solders at elevated temperatures are limited. In this work, we have investigated the mechanical behavior SAC305 (96.5Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu) and SAC_Q (SAC+Bi) lead free solders at extreme high temperatures up to 200 °C. Stress-strain tests were performed on reflowed uniaxial specimens at four elevated temperatures (T = 125, 150, 175, and 200 °C). In addition, changes of the mechanical behavior of these alloys due to isothermal aging at T = 125 °C have been studied. Extreme care has been taken during specimen preparation so that the fabricated solder uniaxial test specimens accurately reflect the solder material microstructures present in actual lead free solder joints. High temperature tensile properties of the solders including initial modulus, yield stress, and ultimate tensile strength have been compared. As expected, our results show substantial degradations of the mechanical properties of lead-free solders at higher temperatures. With prior aging, these degradations become even more significant. Comparison of the results has shown that the addition of Bi to traditional SAC alloys improves their high temperature properties and significantly reduces their aging induced degradations.

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Masood Rafi ◽  
Abdul Basit Dahar ◽  
Tariq Aziz

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the results of experimental testing of steel rebars at elevated temperatures. Three types of bars available in the local market in Pakistan were used. These data are not available in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Three types of bars were used, which included cold-twisted ribbed (CTR), hot-rolled deformed (HRD) and thermo-mechanically treated (TMT) bars. The diameter of the bar of each type was 16 mm. The bars were heated in an electrical furnace at temperatures which were varied from 100°C to 900°C in increment of 100°C. Bars of each type were also tested at ambient temperature as control specimens. The change of strength, strain and modulus of elasticity of the bars at high temperatures were determined. Findings The mechanical properties of the bars were nearly unaffected by the temperatures up to 200°C. CTR bars did not show yield plateau and strain hardening both at ambient and high temperatures. The high temperature yield strength and elastic modulus for all the three types of bars were similar at all temperatures. The yield plateau of both the HRD and TMT bars disappeared at temperatures greater than 300°C. The ultimate strength at high temperature of the HRD and TMT bars was also similar. The behaviours of the HRD and TMT bars changed to brittle beyond 400°C as compared to their behaviours at ambient temperature. The CTR bars exhibited ductile characteristics at failure at all the exposure temperatures relative to their behaviour at ambient temperature. Research limitations/implications The parameters of the paper included the rebar type and heating temperature and the effects of temperature on strength and stiffness properties of the steel bars. Practical implications Building fire incidents have increased in Pakistan. As reinforced concrete (RC) buildings exist in the country in significant numbers, the data related to elevated temperature properties of steel is required. These data are not available in Pakistan presently. The presented paper aims at providing this information for the design engineers to enable them to assess and increase fire resistance of RC structural members. Originality/value The presented paper is unique in its nature in that there is no published contribution to date, to the best of authors’ knowledge, which has been carried out to assess the temperature-dependent mechanical properties of steel reinforcing bars available in Pakistan.


Author(s):  
Iurii Bogomol ◽  
Petro Loboda

The processing techniques, microstructures, and mechanical properties of directionally solidified eutectic ceramics are reviewed. It is considered the main methods for preparing of eutectic ceramics and the relationships between thermal gradient, growth rate, and microstructure parameters. Some principles of coupled eutectic growth, main types of eutectic microstructure and the relationship between the eutectic microstructure and the mechanical properties of directionally solidified eutectics at ambient and high temperatures are briefly described. The mechanical behavior and main toughening mechanisms of these materials in a wide temperature range are discussed. It is shown that the strength at high temperatures mainly depends on the plasticity of the phase components. By analyzing the dislocation structure, the occurrence of strain hardening in single crystalline phases during high-temperature deformation is revealed. The creep resistance of eutectic composites is superior to that of the sintered samples due to the absence of glassy phases at the interfaces, and the strain has to be accommodated by plastic deformation within the domains rather than by interfacial sliding. The microstructural and chemical stability of the directionally solidified eutectic ceramics at high temperatures are discussed. The aligned eutectic microstructures show limited phase coarsening up to the eutectic point and excellent chemical resistance. Directionally solidified eutectics, especially oxides, revealed an excellent oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures. It is shown sufficient potential of these materials for high-temperature applications.


2010 ◽  
Vol 654-656 ◽  
pp. 2450-2454 ◽  
Author(s):  
De Kui Mu ◽  
Hideaki Tsukamoto ◽  
Han Huang ◽  
Kazuhiro Nogita

High-temperature lead-free solders are important materials for electrical and electronic devices due to increasing legislative requirements that aim at reducing the use of traditional lead-based solders. For the successful use of lead-free solders, a comprehensive understanding of the formation and mechanical properties of Intermetallic Compounds (IMCs) that form in the vicinity of the solder-substrate interface is essential. In this work, the effect of nickel addition on the formation and mechanical properties of Cu6Sn5 IMCs in Sn-Cu high-temperature lead-free solder joints was investigated using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and nanoindentation. It was found that the nickel addition increased the elastic modulus and hardness of the (Cu, Ni)6Sn5. The relationship between the nickel content and the mechanical properties of the IMCs was also established.


Author(s):  
Jing Wu ◽  
Mohammad S. Alam ◽  
KM Rafidh Hassan ◽  
Jeffrey C. Suhling ◽  
Pradeep Lall

Abstract Microstructural evolution occurs in lead free Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) solder joints exposed to isothermal aging. Such changes lead to degradations in the mechanical properties and creep behavior of the solder, and can result in dramatic reductions in the board level reliability of lead-free electronic assemblies subjected to aging. In our recent research, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) has been used to: (1) monitor aging induced microstructural changes occurring within fixed regions in selected lead-free solder joints, (2) create time-lapse imagery of the microstructure evolution, and (3) analyze the microstructural changes quantitatively and correlate to the observed mechanical behavior evolution. This approach has removed the limitations of many prior studies where aged and non-aged microstructures were taken from two different samples and could only be qualitatively compared. In our current study, the microstructural evolutions were observed in SAC305 (96.5Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu) and SAC_Q (SAC+Bi) exposed to isothermal conditions at T = 100 °C and 125 °C for several different regions from several different joints. The microstructures in several fixed regions of interest were recorded after predetermined time intervals of aging, which were 1 hour (up to 270 hours) and 250 hours (up to 7000 hours) for the long-term aging samples. The aging induced changes in microstructure have been correlated with the changes in mechanical behavior measured using uniaxial tensile testing. The area and diameter of each IMC particle were tracked during the aging process using the recorded images and imaging processing software. As expected, the analysis of the evolving SAC305 and SAC+X microstructures showed a significant amount of diffusion of silver and bismuth in the beta-tin matrix during aging. In particular, Ag3Sn particles coalesced during aging leading to a decrease in the number of particles. Any bismuth in the SAC+X microstructure was observed to quickly go into solution, resulting in solid solution strengthening. This primary occurred within the beta-Sn dendrites, but also in the Ag3Sn intermetallic rich regions between dendrites. The presence of bismuth in was also found to slow the diffusion process that coarsens the Ag3Sn IMC particles. The combination solid solution strengthening and a lower diffusion rate for Ag lead to reduced aging effects in the SAC+Bi alloy relative to the SAC305 solder alloy. The SAC_Q alloy was found to have significantly better high temperature mechanical properties relative to SAC305 at all prior aging conditions. In particular, the initial modulus and ultimate tensile strength of SAC305 experienced large degradations during high temperature aging, whereas the same properties of SAC_Q changed only slightly. These changes in mechanical behavior correlated well with the observed increases in the average IMC particle diameter and decreases in the number of IMC particles. The microstructural and material property degradations were especially large for SAC305 during the initial 50 hours of aging.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-138
Author(s):  
Van Su Le ◽  
Michal M. Szczypinski ◽  
Pavlína Hájková ◽  
Vladimir Kovacic ◽  
Totka Bakalova ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this work, geopolymer foam composites containing waste basalt fibre (10, 30, and 50%wt) were exposed to elevated temperatures of 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000∘C. With an increase in high temperature, the geopolymer foams material exhibits a decrease in compressive strength and bending strength. When heated above 600∘C, geopolymer foams materials exhibit a significant reduction in mechanical properties. It shows clearly with the naked eye that surface cracks in case of samples containing 10% of basalt filler. However, when increasing fillers with basalt fibres up to 30% and 50%, the cracking of the sample surface is no longer visible to the naked eye. Especially when the temperature increases, the mechanical properties also increase without decreasing in the sample of 50% by weighing to the binder. The results show that reinforcing the geopolymer foams with basalt ground fibre improves the mechanical properties at high temperatures.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 2641-2648
Author(s):  
Rizk Mostafa Shalaby ◽  
Mohamed Munther ◽  
Abu-Bakr Al-Bidawi ◽  
Mustafa Kamal

The greatest advantage of Sn-Zn eutectic is its low melting point (198 oC) which is close to the melting point. of Sn-Pb eutectic solder (183 oC), as well as its low price per mass unit compared with Sn-Ag and Sn-Ag-Cu solders. In this paper, the effect of 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 wt. % Al as ternary additions on melting temperature, microstructure, microhardness and mechanical properties of the Sn-9Zn lead-free solders were investigated. It is shown that the alloying additions of Al at 4 wt. % to the Sn-Zn binary system lead to lower of the melting point to 195.72 ˚C.  From x-ray diffraction analysis, an aluminium phase, designated α-Al is detected for 4 and 5 wt. % Al compositions. The formation of an aluminium phase causes a pronounced increase in the electrical resistivity and microhardness. The ternary Sn-9Zn-2 wt.%Al exhibits micro hardness superior to Sn-9Zn binary alloy. The better Vickers hardness and melting points of the ternary alloy is attributed to solid solution effect, grain size refinement and precipitation of Al and Zn in the Sn matrix.  The Sn-9%Zn-4%Al alloy is a lead-free solder designed for possible drop-in replacement of Pb-Sn solders.  


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