Melt Solder Wettability and Erosion of Ceramics Soldering Tips

Recently, the use of soldering tips using Pb-free solder has caused problems because the Nickel- or Iron-plating layer on the soldering tip is easily eroded by the Pb-free solder. Therefore, solder tips with higher solder erosion resistance and wettability are required.   In this study, Al2O3 ceramic soldering tips with various additional components were fabricated by hot press sintering and their properties were investigated with the aim of developing soldering tips with higher solder wettability and erosion resistance. The solder wettability of Al2O3/metal composite could be improved by added nickel or iron at about 80 mass%. However, the Vickers hardness (Hv) of Al2O3/metal composite decreased to about 400 with the addition of Ni at about 80 mass%.