A study of temperature, microstructure and hardness properties of Sn- 3.8Ag-0.7Cu (SAC) solder alloy

Abstract

Solder alloys are one of the most crucial aspect linking the electrical components to the printed circuit board PCB substrate. Thus, producing a good solder is a must to say in electronic industries. Among major functions of solder alloys are to provide beneficial properties in melting, microstructure and mechanical strand. In this aspect, the Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu (SAC) solder alloys are recommended as potential candidate to assure these benefits. In this study, the solder possesses melting temperature of, TM=227C which is below the desired soldering temperature, TM=250C. Besides, this SAC solder produces well-defined microstructures with Sn-matrix and eutectic phase consisting Cu6Sn5 and Ag3Sn displayed from SEM image, contributes in harvesting good mechanical properties. The SAC solder also provides a high hardness value with an average of 14.4Hv for Vickers hardness. All these results seem to satisfy the need of a viable solder alloy.