Comparative Study of the Sn-Ag and Sn-Zn Eutectic Solder Alloy

Abstract

The present work aimed at investigating the properties of Sn-Zn and Sn-Ag solder alloys and extensively focuses on the microstructure, thermal and mechanical properties. The compositions at their eutectic temperatures were weighed carefully in the weighing machine and were prepared after melting the binary system in the furnace at much higher temperatures than their respective eutectic temperatures. The microstructures of both the solder alloys were investigated using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and optical microscope. The composition and phase analysis of the solder alloys was done using Energy dispersive X- ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X- ray diffraction respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was carried out to find out the melting temperatures of the alloys. Fractography was done to find out the type of fracture under impact testing. Microhardness of the solder alloys were also found out and analysed. The wettability of the samples was observed under Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM) after soldering the alloys on the Copper circuit board. A thorough analysis was done after the experiments were conducted to find out a better solder alloy out of the two.