Correlation between interfacial reactions and mechanical strengths of Sn(Cu)/Ni(P) solder bumps

The correlation between interfacial reactions and mechanical strengths of Sn(Cu)/Ni(P) solder bumps has been studied. Upon solid-state aging, a diffusion-controlled process was observed for the interfacial Ni-Sn compound formation of the Sn/Ni(P) reaction couple and the activation energy is calculated to be 42 KJ/mol. For the Sn0.7Cu/Ni(P), in the initial aging, a needle-shaped Ni-Sn compound layer formed on Ni(P). Then, it was gradually covered by a layer of the Cu-Sn compound in the later aging process. Hence, a mixture layer of Ni-Sn and Cu-Sn compounds formed at the interface. For the Sn3.0Cu/Ni(P), a thick Cu-Sn compound layer quickly formed on Ni(P), which retarded the Ni-Sn compound formation and resulted in a distinct Cu-Sn compound/Ni(P) interface. The shear test results show that the mixture interface of Sn0.7Cu bumps have fair shear strengths against the aging process. In contrast, the distinct Cu-Sn/Ni(P) interface of Sn3.0Cu solder bumps is relatively weak and exhibits poor resistance against the aging process. Upon the reflowing process, the gap formation at the Ni(P)/Cu interface caused a fast degradation in the interfacial strength for Sn solder bumps. For Sn0.7Cu and Sn3.0Cu solder bumps, Ni3P formation was greatly retarded by the self-formed Cu-Sn compound layer. Therefore, Sn(Cu) solder bumps show better shear strengths over the Sn solder bump.