In Situ Observation of Liquid Solder Alloys and Solid Substrate Reactions Using High-Voltage Transmission Electron Microscopy

Xin F. Tan; Flora Somidin; Stuart D. McDonald; Michael J. Bermingham; Hiroshi Maeno; Syo Matsumura; Kazuhiro Nogita

doi:10.3390/ma15020510

Materials (Jan 2022)

In Situ Observation of Liquid Solder Alloys and Solid Substrate Reactions Using High-Voltage Transmission Electron Microscopy

Xin F. Tan,
Flora Somidin,
Stuart D. McDonald,
Michael J. Bermingham,
Hiroshi Maeno,
Syo Matsumura,
Kazuhiro Nogita

Affiliations

Xin F. Tan: Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials (NS CMEM), School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Flora Somidin: Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials (NS CMEM), School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Stuart D. McDonald: Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials (NS CMEM), School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Michael J. Bermingham: Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing (AMPAM), School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Hiroshi Maeno: The Ultramicroscopy Research Center, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
Syo Matsumura: The Ultramicroscopy Research Center, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
Kazuhiro Nogita: Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials (NS CMEM), School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15020510
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 15, no. 2
p. 510

Abstract

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The complex reaction between liquid solder alloys and solid substrates has been studied ex-situ in a few studies, utilizing creative setups to “freeze” the reactions at different stages during the reflow soldering process. However, full understanding of the dynamics of the process is difficult due to the lack of direct observation at micro- and nano-meter resolutions. In this study, high voltage transmission electron microscopy (HV-TEM) is employed to observe the morphological changes that occur in Cu6Sn5 between a Sn-3.0 wt%Ag-0.5 wt%Cu (SAC305) solder alloy and a Cu substrate in situ at temperatures above the solidus of the alloy. This enables the continuous surveillance of rapid grain boundary movements of Cu6Sn5 during soldering and increases the fundamental understanding of reaction mechanisms in solder solid/liquid interfaces.

Published in Materials

ISSN: 1996-1944 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering; Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General); Science: Natural history (General): Microscopy; Science: Physics: Descriptive and experimental mechanics
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials/

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