skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: In situ visualization of metallurgical reactions in nanoscale Cu/Sn diffusion couples

Abstract

The Cu–Sn metallurgical soldering reaction in two-segmented Cu–Sn nanowires is visualized by in-situ transmission electron microscopy. By varying the relative lengths of Cu and Sn segments, we show that the metallurgical reaction starts at ~ 200 ° with the formation of a Cu–Sn solid solution for the Sn/Cu length ratio smaller than 1:5 while the formation of Cu–Sn intermetallic compounds (IMCs) for larger Sn/Cu length ratios. Upon heating the nanowires up to ~ 500 °C, two phase transformation pathways occur, η-Cu₆Sn₅ → ε-Cu₃Sn → δ-Cu₄₁Sn₁₁ for nanowires with a long Cu segment and η-Cu₆Sn₅ → ε-Cu₃Sn → γ-Cu₃Sn with a short Cu segment. The dynamic in situ TEM visualization of the evolution of Kirkendall voids demonstrates that Cu diffuses faster both in Sn and IMCs than that of Sn in Cu₃ and IMCs, which is the underlying cause of the dependence of the IMC formation and associated phase evolution on the relative lengths of the Cu and Sn segments.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [3]
  1. State Univ. of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY (United States)
  2. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
  3. Univ. of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1193240
Report Number(s):
BNL-108171-2015-JA
Journal ID: ISSN 2040-3364; NANOHL; KC040302
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC00112704
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nanoscale
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 7; Journal Issue: 11; Journal ID: ISSN 2040-3364
Publisher:
Royal Society of Chemistry
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Citation Formats

Yin, Qiyue, Stach, Eric A., Gao, Fan, Zhou, Guangwen, and Gu, Zhiyong. In situ visualization of metallurgical reactions in nanoscale Cu/Sn diffusion couples. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1039/c4nr06757f.
Yin, Qiyue, Stach, Eric A., Gao, Fan, Zhou, Guangwen, & Gu, Zhiyong. In situ visualization of metallurgical reactions in nanoscale Cu/Sn diffusion couples. United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/c4nr06757f
Yin, Qiyue, Stach, Eric A., Gao, Fan, Zhou, Guangwen, and Gu, Zhiyong. 2015. "In situ visualization of metallurgical reactions in nanoscale Cu/Sn diffusion couples". United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/c4nr06757f. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1193240.
@article{osti_1193240,
title = {In situ visualization of metallurgical reactions in nanoscale Cu/Sn diffusion couples},
author = {Yin, Qiyue and Stach, Eric A. and Gao, Fan and Zhou, Guangwen and Gu, Zhiyong},
abstractNote = {The Cu–Sn metallurgical soldering reaction in two-segmented Cu–Sn nanowires is visualized by in-situ transmission electron microscopy. By varying the relative lengths of Cu and Sn segments, we show that the metallurgical reaction starts at ~ 200 ° with the formation of a Cu–Sn solid solution for the Sn/Cu length ratio smaller than 1:5 while the formation of Cu–Sn intermetallic compounds (IMCs) for larger Sn/Cu length ratios. Upon heating the nanowires up to ~ 500 °C, two phase transformation pathways occur, η-Cu₆Sn₅ → ε-Cu₃Sn → δ-Cu₄₁Sn₁₁ for nanowires with a long Cu segment and η-Cu₆Sn₅ → ε-Cu₃Sn → γ-Cu₃Sn with a short Cu segment. The dynamic in situ TEM visualization of the evolution of Kirkendall voids demonstrates that Cu diffuses faster both in Sn and IMCs than that of Sn in Cu₃ and IMCs, which is the underlying cause of the dependence of the IMC formation and associated phase evolution on the relative lengths of the Cu and Sn segments.},
doi = {10.1039/c4nr06757f},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1193240}, journal = {Nanoscale},
issn = {2040-3364},
number = 11,
volume = 7,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Feb 10 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Tue Feb 10 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 26 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Eliminate Kirkendall voids in solder reactions on nanotwinned copper
journal, March 2013


Synthesis of Single Crystalline Tin Nanorods and Their Application as Nanosoldering Materials
journal, December 2010


Small particle melting of pure metals
journal, November 1986


Unidirectional Growth of Microbumps on (111)-Oriented and Nanotwinned Copper
journal, May 2012


Interfacial reaction of a Sn‐3.0Ag‐0.5Cu thin film during solder reflow
journal, February 2013


Size-dependent melting properties of tin nanoparticles
journal, October 2006


Characterization and solderability of cold sprayed Sn–Cu coatings on Al and Cu substrates
journal, January 2010


Recent advances of nanolead-free solder material for low processing temperature interconnect applications
journal, December 2013


Growth kinetic studies of Cu–Sn intermetallic compound and its effect on shear strength of LCCC SMT solder joints
journal, August 1998


Interfacial reactions between lead-free solders and common base materials
journal, March 2005


Interstitial Diffusion of Copper in Tin
journal, July 1967


Scallop formation and dissolution of Cu–Sn intermetallic compound during solder reflow
journal, March 2002


Intrinsic and Interdiffusion in Cu-Sn System
journal, May 2011


The Impact of Nanocontact on Nanowire Based Nanoelectronics
journal, October 2008


Effect of volume in interfacial reaction between eutectic Sn-3.5% Ag-0.5% Cu solder and Cu metallization in microelectronic packaging
journal, February 2005


Interfacial reaction in Cu/Sn/Cu system during the transient liquid phase soldering process
journal, February 2011


Interdiffusion and reaction in bimetallic Cu-Sn thin films
journal, April 1973


Growth of an intermetallic compound layer with Sn-3.5Ag-5Bi on Cu and Ni-P/Cu during aging treatment
journal, November 2003


On the mechanism of the binary Cu/Sn solder reaction
journal, January 2005


Microstructure and Interdiffusion of Template-Synthesized Au/Sn/Au Junction Nanowires
journal, July 2004


Solid state diffusion in Cu–Sn and Ni–Sn diffusion couples with flip-chip scale dimensions
journal, March 2007


A review: On the development of low melting temperature Pb-free solders
journal, June 2014


Wettability and interfacial reactions of Sn–Ag–Cu/Cu and Sn–Ag–Ni/Cu solder joints
journal, November 2009


The Cu-Sn (Copper-Tin) system
journal, June 1990


The Cu–Sn phase diagram part II: New thermodynamic assessment
journal, March 2013


Effect of Zn on the intermetallics formation and reliability of Sn-3.5Ag solder on a Cu pad
journal, July 2007


Size-Dependent Melting Properties of Small Tin Particles: Nanocalorimetric Measurements
journal, July 1996


Effect of thermal aging on the interfacial structure of SnAgCu solder joints on Cu
journal, December 2007


Lead-free Sn-Ag and Sn-Ag-Bi solder powders prepared by mechanical alloying
journal, April 2003


Fast Diffusion and Void Formation in a Two-Segment Copper-Tin Lead-Free Nanowire System with One-Dimensional Confinement
journal, August 2012


Bottom-up Nanoconstruction by the Welding of Individual Metallic Nanoobjects Using Nanoscale Solder
journal, January 2009


Development of Cu–Sn intermetallic compound at Pb-free solder/Cu joint interface
journal, July 2003


Abnormal Cu3Sn Growth and Kirkendall Formation Between Sn and (111) and (220) Preferred-Orientation Cu Substrates
journal, January 2011


Kinetics of the η–η′ transformation in Cu6Sn5
journal, November 2011


Synthesis, Characterization, and Thermal Properties of Nanoscale Lead-Free Solders on Multisegmented Metal Nanowires
journal, May 2009


Works referencing / citing this record:

Rapid Formation of Kinetically Sprayed Cu-Sn Intermetallic Film
journal, October 2019


In situ imaging of the soldering reactions in nanoscale Cu/Sn/Cu and Sn/Cu/Sn diffusion couples
journal, January 2018