Confinement Effects on Evolution of Intermetallic Compounds During Metallurgical Joint Formation

In this work, we compare the microstructural evolution of Sn/Cu/Sn and Cu/Sn/Cu ‘sandwich’ configurations under metallurgical bonding conditions. These simulations are relevant in explaining experimental observations that suggest that the resulting dominant intermetallic compound in Cu-Sn systems depends on the relative supply of Cu and Sn. Through the analysis of morphological evolution and growth rate, it is shown that the Cu6Sn5 layer becomes dominant in the Sn/Cu/Sn structure, while the Cu/Sn/Cu structure is dominated by Cu3Sn after extended reaction periods.