Nanoparticles of SnAgCu lead-free solder alloy with an equivalent melting temperature of SnPb solder alloy

摘要

Nanoparticles were prepared with a consumable-electrode direct current arc (CDCA) technique. The results showed that the calorimetric melting onset temperature of the nanoparticles of SnAgCu solder alloy could be as low as 179 deg C, equivalent to that of the traditionally used SnPb eutectic alloy (183 deg C). Moreover, the homogenous melting model (HMM) and Gibbs-Thomson equation were employed to theoretically estimate the size-dependent melting temperature of the as-prepared nanoparticles. The structure and morphology of the nanoparticles were analyzed with a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The CDCA technique showed promising prospect in manufacturing large amounts of nanoparticles with controlled shape, small size, narrow particle size distribution and nearly oxide-free composition. This undoubtedly puts forward a novel feasible approach to manufacture high quality lead-free solders for electronic products.