Faculty Publications
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Item Investigation into creep behaviour of Sn-40%Pb alloy using impression creep method(2009) Udaya Prasanna, H.U.; Udupa, K.R.; Prabhu, K.N.The creep behaviour of Sn-40%Pb hypereutectic alloys cast in the molds made of different materials was investigated using impression creep technique in the temperature range from zero to 32 °C and under the punching stress of 50 MPa. The creep curves.ie, profiles of indentation depth against time are generated and steady state creep rates (SSCRs) are determined. Activation energy was calculated knowing creep rates at different temperature levels. Standard metallographic technique was used to determine the grain size of alloys which were poured into different molds. It was found that SSCR, at all the temperature levels of testing, is a function of grain size of the material. The activation energy being in the range of 10kJ/mol -12 kJ/mol, suggests that the probable creep mechanism is dislocation glide aided by vacancy diffusion. Results of the experiments are discussed.Item Determination of spread activation energy and assessment of wetting behavior of solders on metallic substrates(American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2010) Prabhu, K.N.; Kumar, G.The effects of substrate material, substrate surface roughness, and operating temperature on the wetting behavior of Sn-37Pb, Sn-3.5Ag, and Sn-9Zn eutectic solders on metallic substrates were investigated. Solder spreading kinetics was successfully represented by the exponential power law (EPL): ?=exp (-K ?n). The EPL parameter K has the significance of accelerating the kinetics of relaxation while the parameter n represents the resistance to spreading process (spread resistance parameter). EPL parameters exhibited a decreasing trend with an increase in surface roughness. Estimated activation energies for solder spreading were found to be in between those reported for inert and highly reactive spreading systems. © 2010 American Society of Mechanical Engineers.Item Wetting behaviour and evolution of microstructure of Sn-Ag-Zn solders on copper substrates with different surface textures(ASTM International, 2011) Satyanarayan, S.; Prabhu, K.N.The effect of surface roughness on wetting behaviour and evolution of microstructure of two lead-free solders (Sn-2.625Ag-2.25Zn and Sn-1.75Ag-4.5Zn) on copper substrate was investigated. Both solders exhibited good wettability on copper substrates having rough surface and lower wettabilty on smooth surfaces. The contact angles of solders decreased linearly with increase in surface roughness of the substrate. The exponential power law, ?=exp(-KT -1), was used to model the relaxation behaviour of solders. A high intermetallic growth was observed at the interface particularly on copper substrates with rough surface texture. A thin continuous interface showing scallop intermetallic compounds (IMC) was obtained on smooth surfaces. With an increase in surface roughness, the IMC morphology changed from scallop shaped to needle type at the Sn-2.625Ag-2.25Zn solder/ substrate interface and nodular to plate like IMCs for Sn-1.75Ag-4.5Zn solder matrix. Copyright © 2010 by ASTM International.Item Effect of cooling rate during solidification of Sn-9Zn lead-free solder alloy on its microstructure, tensile strength and ductile-brittle transition temperature(Elsevier Ltd, 2012) Prabhu, K.N.; Deshapande, P.; Satyanarayan, S.Solidification rate is an important variable during processing of materials, including soldering, involving solidification. The rate of solidification controls the metallurgical microstructure at the solder joint and hence the mechanical properties. A high tensile strength and a lower ductile-brittle transition temperature are necessary for reliability of solder joints in electronic circuits. Hence in the present work, the effect of cooling rate during solidification on microstructure, impact and tensile properties of Sn-9Zn lead-free solder alloy was investigated. Four different cooling media (copper and stainless steel moulds, air and furnace cooling) were used for solidification to achieve different cooling rates. Solder alloy solidified in copper mould exhibited higher cooling rate as compared to other cooling media. The microstructure is refined as the cooling rate was increased from 0.03 to 25 °C/s. With increase in cooling rate it was observed that the size of Zn flakes became finer and distributed uniformly throughout the matrix. Ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of the solder alloy increased with increase in cooling rate. Fractured surfaces of impact test specimens showed cleavage like appearance and river like pattern at very low temperatures and dimple like appearance at higher temperatures. The tensile strength of the solder alloy solidified in Cu and stainless moulds were higher as compared to air and furnace cooled samples. It is therefore suggested that the cooling rate during solidification of the solder alloy should be optimum to maximize the strength and minimize the DBTT. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.Item Effect of temperature and substrate surface texture on wettability and morphology of IMCs between Sn-0.7Cu solder alloy and copper substrate(2012) Satyanarayan, S.; Prabhu, K.N.In the present work, the effect of soldering temperature (270 and 298 °C) and substrate surface texture (0.02 and 1.12 ?m) on wetting characteristics and morphology of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) between Sn-0.7Cu lead-free solder on copper substrates was investigated. It was found that increase in temperature and substrate surface roughness improved the wettability of solder alloy. However, the effect of surface roughness on wettability was significant as compared to that of temperature. The spreading of solder alloy was uniform on smooth substrate, whereas spreading of the alloy on rough substrate resulted in an oval shape. The morphology of IMCs transformed from long needle shaped to short and thick protrusions of IMCs with increase in surface roughness of the substrate. Needle shaped and thick protruded intermetallics formed at the solder/Cu interface were identified as Cu 6Sn 5 compounds. The formation of Cu 3Sn IMC was observed only for the spreading of solder alloy at 298 °C which contributed to improvement in the wettability of solder alloy on both smooth and rough substrate surfaces. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012.Item Effect of Reflow Time on Wetting Behavior, Microstructure Evolution, and Joint Strength of Sn-2.5Ag-0.5Cu Solder on Bare and Nickel-Coated Copper Substrates(Springer New York LLC barbara.b.bertram@gsk.com, 2016) Sona, M.; Prabhu, K.N.The effect of reflow time on wetting behavior of Sn-2.5Ag-0.5Cu lead-free solder on bare and nickel-coated copper substrates has been investigated. The solder alloy was reflowed at 270°C for various reflow times of 10 s, 100 s, 300 s, and 500 s. On bare copper substrate, the intermetallic compound (IMC) thickness increased with increase in reflow time, whereas on Ni-coated Cu substrate, the IMC thickness increased up to 300 s followed by a drop for solder alloy reflowed for 500 s. The spreading behavior of the solder alloy was categorized into capillary, gravity (diffusion), and viscous zones. Gravity zone was obtained from 3.8 ± 0.43 s to 38.97 ± 3.38 s and from 5.99 ± 0.5 s to 77.82 ± 8.84 s for the Sn-2.5Ag-0.5Cu/Cu and Sn-2.5Ag-0.5Cu/Ni/Cu system, respectively. Sn-2.5Ag-0.5Cu solder alloy was also reflowed for the period corresponding to the end of the gravity zone (40 s and 80 s on bare and Ni-coated Cu, respectively). The joint strength was maximum at reflow time of 40 s and 80 s for the Sn-2.5Ag-0.5Cu/Cu and Sn-2.5Ag-0.5Cu/Ni/Cu system, respectively. The dynamic contact angle at the end of the gravity (diffusion) zone (?gz) was found to be a better parameter compared with the stabilized contact angle (?f) to assess the effect of the wettability of the liquid solder on the microstructure and joint strength. The present investigation reveals the significance of the gravity zone in assessment of optimum reflow time for lead-free solder alloys. © 2016, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.Item The Effect of Wetting Gravity Regime on Shear Strength of SAC and Sn-Pb Solder Lap Joints(Springer New York LLC barbara.b.bertram@gsk.com, 2017) Sona, M.; Prabhu, K.N.The failure of solder joints due to imposed stresses in an electronic assembly is governed by shear bond strength. In the present study, the effect of wetting gravity regime on single-lap shear strength of Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu and Sn-2.5Ag-0.5Cu solder alloys reflowed between bare copper substrates as well as Ni-coated Cu substrates was investigated. Samples were reflowed for 10 s, Tgz (time corresponding to the end of gravity regime) and 100 s individually and tested for single-lap shear strength. The single-lap shear test was also carried out on eutectic Sn-Pb/Cu- and Sn-Pb/Ni-coated Cu specimens to compare the shear strength values obtained with those of lead-free alloys. The eutectic Sn-Pb showed significantly higher ultimate shear strength on bare Cu substrates when compared to Sn-Ag-Cu alloys. However, SAC alloys reflowed on nickel-coated copper substrate exhibited higher shear strength when compared to eutectic Sn-Pb/Ni-coated Cu specimens. All the substrate/solder/substrate lap joint specimens that were reflowed for the time corresponding to the end of gravity regime exhibited maximum ultimate shear strength. © 2017, ASM International.Item Effect of Multiple Reflow Cycles and Al2O3 Nanoparticles Reinforcement on Performance of SAC305 Lead-Free Solder Alloy(Springer New York LLC barbara.b.bertram@gsk.com, 2018) Tikale, S.; Prabhu, K.N.The effect of Al2O3 nanoparticles reinforcement on melting behavior, microstructure evolution at the interface and joint shear strength of 96.5Sn3Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) lead-free solder alloy subjected to multiple reflow cycles was investigated. The reinforced SAC305 solder alloy compositions were prepared by adding Al2O3 nanoparticles in different weight fractions (0.05, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 wt.%) through mechanical dispersion. Cu/solder/Cu micro-lap-shear solder joint specimens were used to assess the shear strength of the solder joint. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the melting behavior of SAC305 solder nanocomposites. The solder joint interfacial microstructure was studied using scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the increase in melting temperature (TL) and melting temperature range of the SAC305 solder alloy by addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles were not significant. In comparison with unreinforced SAC305 solder alloy, the reinforcement of 0.05-0.5 wt.% of Al2O3 nanoparticles improved the solder wettability. The addition of nanoparticles in minor quantity effectively suppressed the Cu6Sn5 IMC growth, improved the solder joint shear strength and ductility under multiple reflow cycles. However, the improvement in solder properties was less pronounced on increasing the nanoparticle content above 0.1 wt.% of the solder alloy. © 2018, ASM International.Item The effect of reflow temperature on time at the end of gravity zone (TGZ) of Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu solder alloy(ASTM International, 2020) Panikar, R.S.; Amogha Skanda, V.; Tikale, S.; Prabhu, K.N.The reflow time for solder until the end of the gravity zone (Tgz) is considered to be the optimum reflow time for obtaining high mechanical performance from lead-free solders. In the present work, the effect of reflow time and temperature on Tgz of Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu (SAC387) lead-free solder alloy reflowed on the copper substrate has been investigated. The evolution of interfacial microstructure and solder bond shear strength under different reflow temperatures and time was assessed. Solder balls weighing 0.08 ± 0.01 g were reflowed at 260°C, 280°C, and 300°C for reflow times of 30 s, 60 s, 120 s, and 240 s. Times at the end of the gravity zone for SAC387 solder were obtained as 110 ± 5 s, 55 ± 5 s, and 23 ± 3 s for reflow temperatures of 260°C, 280°C and 300°C, respectively. The contact angle for SAC387 solder on the copper substrate at Tgz was found to be 25.5° ± 0.2° for all reflow temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the formation of a Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compound (IMC) layer at the interface. The IMC layer thickness increased with increase in reflow temperature and time. Maximum solder joint strength was obtained at Tgz reflow times for all reflow temperatures. Microstructures of samples reflowed beyond the gravity zone showed secondary Cu6Sn5 precipitation in the solder bulk. The present investigation reveals a reduction in Tgz reflow time for SAC387 lead-free solder at higher operating reflow temperatures. © © 2020 by ASTM InternationalItem Development of low-silver content SAC0307 solder alloy with Al2O3 nanoparticles(Elsevier Ltd, 2020) Tikale, S.; Prabhu, K.N.The present study is focused on the development of low Ag content 99Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu (SAC0307) solder alloy with Al2O3 nanoparticles reinforcement. The effects of multiple reflow cycles and the addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles in 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 percentages by weight on microstructure development and mechanical strength of the solcder joint were first investigated. The addition of ceramic nanoparticles in 0.01-0.5 wt% range resulted in 15-40% increase in the wetting area and about 10-55% increase in the microhardness of the solder. The shear strength of nanoparticles reinforced SAC0307 solder joint increased by 11-53% under multiple reflow conditions. Nano-composite solder joints containing 0.01 and 0.05 wt% Al2O3 nanoparticles showed superior shear strength and improved ductility for two reflow cycles. Hence, these nano-composites were selected and tested for their performance and joint reliability. The surface mount 2220 capacitor joint assemblies with the selected nano-composites reflowed on bare copper and Ni–P coated Cu substrates were investigated. The reliability of the solder joint was assessed by determining the joint shear strength under varying temperature environments. The nano-composite with 0.05 wt% nanoparticles addition resulted in maximum joint reliability compared to monolithic solder. The Ni–P coating on the Cu substrate significantly hindered the IMC growth at the joint interface under different thermal conditions. The joint strength improved by about 26% for samples reflowed on Ni–P surface finish compared to that on bare Cu metallization. The Weibull analysis of the joint shear strength under all thermal conditions suggest that the addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles in very small amounts to SAC0307 solder and the presence of Ni–P surface finish on Cu substrate significantly enhances the performance and reliability of solder joints. In terms of both quality and reliability, the newly developed low-silver content SAC0307+0.05Al2O3 nano-composite is an effective alternate lead-free solder that can be used in microelectronics industry in place of high-silver content Sn–Ag–Cu solders. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.