Abnormal accumulation of intermetallic compound at cathode in a SnAg_3.0Cu_0.5 lap joint during electromigration

Abstract

Interfacial reactions in a SnAg 3.0 Cu 0.5 /Cu lap joint for naked and encompassed specimens were investigated contrastively under electric current stressing. After applying a constant direct current at 6.5 A for 144 h, an abnormal accumulation of bulk Cu 6 Sn 5 intermetallic compound was found at the cathode for the naked specimen. But normal polarization phenomenon arose for the encompassed specimen at the same current density for 504 h. The abnormal accumulation phenomenon was explained by the mechanism that thermomigration and stress migration induced by temperature gradient dominated the migration process. A three-dimensional joint simulation model was designed to demonstrate how current crowding and temperature gradient can enhance the local atomic flux.