Joining of electronic components onto the circuit boards is done by soldering operation, during production of all electronic devices. In many countries, including Turkey, traditionally used tin-lead (Sn-Pb) solder alloys have been restricted to be used in consumer electronics appliances because of the toxic effects of lead (Pb) within these alloys. Tin-silver-copper (Sn-Ag-Cu) based alloys have been developed as the most promising candidate that can replace the Sn-Pb alloys. However, various problems have emerged with the increasing trend in use of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys in electronics industry, namely large intermetallic compound formation, low wettability and thermal shock resistance. Many researches have been done in the past decade to overcome these problems. The solutions are based on changing the undercooling of the solder alloy / which was determined to be done by either changing the composition of the solder alloy by micro-alloying or changing the cooling rate during soldering operation. In this thesis study Sn-3.5Ag-0.9Cu (wt. %) lead-free solder having the eutectic composition, was micro-alloyed with additions of aluminum (Al), iron (Fe) and titanium (Ti). Experimental results were compared with commercially available near-eutectic Sn-40Pb (wt. %) solder, a commercially available Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (wt. %) solder and also eutectic Sn-3.5Ag.0.9Cu (wt. %) and near-eutectic Sn-3.7Ag-0.9Cu (wt. %) solders that were produced for this thesis study. In the first stage of the study, the effects of 0.05 wt. % of Al, Fe and Ti micro-alloying were investigated. When preliminary results of mechanical and thermal test were compared, Fe was found to make positive effect on shear strength and undercooling. Further research was carried out to establish a relationship between the Fe compositions and solder properties. Therefore, 0.01, 0.03, 0.07 and 0.1 wt. % Fe additions were also studied and results were reported. 0.01 wt. % and 0.07 wt. % Fe added solders were found to have a smaller undercooling, resulting with dispersed intermetallic compound (IMC) and thus has highest shear strength. Different cooling rates / 0.017, 0.17 and 1.7 &deg / C/sec were applied to solder-copper joints and microstructures were investigated. Large IMC-free microstructure was achieved by 0.01 wt. % Fe micro-alloyed solder, which was cooled with 1.7 &deg / C/sec rate. Wetting of copper substrate was found to be improved by additions of Al, Fe and Ti compared to alloy with eutectic composition of Sn-Ag-Cu alloy. Selected SAC+X alloys have been subjected to thermal shock experiments for crack formation analysis on the copper substrate-solder joints. The results showed that SAC+0.05Al solder has the higher thermal shock resistance, which no cracks were observed after 1500 cycles of thermal shock. In order to understand the insights of SAC performance, some of the lead-free solders were applied onto printed circuit boards for thermal shock resistance test. These results have indicate that the cracking may occur after thermal shock cycles due to process conditions of soldering operation (i.e. cooing rate), independent of the solder alloy composition.

The disturbed state concept (DSC) based constitutive model is the focus of this research. It is applied for characterizing two problems; thermomechanical reliability analysis of electronic packages, and prediction of glacial motion. A new procedure for construction of static yield surface for materials is proposed. Further, a modified DSC model to include effect of rate of loading on material behavior is proposed.The DSC is applied to characterize the behavior of Sn-3.9Ag-0.6Cu (SAC) lead free solder alloy used in electronic packages. Proposed procedure of construction of static curve and rate dependent DSC model is applied for prediction of creep and rate dependent behavior of the SAC alloy. Laboratory test data is adopted from the literature and material parameters are determined. The DSC model is validated using the derived material parameters. A finite element analysis of the BGA 225 package is performed under cyclic thermomechanical loading. Analysis results are compared with available test data. A failure criterion for prediction of number of cycles to failure for BGA 225 is then derived.The second application of DSC discussed in this work is prediction of glacial motion. Mechanical behavior of glacial till and its contribution to overall ice movement is characterized using DSC. Two regionally significant tills are chosen and samples are collected from field. A series of laboratory tests are conducted on samples. Tests results are used for model calibration and validation. A numerical simulation of an idealized ice - till system under gravity loading is performed. Two such analyses are performed with DSC and Mohr Coulomb models and the results are compared.The DSC predicts failure when a significant portion of the material reaches a critical disturbance whereas the Mohr Coulomb model predicts failure based on peak stress. DSC predicts a gradual progression to failure whereas the Mohr Coulomb model predicts early catastrophic failure. According to DSC, the material undergoes considerable plastic strains before it reaches failure whereas the Mohr Coulomb predicts failure at very low elastic strains. In general the DSC is considered to provide a more realistic and general constitutive model for glacial tills.

The objective of this study is to understand the effect of surface roughness of the Cu substrate on the wetting of molten solder alloys. Eutectic Sn-Pb, pure Sn and eutectic Sn-Cu solder alloys and Cu substrates with different surface finish viz., highly polished surface, polished surface and unpolished surface were used in this work. Highly polished surface was prepared in Metallography lab, University of Kentucky while other two substrates were obtained from a vendor. Surface roughness properties of each substrate were measured using an optical profilometer. Highly polished surface was found to be of least surface roughness, while unpolished surface was the roughest. Hot-stage microscopy experiments were conducted to promote the wetting behavior of each solder on different Cu substrates. Still digital images extracted from the movies of spreading recorded during hot-stage experiments were analyzed and data was used to generate the plots of relative area of spread of solder versus time. The study of plots showed that surface roughness of the Cu substrate had major influence on spreading characteristics of eutectic Sn-Pb solder alloy. Solder showed better spreading on the Cu substrate with least surface roughness than the substrates with more roughness. No significant influence of surface roughness was observed on the wetting behavior of lead free solders (pure Sn and eutectic Sn-Cu).

Abstract Low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) based system-in-package (SiP) is an emerging multilayer module technology for wireless communication applications, mainly due to its excellent high-frequency material properties. LTCC-SiP modules are typically soldered onto an organic motherboard, but the lifetime of the 2nd-level solder joints is often poor due to the high stress level of the joints in test/field conditions. Moreover, using lead-free solders in the interconnections of LTCC modules raised new questions about the feasibility and reliability of the solder joints in LTCC applications. Therefore, the characteristic features of the 2nd-level solder joint configuration were determined in this thesis work. It was proved that collapsible Sn4Ag0.5Cu spheres are not a feasible option in LTCC/PWB assemblies with a large global thermal mismatch; a non-collapsible ball grid array (BGA) joint with a plastic core solder balls (PCSBs) was required to attain an adequate lifetime for such assemblies. To enhance the thermal fatigue endurance of the non-collapsible lead-free joints, a novel BGA joint consisting of Sn7In4.1Ag0.5Cu solder and PCSBs was developed. Moreover, this work proved that there is a relationship between the primary failure mechanisms of various Sn-based lead-free solders and thermomechanically induced stress level in the present non-collapsible BGA joint configuration. The effect of the plating material of the solder lands on the failure mechanism of the BGA joints in the LTCC/PWB assemblies was studied. The results showed that the adverse phenomena related to the sintered Ag-based metallization materials can be avoided using electroless nickel with immersion gold (ENIG) as a deposit material. On the other hand, this study also demonstrated that the inadequate adhesion strength of the commercial base metallization in the ENIG-plated modules resulted in the disadvantageous failure mechanism of the test assemblies. Therefore, the criteria for material selection and the design aspects of reliable 2nd-level interconnections are discussed thoroughly in this thesis.

This research work is dealing with impact and size of the thermoelectric that may influence DC circuits. Main part of this thesis is to build experimental equipment for measurement of the thermoelectric and following usage this equipment for detection of the size the thermoelectric voltage for lead and lead-free solders. The theoretical part of this work deals with creation and usage of the thermoelectric in electrical engineering industry. In this particular part of this work is an example how the thermoelectric influence DC circuits. Then I describe thermoelectric generation from the motherboard to the die. The practical part of this thesis is focused on the development of the equipment for measuring of the thermoelectric of different types of materials. The Thermoelectric has been measured on two types of the lead, six types lead-free solders and on four types of the thermocouple wires. It has been measured within the range from 0°C to 80°C. In the end of this work is summary, where is reviewed witch of solders is the best for an applications affected by the thermoelectric.

These thesis deals with electromigration in solder joint. In theoretical part are described lead-free solders, surface finish, formation of solder joint, intermetallic compounds a electromigration. In practical part is investigated a effect of electromigration on growth intermetallic compounds in solder jsoint.

This research aims to understand the reliability of Sn-Ag-Cu solder interconnects used in plastic ball grid array (PBGA) packages using microstructure evolution, laser moiré interferometry and finite-element modeling. A particle coarsening based microstructure evolution of the solder joint material during thermal excursions was studied for extended periods of time lasting for several months. The microstructure evolution and particle coarsening was quantified, and acceleration factors were determined between benign field-use conditions and accelerated thermal cycling (ATC) conditions for PBGA packages with different form factors and for two different lead-free solder alloys. A new technique using laser moiré interferometry was developed to assess the deformation behavior of Sn-Ag-Cu based solder joints during thermal excursions. This technique can used to estimate the fatigue life of solder joints quickly in a matter of few days instead of months and can be extended to cover a wide range of temperature regimes. Finite-element analysis (FEA) in conjunction with experimental data from the ATC for different lead-free PBGA packages was used to develop a fatigue life model that can be used to predict solder joint fatigue life for any PBGA package. The proposed model will be able to predict the mean number of cycles required for crack initiation and crack growth rate in a solder joint.

The European legislation prohibits the use of lead containing solders in Europe. However, lead free solders have a higher melting point (typical 20%) and their mechanical characteristics are worse. Additional problems are aging and adhesion of the solder on the electronic circuits. Thus, research activities must focus on the optimization of the properties of Sn-Ag-Cu based lead free solders chosen by the industry. Two main objectives are treated in this work. In the center of the first one is the study of curious hysteresis effects of metallic cadmium-antimony alloys after thermal cycles by measuring electronic transport phenomena (thermoelectric power and electrical resistivity). The second objective, within the framework of “cotutelle” between the universities of Metz and of Chemnitz and supported by COST531, is to study more specifically lead free solders. A welding must well conduct electricity and well conduct and dissipate heat. In Metz, we determined the electrical conductivity, the thermoelectric power and the thermal conductivity of various lead free solders (Sn-Ag-Cu, Sn-Cu, Sn-Ag, Sn-Sb) as well in the liquid as well in the solid state. The results have been compared to classical lead-tin (Pb-Sn) solders. In Chemnitz we measured the surface tension, the interfacial tension and the density of lead free solders. We also measured the viscosity of these solders without and with additives, in particular nickel. These properties were related to the industrial problems of wettability and spreadability. Lastly, we solidified alloys under various conditions. We observed undercooling. We developed a technique of mixture of nanocristalline powder with lead free solders "to sow" the liquid bath in order to obtain "different" solids which were examined using optical and electron microscopy. / Die europäische Gesetzgebung verbietet die Benutzung von Lötmitteln, die Blei enthalten. Bleilose Lote haben aber einen höheren Schmelzpunkt (typisch 20%) und ihre mechanischen Eigenschaften sind schlechter. Zusätzliche Probleme sind das Alterungsverhalten und das Haftvermögen des Lots an den Leiterbahnen. Daher müssen sich Forschungsaktivitäten auf die Optimierung der Eigenschaften von bleifreien Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) Loten konzentrieren, die von der Industrie gewählt wurden. Zwei Hauptgebiete werden in dieser Arbeit bearbeitet. Im Zentrum des Ersten stehen seltsame Hysterese-Effekte von metallischen Kadmium- Antimon Legierungen bei thermischen Zyklen, wobei Transporteigenschaften wie die thermoelektrische Kraft und der elektrische Widerstand untersucht werden. Die zweite Aktivität, die in einer Kooperation der Universitäten Metz und Chemnitz (cotutelle) bearbeitet und die durch COST531 unterstützt wird, besteht in der detaillierten Erforschung des Lötprozesses ohne Blei. Eine Lötverbindung muß den Strom gut führen und die Wärme gut ableiten. In Metz haben wir die elektrische Leitfähigkeit, die thermoelektrische Kraft und das Wärmeleitvermögen bestimmt für verschiedene bleilose Lote (Sn-Ag-Cu, Sn-Cu, Sn-Ag, Sn-Sb), sowohl im flüssigen als auch festen Zustand. Die Ergebnisse wurden mit dem klassischen bleihaltigen Lötzinn (Sn-Pb) verglichen. In Chemnitz haben wir die Oberflächen- und Grenzflächenspannung und die Dichte bleifreier Lote gemessen. Ebenfalls wurde die Viskosität dieser Lote ohne und mit Zusätzen (insbesondere Nickel) gemessen. Diese Eigenschaften wurden in Beziehung gesetzt zu den industriellen Problemen der Benetzbarkeit und des Fließverhaltens. Schließlich haben wir Legierungen unter verschiedenen Bedingungen verfestigt. Wir haben Unterkühlung beobachtet. Wir haben eine Technik entwickelt, basierend auf einer Mischung von Lot mit Pulver. Durch "Einsäen" von Nanokristallen in das flüssige Bad erhielten wir "verschiedene" Festkörper, die mit optischer und Elektronenmikroskopie untersucht wurden.

The European legislation prohibits the use of lead containing solders in Europe. However, lead free solders have a higher melting point (typical 20%) and their mechanical characteristics are worse. Additional problems are aging and adhesion of the solder on the electronic circuits. Thus, research activities must focus on the optimization of the properties of Sn-Ag-Cu based lead free solders chosen by the industry. Two main objectives are treated in this work. In the center of the first one is the study of curious hysteresis effects of metallic cadmium-antimony alloys after thermal cycles by measuring electronic transport phenomena (thermoelectric power and electrical resistivity). The second objective, within the framework of “cotutelle” between the universities of Metz and of Chemnitz and supported by COST531, is to study more specifically lead free solders. A welding must well conduct electricity and well conduct and dissipate heat. In Metz, we determined the electrical conductivity, the thermoelectric power and the thermal conductivity of various lead free solders (Sn-Ag-Cu, Sn-Cu, Sn-Ag, Sn-Sb) as well in the liquid as well in the solid state. The results have been compared to classical lead-tin (Pb-Sn) solders. In Chemnitz we measured the surface tension, the interfacial tension and the density of lead free solders. We also measured the viscosity of these solders without and with additives, in particular nickel. These properties were related to the industrial problems of wettability and spreadability. Lastly, we solidified alloys under various conditions. We observed undercooling. We developed a technique of mixture of nanocristalline powder with lead free solders "to sow" the liquid bath in order to obtain "different" solids which were examined using optical and electron microscopy. / Die europäische Gesetzgebung verbietet die Benutzung von Lötmitteln, die Blei enthalten. Bleilose Lote haben aber einen höheren Schmelzpunkt (typisch 20%) und ihre mechanischen Eigenschaften sind schlechter. Zusätzliche Probleme sind das Alterungsverhalten und das Haftvermögen des Lots an den Leiterbahnen. Daher müssen sich Forschungsaktivitäten auf die Optimierung der Eigenschaften von bleifreien Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) Loten konzentrieren, die von der Industrie gewählt wurden. Zwei Hauptgebiete werden in dieser Arbeit bearbeitet. Im Zentrum des Ersten stehen seltsame Hysterese-Effekte von metallischen Kadmium- Antimon Legierungen bei thermischen Zyklen, wobei Transporteigenschaften wie die thermoelektrische Kraft und der elektrische Widerstand untersucht werden. Die zweite Aktivität, die in einer Kooperation der Universitäten Metz und Chemnitz (cotutelle) bearbeitet und die durch COST531 unterstützt wird, besteht in der detaillierten Erforschung des Lötprozesses ohne Blei. Eine Lötverbindung muß den Strom gut führen und die Wärme gut ableiten. In Metz haben wir die elektrische Leitfähigkeit, die thermoelektrische Kraft und das Wärmeleitvermögen bestimmt für verschiedene bleilose Lote (Sn-Ag-Cu, Sn-Cu, Sn-Ag, Sn-Sb), sowohl im flüssigen als auch festen Zustand. Die Ergebnisse wurden mit dem klassischen bleihaltigen Lötzinn (Sn-Pb) verglichen. In Chemnitz haben wir die Oberflächen- und Grenzflächenspannung und die Dichte bleifreier Lote gemessen. Ebenfalls wurde die Viskosität dieser Lote ohne und mit Zusätzen (insbesondere Nickel) gemessen. Diese Eigenschaften wurden in Beziehung gesetzt zu den industriellen Problemen der Benetzbarkeit und des Fließverhaltens. Schließlich haben wir Legierungen unter verschiedenen Bedingungen verfestigt. Wir haben Unterkühlung beobachtet. Wir haben eine Technik entwickelt, basierend auf einer Mischung von Lot mit Pulver. Durch "Einsäen" von Nanokristallen in das flüssige Bad erhielten wir "verschiedene" Festkörper, die mit optischer und Elektronenmikroskopie untersucht wurden.