Hunt, C; Di Maio, D (2009) A test methodology for copper dissolution in lead-free alloys. In: Annual IPC International Conference for Electronic Board Design and Manufacture, and assembly (IPC APEX 2009)., 31 March - 2 April 2009, Las Vegas, USA.

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Lead-free selective soldering can result in extended times at high temperatures, which in turn can result in excessive dissolution of exposed copper, such as plated through holes. This phenomenon is more severe with lead-free, since the alloys have higher melting points, hence requiring longer times for the PTH to reach the higher temperatures, and the alloys typically have a greater capacity to dissolve copper.
This paper discusses a test method that characterises the dissolution rate of copper from PWBs. A PWB design was created that allowed the time for the dissolution of a copper pad to be measured. With this quantitative method a soldering process or an alloy can be characterised in terms of dissolution rates at specific conditions of temperature and flow rate. This methodology provided repeatable measurements that allowed the various experimental parameters to be isolated. Particular attention was paid at the flow rate of the molten solder. In fact, different alloys at the same temperature can have considerably different flow rates, due to the different viscosity at that temperature. The performances of seven lead-free alloys and a typical 60/40 Sn-Pb alloy were compared at three temperatures.
NPL worked with a number of partners using different alloys and copper types to measure the relative rate of copper dissolution. This work shows that some of the current alloy developments now offer superior performance to SnPb at the same temperature. Interestingly intermetallic formation between the alloy systems varies considerably. The copper type on the PWB is also influential, with significant differences between electroplated, electrodeposited and reverse treated.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)
Subjects:	Advanced Materials Advanced Materials > Electronics Interconnection
Last Modified:	02 Feb 2018 13:15
URI:	http://eprintspublications.npl.co.uk/id/eprint/4595

Actions (login required)

View Item