Effect of Indium Content on the Melting Point, Dross, and Oxidation Characteristics of Sn 2Ag 3Bi xIn Solders

Abstract

This paper presents the effect of indium (In) content on the melting temperature, wettabililty, dross formation, and oxidation characteristics of the Sn2Ag3BixIn alloy. The melting temperature of the Sn2Ag3BixIn alloy (2 ≤ x ≤ 6) was lower than 473 K. The melting range between the solidus and liquidus temperatures was approximately 20 K, irrespective of the indium content. As the indium content increased, the wetting time increased slightly and the maximum wetting force remained to be mostly constant. The dross formation decreased to approximately 50% when adding 1In to Sn2Ag3Bi, and no dross formation was observed in the case of Sn2Ag3BixIn alloy (x ≥ 1.5) at 523 K for 180 min. Upon approaching the inside of the oxidized solder of the Sn2Ag3Bi1.5In alloy from the surface, the O and In contents decreased and the Sn content increased based on depth profiling analysis using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The mechanism for restraining dross (Sn oxidation) of Sn2Ag3Bi alloy with addition of indium may be due to surface segregation of indium. This is due to the lower formation energy of indium oxide than those of Sn oxidation.