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Title: Fluxless soldering of Ni--Au plated Kovar with a laser

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5595991

Typical soldering processes use reactive fluxes to promote wetting. Most flux residues left after soldering must be removed with halogenated or CFC solvents. Recent legislation has mandated the reduction or elimination of the use of these solvents. There has consequently been a significant effort to develop alternative, environmentally conscious manufacturing technologies that will satisfy this objective. We are currently characterizing and developing a fluxless laser soldering process that will hermetically join Ni-Au electroplated Kovar lids and base plates. A test matrix was designed to investigate the effects of laser heating, joint design, and base/filler metal interactions on achieving fluxless soldering with a 100 watt CW Nd:YAG laser. Two solder alloys, 80In-15Pb-5Ag and 63SN-37Pb (wt. %), were used. Satisfactory solder joints were produced with both solder alloys, although the SnPb alloy gave relatively better wetting. Wetting generally increased with increasing laser power, decreasing beam spot size, and decreasing travel speed. The effects of the laser and processing parameters on fluxless soldering will be discussed. 9 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
5595991
Report Number(s):
SAND-90-3007C; CONF-910406-13; ON: DE91013261
Resource Relation:
Conference: Spring meeting of the Materials Research Society (MRS), Anaheim, CA (USA), 29 Apr - 3 May 1991
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English