Abstract
The mechanism of reaction between Nd and Ga in Sn-Zn-0.5Ga-xNd solder was investigated in order to enhance the reliability of soldered joints. It was found that, after aging treatment at ambient temperature and 125°C for over 3000 h, no Sn whisker growth was observed in Sn-9Zn-0.5Ga-0.08Nd soldered joints. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and thermodynamic calculations indicated that Ga reacted with Nd instead of Sn-Nd intermetallic compound (IMC), eliminating Sn whisker growth. Shear force testing was carried out, and the results indicated that Sn-9Zn-0.5Ga-0.08Nd solder still had excellent mechanical properties after aging treatment. This new discovery can provide a novel approach to develop high-reliability solder without risk of Sn whiskers.
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Acknowledgement
This work was supported by funding from the Jiangsu Innovation Program for Graduate Education (Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Project No. CXZZ12_0148).
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Xue, P., Xue, Sb., Shen, YF. et al. Mechanism of Reaction Between Nd and Ga in Sn-Zn-0.5Ga-xNd Solder. J. Electron. Mater. 43, 3404–3410 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-014-3278-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-014-3278-z