Effect of surface finish on the fracture behavior of Sn–Ag–Cu solder joints during high-strain rate loading

This study assesses the reliability of eutectic Sn–Pb, Sn–1.0Ag–0.5Cu, Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu and Sn–4.0Ag–0.5Cu solder bumps on three different pad surface finishes (ENIG, electrolytic Ni/Au and Cu-OSP) with and without an aging treatment at 150 °C for 100 h. This study focused primarily on how the pad surface finish and solder alloy composition affects the reliability of solder joints using a high-speed ball pull test method. The fracture forces and failure mechanisms were also examined. The results showed that the electrolytic Ni/Au surface finish had the highest fracture forces for all four different solder alloys with and without the aging process.