The Interaction of Sn-Ga Alloys and Au Coated Cu Substrates

Abstract

Ga and Ga-based alloys appear to be promising materials for low temperature soldering in microelectronics. This research involved an analysis of the joint interfaces that resulted from reactions between a eutectic Ga-Sn alloy and Au coated Cu substrates at both room temperature and 100°C. At both temperatures the intermetallic CuGa2 accounted for the majority of the interfacial microstructure. This study has shown the possibility of using eutectic Ga-Sn alloys in low temperature soldering applications, as well as the advantages of Synchrotron XFM techniques in characterising trace element distributions in solder joints.