Mechanical Properties and Solderability of Robust Sn-0.7Cu Lead-Free Composite Solder

Abstract

A composite solder with Sn-0.7Cu based solder was successfully fabricated via powder metallurgy routes which consist of mixing, compacting and sintering. Varying amount of activated carbon (AC) was used as reinforcement to obtain a novel lead-free composite solder. Following fabrication, the sintered composite solder was analyzed in terms of their microstructure, microhardness and solderability properties. The distribution of the various percentages of AC particles along the grain boundaries was observed. The addition of AC particles into the Sn-0.7Cu solder matrix has increased the hardness values up to 22.9%, while reducing the contact angle of composite solder up to 12.9% for a good wettability performance. As overall, addition of AC into Sn-0.7Cu based solder has indicated an enhancement of reliability performance of Sn-0.7Cu/AC composite solder for electronic application.