Effects of Grain Orientation on Cu6Sn5 Growth Behavior in Cu6Sn5-Reinforced Composite Solder Joints During Electromigration

Electromigration is a major reliability problem in composite solder joints. Due to the anisotropy of the beta-Sn crystal structure, the Sn grain orientations present in the solder matrix dominate the principal failure mechanism in solder joints under electric current stressing. In this work, the Cu6Sn5 growth behavior in Cu6Sn5-reinforced composite solder joints with three different Sn grain orientations was investigated at current density of 10(4) A/cm(2) at room temperature. Micron-sized Cu particles were added to Sn-3.5Ag solder at 2% volume fraction using an in situ method. After current stressing for 528 h, the polarity effect in the composite solder joint was greatest for an angle (theta) between the c-axis and electron flow direction of 30 degrees, resulting in higher growth rate of Cu6Sn5 in the solder matrix compared with composite solder joints with theta of 60 degrees or 90 degrees. There were no noticeable changes in the composite solder joint with theta of 90 degrees. The growth behavior of Cu6Sn5, Cu atomic motion, and Cu diffusivity in the composite solder joints with different Sn grain orientations were analyzed in detail.