Thermal aging impact on microstructure, creep and corrosion behavior of lead-free solder alloy (SAC387) use in electronics

Abstract This study aims to investigate the effects of thermal aging on microstructure changes, creep behavior, and corrosion properties of 95.5 wt%-Sn, 3.8 wt%-Ag, 0.7 wt%-Cu (also known as SAC387) solder alloy. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to investigate the grain size, size of Intermetallic Compounds (IMCs) and growth rate, dispersion, and composition of SAC387. The creep and corrosion behaviors of SAC387 were also studied in detail. The results indicate that the increase in the thermal aging temperature of the material results in the fine and planar structures of IMCs. The creep test results showed that the alloy samples ruptured rapidly at a higher thermal aging temperature under the same load as compared to the lower thermal aging environmental temperature. It was also shown in the corrosion tests that thermal aging does affect the corrosion of the samples significantly.