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Reliability Aspects of Lead-Free Solder Alloys Used in Electronics

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A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 23196

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Bálint Medgyes

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Guest Editor

Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
Interests: humidity-induced failures of electronics; electrochemical migration and corrosion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lead-free solder alloys are used in numerous electronic devices and systems, e.g., for interconnections, wires, surface finishes, packaging, etc. Electronic systems like IoT devices, communications networks, autonomous cars and planes, sensors and actuators are becoming more important in our everyday lives. Consequently, lead-free solder alloys as candidates for the replacement of the traditionally lead-bearing alloys should exhibit excellent mechanical, electrical, thermal, and reliability properties, in addition to having favorable economic aspects. This initiates the continuous development and preparation of new alloys via the use of novel techniques like mechanical-, micro-, and nano-alloying, which belong to a rapidly evolving multidisciplinary research field combining metallurgy, chemistry, and physics.

In many fields, electronic devices need to operate in harsh environments, so not only the quality but the long-term reliability of the applied alloys is also critical. There is a strong need to investigate the temperature- and humidity-induced failure mechanisms in these alloys, such as electrochemical migration, corrosion, intermetallic formation, and microstructural changes, and their effects on alloy properties, which affect the life-time of electronic devices. It is also necessary to examine the possible surface-preservation methods of the applied material systems against the most frequent failure mechanisms (e.g., oxidation, dendrite, and whisker growth).

This Special Issue is dedicated to disseminating the recent topics and the latest results on reliability in electronics. We invite colleagues to contribute to this Special Issue with works addressing the aforementioned topics and following keywords in the form of full papers, short communications, and reviews. The Special Issue focuses on the reliability of the lead-free solder alloys, but other related topics are also welcome!

Dr. Bálint Medgyes
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

lead-free solder alloys
lead-free surface finishes
reliability tests
electrochemical corrosion
electrochemical migration
whisker formation
intermetallic compound
life-time prediction

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 6509 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Bismuth-Doped SAC305 Lead-Free Solder Alloy at High Temperature

by Umair Ali, Hamza Khan, Muhammad Aamir, Khaled Giasin, Numan Habib and Muhammad Owais Awan

Metals 2021, 11(7), 1077; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11071077 - 05 Jul 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2726

Abstract

SAC305 lead-free solder alloy is widely used in the electronic industry. However, the problems associated with the growth formation of intermetallic compounds need further research, especially at high temperatures. This study investigates the doping of Bismuth into SAC305 in the various compositions of 1, 2, and 3 wt.%. The microstructure in terms of intermetallic compound particles and mechanical properties was examined after thermal aging at temperatures of 100 °C and 200 °C for 60 h. The microstructure examination was observed using scanning electron microscopy, and the chemical composition of each alloy was confirmed with an energy dispersive X-ray. Tensile tests were performed to find the mechanical properties such as yield strength and ultimate tensile strength. The intermetallic compound’s phase analysis was identified using X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry was done to study the temperature curves for melting points. Results showed that the addition of Bismuth refined the microstructure by suppressing the growth of intermetallic compounds, which subsequently improved the mechanical properties. The thermal aging made the microstructure coarsen and degraded the mechanical properties. However, the most improved performance was observed with a Bismuth addition of 3 wt.% into SAC305. Furthermore, a decrease in the melting temperature was observed, especially at Bismuth compositions of 3 wt.%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Aspects of Lead-Free Solder Alloys Used in Electronics)

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Review

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29 pages, 54226 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review on the Fabrication and Reliability of Three-Dimensional Integration Technologies for Microelectronic Packaging: Through-Si-via and Solder Bumping Process

by Do Hoon Cho, Seong Min Seo, Jang Baeg Kim, Sri Harini Rajendran and Jae Pil Jung

Metals 2021, 11(10), 1664; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11101664 - 19 Oct 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 9481

Abstract

With the continuous miniaturization of electronic devices and the upcoming new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), fifth-generation cellular networks (5G), etc., the electronics industry is achieving high-speed, high-performance, and high-density electronic packaging. Three-dimensional (3D) Si-chip stacking using through-Si-via (TSV) and solder bumping processes are the key interconnection technologies that satisfy the former requirements and receive the most attention from the electronic industries. This review mainly includes two directions to get a precise understanding, such as the TSV filling and solder bumping, and explores their reliability aspects. TSV filling addresses the DRIE (deep reactive ion etching) process, including the coating of functional layers on the TSV wall such as an insulating layer, adhesion layer, and seed layer, and TSV filling with molten solder. Solder bumping processes such as electroplating, solder ball bumping, paste printing, and solder injection on a Cu pillar are discussed. In the reliability part for TSV and solder bumping, the fabrication defects, internal stresses, intermetallic compounds, and shear strength are reviewed. These studies aimed to achieve a robust 3D integration technology effectively for future high-density electronics packaging. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Aspects of Lead-Free Solder Alloys Used in Electronics)

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48 pages, 5473 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Advancements in AI-Enabled Smart Electronics Packaging for Structural Health Monitoring

by Vinamra Bhushan Sharma, Saurabh Tewari, Susham Biswas, Bharat Lohani, Umakant Dhar Dwivedi, Deepak Dwivedi, Ashutosh Sharma and Jae Pil Jung

Metals 2021, 11(10), 1537; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11101537 - 27 Sep 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5026

Abstract

Real-time health monitoring of civil infrastructures is performed to maintain their structural integrity, sustainability, and serviceability for a longer time. With smart electronics and packaging technology, large amounts of complex monitoring data are generated, requiring sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for their processing. With the advancement of technology, more complex AI models have been applied, from simple models to sophisticated deep learning (DL) models, for structural health monitoring (SHM). In this article, a comprehensive review is performed, primarily on the applications of AI models for SHM to maintain the sustainability of diverse civil infrastructures. Three smart data capturing methods of SHM, namely, camera-based, smartphone-based, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based methods, are also discussed, having made the utilization of intelligent paradigms easier. UAV is found to be the most promising smart data acquisition technology, whereas convolution neural networks are the most impressive DL model reported for SHM. Furthermore, current challenges and future perspectives of AI-based SHM systems are also described separately. Moreover, the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart city concepts are explained to elaborate on the contributions of intelligent SHM systems. The integration of SHM with IoT and cloud-based computing is leading us towards the evolution of future smart cities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Aspects of Lead-Free Solder Alloys Used in Electronics)

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18 pages, 1078 KiB

Open AccessReview

Electrochemical Corrosion of SAC Alloys: A Review

by Ali Gharaibeh, Ilona Felhősi, Zsófia Keresztes, Gábor Harsányi, Balázs Illés and Bálint Medgyes

Metals 2020, 10(10), 1276; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10101276 - 23 Sep 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4209

Abstract

Tin–silver–copper (SAC) solder alloys are the most promising candidates to replace Sn–Pb solder alloys. However, their application is still facing several challenges; one example is the electrochemical corrosion behaviour, which imposes a risk to electronics reliability. Numerous investigations have been carried out to evaluate the corrosion performance of SAC lead-free alloys, regarding the effect of the corrosive environment, the different manufacturing technologies, the effect of fluxes, the metallic contents within the SAC alloys themselves, and the different alloying elements. In these studies, widely used electrochemical techniques are applied as accelerated corrosion tests, such as linear sweep voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. However, there is lack of studies that try to summarise the various corrosion results in terms of lead-free solder alloys including low-Ag and composite solders. This study aims to review these studies by showing the most important highlights regarding the corrosion processes and the possible future developments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reliability Aspects of Lead-Free Solder Alloys Used in Electronics)

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