Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T10:47:35.715Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The influence of porosity on whisker growth in electroplated tin films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

J.P. Winterstein  and
M.G. Norton
J.P. Winterstein*
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164
M.G. Norton
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: winte249@tc.umn.edu
Get access

Abstract

Tin whisker growth has been observed since the 1950s and has become of more interest in the past 15 to 20 years due to the desire to use lead-free solders, pure tin being a good lead-free candidate. In the same time period, failure of satellites and other devices using pure tin solders has been blamed on tin whisker growth. The accepted driving force for whisker growth is compressive stresses in films. This article reports a microstructure-control method of limiting whisker growth through the introduction of pores that permit an alternate means of stress relief.

Keywords

ElectrodepositionPorositySn
Type
Rapid Communications
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 21 , Issue 12 , December 2006 , pp. 2971 - 2974
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Brusse, J., Ewell, G., Siplon, J. Tin whiskers: Attributes and mitigation (Proc. of the Capacitor and Resistor Technology Symposium–Europe, 2002) pp. 221–233.Google Scholar
2.Galyon, G.T. Annotated tin whisker bibliography and anthology. (NEMI Tin Whisker Modeling Project, 2003), pp. 1–21.Google Scholar
3.Jordan, M.: Lead-free tin alloys—Laboratory curiosities or capable processes. Metal Finishing 101, 8 (2003).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Kakeshita, T., Shimizu, K., Kawanaka, R., Hasegawa, T.: Grain size effect of electro-plated tin coatings on whisker growth. J. Mater. Sci. 17, 2560 (1982).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Schetty, R.Electrodeposited tin properties and their effect on component finish reliability (Proc. of 2004 International Conference on the Business of Electronic Product Reliability and Liability,Shanghai, China, 2004). p. 29.Google Scholar
6.Schetty, R.: Minimization of tin whisker formation for lead-free electronics finishing. Circuit World 27, 17 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.LeBret, J.B., Norton, M.G.: Electron microscopy study of tin whisker growth. J. Mater. Res. 18, 585 (2003).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8.Choi, W.J., Lee, T.Y., Tu, K.N., Tamura, N., Celestre, R.S., MacDowell, A.A., Bong, Y.Y., Nguyen, L.: Tin whiskers studied by synchrotron radiation scanning x-ray micro-diffraction. Acta Mater. 51, 6253 (2003).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Lee, B.Z., Lee, D.N.: Spontaneous growth mechanism of tin whiskers. Acta Mater. 46, 3701 (1998).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Galyon, T.G., Palmer, L.: An integrated theory of whisker formation: The physical metallurgy of whisker formation and the role of internal stresses. IEEE Transactions on Electronics Packaging and Manufacturing 28, 17 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Tu, K.N., Thompson, R.D.: Kinetics of interfacial reaction in bimetallic Cu-Sn thin films. Acta Metall. 30, 947 (1982).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12.Winterstein, J.P., LeBret, J.B., Norton, M.G.: Characteristics of tin whiskers formed on sputter-deposited films—an aging study. J. Mater. Res. 19, 689 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Pangarov, N.A.: Preferred orientations in electro-deposited metals. J. Electroanal. Chem. 9, 70 (1965).Google Scholar
14.Xiao, G-W.: Effect of Cu stud microstructure and electroplating process on intermetallic compounds growth and reliability of flip-chip solder bump. IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies 24, 682 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Watanabe, T.: Nano plating–microstructure formation theory of plated films and a database of plated films (Elsevier, Oxford, England, 2004), p. 24.Google Scholar
16.Hsueh, C.H., Evans, A.G.: Residual stresses and cracking in metal/ceramic systems for microelectronics packaging. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 68, 120 (1985).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17.Rickerby, D.S., Burnett, P.J.: Correlation of process and system parameters with structure and properties of physically-vapour deposited hard coatings. Thin Solid Films 157, 195 (1988).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Anal, A.K., Tendolkar, G.S.: Self-diffusion in a porous metal: The first empirical correlations for estimating pore-modified tracer self-diffusion parameters, D0 and Q. Acta Metall. 34, 1607 (1986).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Clarke, M.: Porosity and porosity tests: Properties of electrodeposits: Their measurement and significance edited by Sard, R., Leidheiser, H. Jr., and Ogburn, F. (The Electrochemical Society, Princeton, NJ, 1975), p. 122.Google Scholar