Application of ZnO Nanoparticles in Sn99Ag0.3Cu0.7-Based Composite Solder Alloys
Agata Skwarek,
Olivér Krammer,
Tamás Hurtony,
Przemysław Ptak,
Krzysztof Górecki,
Sebastian Wroński,
Dániel Straubinger,
Krzysztof Witek,
Balázs Illés
Affiliations
Agata Skwarek
Department of Marine Electronics, Gdynia Maritime University, 81-225 Gdynia, Poland
Olivér Krammer
Department of Electronics Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1111 Budapest, Hungary
Tamás Hurtony
Department of Electronics Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1111 Budapest, Hungary
Przemysław Ptak
Department of Marine Electronics, Gdynia Maritime University, 81-225 Gdynia, Poland
Krzysztof Górecki
Department of Marine Electronics, Gdynia Maritime University, 81-225 Gdynia, Poland
Sebastian Wroński
Department of Condensed Matter Physics, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Dániel Straubinger
Department of Electronics Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1111 Budapest, Hungary
Krzysztof Witek
Department of Microelectronics, Łukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics, 30-701 Kraków, Poland
Balázs Illés
Department of Electronics Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1111 Budapest, Hungary
The properties of Sn99Ag0.3Cu0.7 (SACX0307) solder alloy reinforced with ZnO nanoparticles were investigated. The primary ZnO particle sizes were 50, 100, and 200 nm. They were added to a solder paste at a ratio of 1.0 wt %. The wettability, the void formation, the mechanical strength, and the thermoelectric parameters of the composite solder alloys/joints were investigated. Furthermore, microstructural evaluations were performed using scanning electron and ion microscopy. ZnO nanoparticles decreased the composite solder alloys’ wettability, which yielded increased void formation. Nonetheless, the shear strength and the thermoelectric parameters of the composite solder alloy were the same as those of the SACX0307 reference. This could be explained by the refinement effects of ZnO ceramics both on the Sn grains and on the Ag3Sn and Cu6Sn5 intermetallic grains. This could compensate for the adverse impact of lower wettability. After improving the wettability, using more active fluxes, ZnO composite solder alloys are promising for high-power applications.
