Microstructural Analysis of Solder Bump Fabricated by Sn Electroplating on a PCB Substrate

To manufacture finer solder bumps, the SR and DFR patterns were filled using a Sn electroplating process instead of the microball process currently used in BGA technology, and the solder bump shape was fabricated through a reflow process. The microstructure of the solder bump was investigated by EBSD and TEM measurements. The EBSD results showed that the grain size of the Sn structure became finer after the reflow treatment and a scallop shape of Cu₆Sn₅ was formed on the Cu UBM. However, the Cu₃Sn phase was difficult to measure in the EBSD measurement. The Cu₃Sn compound could be investigated with TEM analysis. The Cu₃Sn phase also existed in the Sn region, with a size of several tens of nanometers, due to the eutectic reaction. The volume fraction of the Cu₆Sn₅ phase in the Sn region could be calculated from the TEM image, and the concentration of copper dissolved in the liquid tin during the reflow process could be estimated from the volume fraction. It was possible to observe the Cu₃Sn and Cu₆Sn₅ lattice images through high resolution TEM analysis, but it was difficult to observe the lattice coherency between the two phases because both were polycrystalline. Based on the results of this study, it is expected that solder bumps with a diameter of less than 100 µm can be robustly manufactured through the Sn electroplating process.

Characterization of the surface morphology of electroless NiP deposited on conductive Cu film

Purpose – This study aims to elucidate the reaction mechanism of electroless NiP deposits on conductive but non-catalytic Cu films on the basis of their nucleation and growth without Pd catalyst and to measure the deposition rate and activation energy of electroless NiP deposits on the non-catalytic Cu film at various deposition times (60, 120, 240 and 480 s) and temperatures (70, 80 and 90°C) at pH 4.6. Design/methodology/approach – Specimens with and without Pd catalyst on Cu film were prepared as follows: the Pd catalyst was deposited on half of the Cu film using a deposition protector, and the specimen containing the Pd catalyst deposited on half of its area was immersed in electroless NiP solution. The growth of NiP on the Cu films with and without the Pd catalyst was observed. Findings – The number of Pd nanoparticles increased with Pd activation time; the nucleation of Pd dominated over growth at 60 s. Lattice images show that the d-spacing of Ni nanoparticles doped with less than 10 at% P increased to 2.050 Å. Nucleation of NiP deposits occurred simultaneously in the specimens with and without the Pd catalyst, because electrons could be transferred via the conductive Cu. Therefore, the reaction mechanism of the electroless NiP deposited on Cu film appears to be electrochemical. The activation energies for NiP deposits (15 s Pd with catalytic Pd, 15 s Pd without catalytic Pd, 60 s Pd with catalytic Pd and 60 s Pd without catalytic Pd) on the Cu film are 65.8, 64.0, 64.3 and 58.1 kJ/mol, respectively. This demonstrates that, regardless of the volume and the presence of catalytic Pd, the activation energy of electroless NiP has a consistent value. Research limitations/implications – It is necessary to study the relationship between the volume of Pd nanoparticles and the nucleation rate of NiP at an initial stage, as there are limited data regarding the effect of Pd volume on the nucleation rate of NiP. Originality/value – The reaction mechanism of the electroless NiP deposited on conductive but non-catalytic Cu film involves electrochemical reactions because the nucleation of NiP deposits occurs on conductive Cu film regardless of the presence of the Pd catalyst.

Lattice Distortion in In3SbTe2 Phase Change Material with Substitutional Bi

Sb atoms in In3SbTe2 (IST) are partially substituted by 3.2–5.5 at.% of Bi atoms. As a result, the NaCl crystal structure of IST is slightly distorted. The distorted inter-planar angles observed with fast Fourier transformation of the lattice images are within the maximum range of interplanar angles calculated by density functional theory. When the Bi content is increased, the crystallization temperature becomes relatively lower than that of IST, the activation energy decreases from 5.29 to 2.61 eV and the specific heat and melting point are obviously reduced. Consequently, phase change random access memory (PRAM) fabricated with Bi-doped IST (Bi-IST) can operate with lower power consumption than pure IST PRAM. The set and reset speeds of PRAM cells fabricated with Bi-IST are both 100 ns with 5.5 at.% Bi, which are obviously faster than the switching speeds of PRAM cells fabricated with IST and Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). These experimental results reveal that the switching speed is closely related with the thermal properties of the distorted lattice structure.

Obtaining Highly Crystalline Barium Sulphate Nanoparticles via Chemical Precipitation and Quenching in Absence of Polymer Stabilizers

Here we report the synthesis of barium sulphate (BaSO4) nanoparticles from Ba(OH)2/BaCl2solutions by a combined method of precipitation and quenching in absence of polymer stabilizers. Transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were employed to characterize the particles. The Scherrer formula was applied to estimate the particle size using the width of the diffraction peaks. The obtained results indicate that the synthesized material is mainly composed of nanocrystalline barite, with nearly spherical morphology, and diameters ranging from 4 to 92 nm. The lattice images of nanoparticles were clearly observed by HRTEM, indicating a high degree of crystallinity and phase purity. In addition, agglomerates with diameters between 20 and 300 nm were observed in both lattice images and dynamic light scattering measurements. The latter allowed obtaining the particle size distribution, the evolution of the aggregate size in time of BaSO4in aqueous solutions, and the sedimentation rate of these solutions from turbidimetry measurements. A short discussion on the possible medical applications is presented.

Study on Degradation Mechanism of Stress in Generation Process of Coal-Bed Methane

In order to discuss the effect of tectonic stress on the structural evolution of coal, given the importance attached to High-resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy and micro-FTIR analysis, we investigated several aspects of material structures of high-rank Carboniferous period coal, located in the northern foreland basin of the Dabie orogenic belt in eastern China. High powered crystal lattice images of Bright Fields (BF) and Selected Area Diffraction patterns (SAD) of different types of metamorphism in coal were obtained. The organic molecular characters of different metamorphism types coal and the effecting factors are studied. The results show that:(1) the Basic Structural Units (BSU) become increasingly more compact as a function of rising temperature and pressure. Under pressure, the local orientation of molecules is strengthened, the arrangement of BSU speeds up and the degree of order is clearly enhanced; (2) tectonic stress is in favor of the chemistry environment transfer of hydrogen in coal, resulting in the decrease of aliphatic hydrocarbon and the increase of aromatic hydrocarbon in content, and accelerating the polycondensation and ordering of large molecules texture of coal.

Coherent Clustering of GdN in Epitaxial GaN:Gd Thin Film

ABSTRACTWe present an in-depth transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study about the character of the Gd atom distribution in epitaxial GaN:Gd thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. High-resolution TEM (HRTEM) imaging reveals local lattice distortions of dimensions of a few atom planes only. Geometric phase analysis of HRTEM lattice images quantifies the associated displacement field. The results are explained by means of thin coherently strained GdN clusters with platelet shape being located along the basal plane. This is consistent with the observations obtained from strain contrast dark-field TEM images. Theoretically derived structure models provided by calculations based on density functional theory are used to simulate the HRTEM contrast and to determine the corresponding displacement field for matching the experimental data. Best fit is achieved in case of a coherent GdN bi-layer cluster that conclusively reflects the energy favorable configuration. The formation of the platelet clusters is explainable in the framework of spinodal decomposition.

Ferroelectric and Structural Antiphase Domains in Hexagonal RMnO3

ABSTRACTWe have investigated characteristic ferroelectric and structural antiphase domain structures in single crystals of hexagonal RMnO3 (R=Y, Ho, Lu, and Yb) by obtaining various electron diffraction patterns, dark-filed images and high-resolution lattice images. In the ferroelectric phase of RMnO3 characteristic domain structures consisting of six ferroelectric and structural antiphase domains, which can be identified as the “cloverleaf” pattern, is found in the (110) plane, in addition to the (001) plane, and are inherent to the ferroelectric phase of hexagonal RMnO3. In domain configuration with the cloverleaf pattern in the (110) plane, the structural antiphase boundaries are inclined to be parallel to the [001] direction.