Effects of Isothermal Aging on Interfacial Microstructure and Shear Properties of Sn-4.5Sb-3.5Bi-0.1Ag Soldering with ENIG and ENEPIG Substrates

Sn–Sb system solders and ENIG/ENEPIG surface finish layers are commonly used in electronic products. To illustrate the thermal reliability evaluation of such solder joints, we studied the interfacial microstructure and shear properties of Sn-4.5Sb-3.5Bi-0.1Ag/ENIG and Sn-4.5Sb-3.5Bi-0.1Ag/ENEPIG solder joints after aging at 150 °C for 250, 500 and 1000 h. The results show that the intermetallic compound of Sn-4.5Sb-3.5Bi-0.1Ag/ENIG interface was more continuous and uniform compared with that of Sn-4.5Sb-3.5Bi-0.1Ag/ENEPIG interface after reflow. The thickness of the interfacial intermetallic compounds of the former was significantly thinner than that of the latter before and after aging. With extension of aging time, the former interface was stable, while obvious voids appeared at the interface of the latter after 500 h aging and significant fracture occurred after 1000 h aging. The shear tests proved that shear strength of solder joints decreased with increasing aging time. For the Sn-4.5Sb-3.5Bi-0.1Ag/ENEPIG joint after 1000 h aging, the fracture mode is ductile-brittle mixed type, which means fracture could occur at the solder matrix or the solder/IMC interface. For other samples of these two types of joints, ductile fracture occurred inside of the solder. The Sn-4.5Sb-3.5Bi-0.1Ag/ENIG solder joint was thermally more reliable than Sn-4.5Sb-3.5Bi-0.1Ag/ENEPIG.

Microstructure and Oxidation Behaviour of NGB and WGB Joints With Boron/Silicon Free Nickel Base Braze Alloys

In this study, the microstructure and solidus and liquidus of several Ni-Co-Hf-Zr-Ti-Al braze alloys were first examined with the objective to develop a B and Si free low melting braze alloy for narrow gap (NGB) and wide gap brazing (WGB) and turbine component repair applications. Among various alloys examined, DSC was used to measure the solidus and liquidus during heating and cooling cycles. Following the measurements of liquidus and solidus, the microstructure was evaluated using SEM. Equations for calculating solidus and liquidus based on alloy’s compositions were established and the functions of each elements on these two characteristic temperatures were discussed. One selected alloy with a liquidus of 1201 °C was further employed for NGB and WGB experiments. The results showed that it was able join CMSX-4 at 1240°C without interfacial voids; and with the use of externally applied pressure and extended homogenization treatment the interfacial intermetallic compounds were substantially removed. Furthermore, the same braze alloy was used to fill a large artificial cavity in a WGB scheme at a reduced temperature of 1200°C. The braze alloy was able to fully bond the filler powder alloy in addition to join the two alloys to a IN 738 substrate. Finally, oxidation test was conducted at 1050°C (isothermal in static air) for 100 hours after NGB of CMSX-4 and WGB of IN 738. The results showed that the oxide formed on the standalone braze alloy is very dense and there is no sign of spallation. It contained primarily NiO (+CoO) with no other elements measured. For the NGB joints, large amount of scale spallation was observed on base alloy CMSX-4 while the NGB joint remained spallation free. The oxide formed on the NGB was NiO with partitions of Co, Al, Ti, Cr, and W. The WGB joint region in IN 738 showed oxide scale spallation on the IN 738 substrate side, leaving behind steps and depression on the sample surface. In the WGB joint itself, there were three notable phases after oxidation test, however, no scale spallation could be found. For the majority part of the surface, a Ni-rich oxide covered the surface. There were areas of smaller oxide particles with higher Cr content. Overall, the new boron/silicon free braze alloy was found to be able to join several superalloys in both WGB and NGB schemes without occurrence of defects and the oxidation resistance was superior to both substrate alloys examined in this study.

Effects of nanoparticles on properties and interface reaction of Sn solder for microelectronic packaging

In this study, the effects of Cu nanoparticles on the melting characteristics, wettability, interfacial reaction and mechanical properties of [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] composite solders were investigated. Results show that the properties of the composite solder containing Cu nanoparticles were improved effectively. With the addition of Cu nanoparticles, the melting point of [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] solder decreased significantly, and the spreading area and the shear strength were increased by 10.3% and 23.2%, respectively. For the performance, the optimal addition of Cu nanoparticles was 0.7%. In addition, the growth of interfacial intermetallic compounds in [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] solder joints was inhibited by adding Cu nanoparticles.

Microstructure Characterization and Mechanical Property of Mg/Al Laminated Composite Prepared by the Novel Approach: Corrugated + Flat Rolling (CFR)

In this paper, Mg/Al laminated composites were successfully prepared at 400 °C by corrugated + flat rolling (CFR) with reduction ratios of 35% and 25% and subsequent annealing treatments were conducted at 200–350 °C for 30 min. A two-dimensional model was established to analyze the strain distribution during the first corrugated rolling process. Simulation results indicated that severe plastic deformation was formed at trough positions, which included more numerous refined grains than in the peak positions. The interfacial microstructure and mechanical property of the flattened composites along the rolling direction (RD) and the transverse direction (TD) were investigated. The results revealed that longitudinal discontinuous and transverse continuous interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMCs) were observed of the flattened as-rolled sample. Spatial distribution was provided for the grain microstructure along the thickness and rolling direction for AZ31B magnesium alloys of the CFR as-rolled composite. Mechanical property results showed that the longitudinal ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation (EL) of the as-rolled sample reached 255 MPa and 4.14%, respectively. The as-rolled UTS along TD reached 325 MPa, about 30% higher than that along the RD. After heat treatment, the anisotropy of mechanical properties remained. The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties were discussed in detail.