The Role of Silver in Mitigation of Whisker Formation on Thin Tin Films

Stein, Jendrik; Rehm, S.; Welzel, U.; Huegel, W.; Mittemeijer, E. J.

doi:10.1007/s11664-014-3328-6

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 32 publications

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“…A similar coarsening phenomenon has been observed in Sn-Ag films. 51 Such a coarsening effect is consistent with observations that matte pure-Sn with coarser grain structure, where wedge-type IMCs at grain boundaries are further apart and hence lower stress generation, is less prone to whiskers than bright Sn with fine grain structure. Finally, the effect of Pb may manifest in the form of smaller and more uniformly distributed IMC at the substrate interface, as observed in Refs.…”

Section: Why Do Whiskers Grow?supporting

confidence: 88%

Recent Advances in Mitigation of Whiskers from Electroplated Tin

Majumdar

Dutta

Bhassyvasantha

et al. 2019

JOM

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Tin whiskers pose an electrical reliability risk in the form of potential short circuits. This problem was solved in the past by adding a few percent of Pb during Sn electroplating, but with the ban on Pb in Europe and elsewhere, it has resurfaced. While various mitigation strategies have been formulated based on known whisker growth mechanisms, the electronic industry is still awaiting a satisfactory solution to the whisker growth problem in Pb-free electronics. Recent advances in the understanding and mitigation of whiskers are reviewed herein. The effects of various alloying elements/dopants are discussed in terms of the mechanisms that impact whisker growth kinetics and mitigation. Most recently, indium addition to Sn has been found to eliminate whiskers with even better mitigation performance than Pb addition. The mechanisms are discussed, and the important role of indium on the surface oxide and subsurface enrichment is highlighted.

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Section: Why Do Whiskers Grow?supporting

confidence: 88%