Study of electromigration in Sn-Ag-Cu micro solder joint with Ni interfacial layer

Abstract This paper reports the extreme sensitivity of the microstructure evolution in Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) micro-solder joint, consisting of 15–20 µm thick solder alloy and electrolytic Ni plated Cu electrodes, to electromigration (EM) conditions resulting from a kinetic competition between the growth of Ni3Sn4 intermetallic compound (IMC) and EM of Sn in solder matrix. Microstructural analysis of samples tested at various conditions reveals that the voiding in the solder joint develops to the full extent only when the EM rate of Sn in the solder alloy is sufficiently greater than the growth rate of Ni3Sn4 IMC because the IMC phase is EM-inactive. The decisive evidence for such behavior is found from the samples tested at 160 and 170 °C under 35 kA/cm2. The samples tested at 170 °C show the classic solder joint microstructure that typically develops under the influence of EM, that is the exaggerated growth of Ni3Sn4 at the anode as a result of Ni-EM and voids at the cathode interface of the joint as a result of Sn-EM. Contrarily, such characteristic features are not found in samples tested at 160 °C, instead, the joint is fully converted to Ni3Sn4 without sign of its biased growth and voiding activities. The near absence of biased EM microstructure at 160 °C is believed to result from the stress-gradient developed by Sn EM counteracting the EM force on Ni. No such effect is at work at higher temperatures due to the significantly higher initial Sn EM rate which leads to voids and reduces the stress gradient.