Low Melting-Temperature Alloys Are Vital to Successful Electronics Assembly
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solder.qxd 11/13/03 2:29 PM Page 2 SOLDER FAMILIES AND HOW THEY WORK Low melting-temperature alloys are vital to successful electronics assembly. Eric Bastow Indium Corp. of America, Utica, New York older is a critical material that physically indicates that the composition produces an alloy holds electronic assemblies together while with a distinct melting point, versus a melting allowing the various components to ex- range. pand and contract, to dissipate heat, and • 60Sn/40Pb: a variation from the eutectic, with Sto transmit electrical signals. Without solder, it a melting range of 183 to 188°C (361 to 370°F) would be impossible to produce the countless elec- • 62Sn/36Pb/2Ag: a composition that is often tronic devices that define the 21st century. chosen for silver metallizations, with a melting point Solder is available in numerous shapes and al- of 179°C (354°F). loys. Each has its particular properties, providing These alloys have reasonable melting points, ad- a solder for nearly every application. Many times, equate wettability and strength, and low cost. solder is an afterthought in the design and engi- Therefore, they account for perhaps 80 to 90% of neering process. However, by considering the sol- all solders in electronics assembly. The perform- dering step early in the design process, problems ance of these alloys is so well understood and doc- can be minimized. In fact, with the proper infor- umented that the electronics assembly industry has mation, the characteristics of a solder can be part designed and engineered products based on their of an optimal design. properties. Solders for assembly of electronic devices melt Increasing the lead content and reducing the tin at temperatures below 350ºC (660°F), and typically content results in solders with substantially higher bond two or more metallic surfaces. The elements melting points. Common versions are: commonly alloyed in solders include tin (Sn), lead • 90Pb/10Sn: has a melting range of 275 to 302°C (Pb), antimony (Sb), bismuth (Bi), indium (In), gold (527 to 575°F). (Au), silver (Ag), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu). • 95Pb/5Sn: has a melting range of 308 to 312°C 5Another material commonly used in soldering (586 to 593°F). is flux. The primary function of flux is to remove These alloys solder the terminations within elec- existing oxides on the solder itself and on the tronic components. High melting-point solders pre- metallic surfaces being bonded, and to protect these vent the solder joint within the component from re- metals from further oxidation while at the high tem- peratures of the soldering operation. Fluxes typi- cally contain rosin and/or resin, and organic acids and/or halides, which are combined to produce the appropriate fluxing strength for a particular metallization.. Electronic solders can be grouped into the fol- lowing five families: tin/lead, lead-free, indium/ lead, low-temperature, and high-temperature. This article discusses these five alloy families, and several members of each family. It also describes the wide variety of solder forms. Tin/lead solder alloys Tin/lead alloys are the fundamental solders, with a history dating back to the early days of radio. This alloy family consists of three basic compositions that have melting points in the 180°C (355°F) region: • 63Sn/37Pb: the eutectic composition with a Solder preforms are available in a wide range of shapes and melting point of 183°C (361°F). The term “eutectic” sizes, primarily for surface mount technology. 26 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/DECEMBER 2003 solder.qxd 11/13/03 2:30 PM Page 3 melting when the component is subsequently sol- dered to the printed circuit board (PCB), a step that typically involves the lower melting-point 63Sn/37Pb solder. High lead-containing solders, in general, have better fatigue performance, higher tensile strengths, and slightly reduced wettability when compared to the lower melting-point tin-lead compositions. Reducing-gas atmospheres, such as forming gas or pure hydrogen, are effective fluxing agents at these high soldering temperatures, and often substitute for chemical fluxes that may char at high soldering temperatures. In spite of all the beneficial attributes and famil- iarity associated with these alloys, the presence of lead, and its potential environmental impact when products are discarded to landfills, has caused the industry to seek lead-free alternatives. Lead-free solder alloys These are solder balls on a ball grid array (BGA). Legislation in Europe will ban lead-containing solders, with a few exceptions, effective 01 July 2006. means more pollution. Thus, the environmental As a result, manufacturers, regardless of location, benefit of lead-free alloys is somewhat mitigated. will have to comply if they plan to sell electronic • Multiple soldering steps: The other main issue products into Europe after the deadline. revolves around the high-lead alloys (>85% Pb) that Lead-free alloy development (for replacing are often needed in assemblies requiring multiple Sn/Pb alloys) has largely focused on a group of al- soldering steps. These high-lead compositions melt loys that have become known by the acronym in the 245 to 327ºC (473 to 620°F) range. To date, “SAC” for its Sn/Ag/Cu (tin-silver-copper) com- the only lead-free alloy that can exist at these higher position. SAC alloys have compositions that range temperatures is 80Au/20Sn (eutectic at 280ºC, from 3.0% to 4.0% silver, and from 0.5% to 0.8% 536°F). The gold cost associated with this alloy, and copper, with the balance tin. They are generally re- the fact that no lower-cost alternative lead-free com- garded as eutectic, or nearly eutectic, at ~217ºC (422°F). It has been suggested that the properties of tin- older forms bismuth-silver alloys are better than those of the Solder is typically provided in these common forms: SAC alloys, because they exhibit improved wetta- • Bar/Ingot: Typically cast and used in solder pot or wave sol- bility and fatigue resistance. However, tin-bismuth- Sdering applications. silver solders do have some drawbacks. When com- • Shot: Small tear-drop shaped pieces of alloy. The relatively small bined with a lead-containing solder metallization, size offers flexibility in applications in which the alloy has to be weighed on the PCB or the component terminations, a small to a particular amount, such as filling crucibles for vapor deposition. amount of tin-lead-bismuth eutectic alloy will form. • Spheres: Also called precision solder balls, spheres are supplied with This resultant alloy has a melting temperature of diameters from 0.012 to 0.032 in. They are deposited as bumps on elec- only 96ºC (204°F)! Because many temperature- tronic packages such as BGAs (ball grid arrays). cycling regimens do cycle up to 125ºC (257ºF), this • Ribbon and foil: Typically thin (0.002 to 0.010 in.+ thick) pieces of solder, foil often has a square or rectangular geometry. Ribbon, on the presents an obvious problem. As a result, tin- other hand, is more of a long, narrow strip wrapped on a spool. Both bismuth-silver has been abandoned until the elec- can be hand cut to form simple preforms or to make shims and thermal tronics industry is certain that all lead has been interfaces. “purged” from electronics manufacturing. This is • Wire: Often applied in rework or cut to lengths and formed into expected to take at least five or ten years. rings or other simple shapes, wire diameters typically range from 0.010 Lead-free alloys, with all of their “environmen- to 0.030 in. However, smaller and larger diameters are available, de- tally friendly” hype, come with a few “issues” of pending on the alloy. Solder wire can be produced with a flux core. their own: • Preforms: Typically punched, these thin pieces of solder are manu- • Higher melting temperature: The ~35ºC (63°F) factured as squares, rectangles, frames, disks, washers, and custom geome- higher melting temperature (vs. eutectic tin-lead) tries. Solder preforms can be applied in surface mount technology (SMT), which is common to the manufacture of most consumer electronics such as has to be considered in component and assembly cellular phones and computers. Preforms separately attach a component to design. Standard solder processing temperatures a pad, or they augment the solder volume of the solder paste. Washers of 240 to 260ºC (464 to 500°F), associated with SAC serve as pin connectors or other through-hole components. alloys, can damage “standard” electronic compo- • Paste: A mixture of prealloyed spherical solder powder with a nents that are rated up to only 235ºC (455°F) be- flux/vehicle to form a pasty material. Paste is dispensed or stencil-printed cause they were designed for eutectic tin-lead. This onto the metallization pads of a printed circuit board, and components are higher processing temperature also results in higher automatically placed onto the solder paste. The tacky nature of the solder manufacturing cost due to the extra energy needed paste temporarily holds the components in place. The printed circuit to operate equipment at these higher temperatures. board is then reflow soldered, attaching the components to the pads. • Greater fuel consumption: More energy Solder pastes are available with RMA, no-clean, and water-soluble flux vehicle formulations. means higher fuel consumption, which in turn ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/DECEMBER 2003 27 solder.qxd 11/13/03 2:30 PM Page 4 Selected lead-free solder alloys Indalloy No. Composition Solidus, °C Liquidus, °C Patents Comments 1E 52In/48Sn 118 (Eutectic) — Lowest melting-point practical solder. 281 58Bi/42Sn 138 (Eutectic) — Good thermal fatigue performance; established history. 227 77.2Sn/20.0In/2.8Ag 175 187 5,256,3702 and Not for use over 100°C due to Sn/ 5,580,5202 In eutectic at 118°C.