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Impact of Thermal Aging on the Intermetallic Compound Particle Size and

Mechanical Properties of Lead Free Solder For Green Electronics

Article  in  Microelectronics Reliability · September 2017

DOI: 10.1016/j.microrel.2017.09.022

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 Microelectronics Reliability 78 (2017) 311–318

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Microelectronics Reliability

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/microrel

Impact of thermal aging on the intermetallic compound particle size and

mechanical properties of lead free solder for green electronics
Muhammad Aamir a,⁎, Riaz Muhammad a, Naseer Ahmed a, Muhammad Waqas b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, CECOS University of IT & Emerging Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan
b
Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 lead free solder (LFS) alloy is mostly used as good alternative as compared to conventional Tin-
Received 29 April 2017 Lead (Sn-Pb) due to its good mechanical properties and no harmful effect on environment but it stills has some
Received in revised form 18 September 2017 problems to be solved regarding the growth formation of intermetallic compounds (IMCs). The IMCs present in-
Accepted 20 September 2017
side the bulk tin (Sn) matrix grow at high temperature and hence their impact on mechanical properties becomes
Available online xxxx
more significant. In this work the effects of lanthanum (La) doping of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 is investigated as function of
Keywords:
IMCs growth and mechanical properties including yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) under
Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 different thermal aging temperatures. The selected La concentration in this study is 0.4 wt%. The aging time is
Rare-earth element 50 h and thermal aging temperatures are 60 °C, 100 °C and 140 °C. The microstructure examination before and
Intermetallic compound particles after thermal aging is observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) followed by image analysis to estimate
Mechanical properties the nature of IMCs. The chemical composition is confirmed with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The YS and UTS
Mathematical relations are also examined before and after thermal aging for the un-doped and doped samples from stress-strain curves
using universal testing machine (UTM). It is investigated that inclusion of 0.4 wt% La into Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 solder
system results in increasing the IMCs growth rate and hence mechanical properties reduced. It is also observed
that the microstructure becomes coarsen after thermal aging due to growth of average IMCs particle size with
significant decrease in YS and UTS. Further, mathematical relations with minimum error are developed to predict
mechanical properties (YS and UTS) at various levels of aging temperature, showing a reciprocal relationship
between aging temperature and mechanical properties.
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction than Pb bearing solders [6], in which Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 is considered to be

Electronics has made life easier, as it has its wings in every field of
science and is playing an important role in our daily life [1]. In electronic
industries, solder joints are normally used to physically hold assemblies
together, transmit electrical signals and make mechanical bond that
connect the component to substrate [2]. The most commonly used sol-
der joint alloy in electronics assembly is the Sn63-Pb37 due to its low
melting temperature, good wettability and wide range availability
with low cost and as good reliable solder alloy in electronic manufactur-
ing for many years [3] but due to the negative impact of Pb on environ-
ment and low recycling rate of electronics, it got restriction in its
utilization through legislation [4]. Therefore, several academic and
industrial groups have developed different lead free solders (LFSs) to
migrate towards green electronics. Among all, the most acceptable
and popular is the Sn-Ag-Cu series [5] due to its good thermal fatigue
properties, acceptable wetting properties and better joint strength
⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Mechanical Engineering, CECOS University of
IT & Emerging Sciences, F-5, Phase-6, Hayatabad, Peshawar, Pakistan.
E-mail address: aamir@cecos.edu.pk (M. Aamir).
the best family member of the Sn-Ag-Cu series but it stills has some
problems to be solved regarding the growth formation of IMCs [7].
The formation of thin layer of IMCs between solder and conductive
metals is necessary for metallurgical bonding but the reliability of the
solder joint is reduced when these IMCs become too thick due to their
ability towards structural defects because of its brittle nature [1,8,9].
Therefore, excessive growth of IMCs is responsible for deterioration of
solder joint, thermal fatigue life and fracture toughness of the solder
joint [8]. The prolonged exposure to high thermal environment also re-
sults in increased thickness of IMCs because thermal aging is responsible
for reduction in strength due to change in microstructure particularly
the IMCs that can be considered as the life of any soldered joint after
prolong exposure of the material at elevated temperature [10].
Solder connections also become under mechanical stresses and
strains when an electronic device is in use due to the differences
between the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the electronic
components and the board to which the components are soldered
[11]. The on and off switching of the system is also responsible for cyclic
thermo-mechanical load [12]. In addition, when exposed to high
temperature during services, solder assemblies are subjected to tensile

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microrel.2017.09.022
0026-2714/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
312 M. Aamir et al. / Microelectronics Reliability 78 (2017) 311–318
Fig. 1. Die for casting.
loading. Therefore, mechanical properties like yield strength (YS) and
ultimate tensile strength (UTS) become very important in determining
the maximum extend of tensile deformation which the solder joint
can sustain before failure [13].
In order to overcome these shortcomings, and further enhance the
properties of Sn-Ag-Cu solders, many researchers choose to add a series
of alloying elements including indium [14], titanium [15,16], manga-
nese [15], iron [14], zinc [17], bismuth [18], nickel [19,20], antimony
[21,22], gallium [23], aluminum [24] and nanoparticles such as alumi-
num nanoparticles [25], cobalt nanoparticles [26], aluminum oxide
nanoparticles [27], titanium oxide nanoparticles [28], cerium oxide
nanoparticles [29], nickel coated carbon nanotubes [30], single-wall
Fig. 2. Geometry of solder specimen.
carbon nanotubes [31], grapheme nanosheets [32] and Ni-coated
graphene nanosheets [33] to the Sn-Ag-Cu solders.
However, rare earth (RE) elements have been regarded as the vita-
min of metals and addition of small quantity of RE elements may bring
down the rate of formation of the IMCs by changing the diffusion coeffi-
cient [34]. Several studies [35–42] have been conducted to find the
effect of RE doping in solder alloys. These studies demonstrate that RE
doping can significantly increase the improve properties of the solder,
it can also reduce IMCs particle size and their growth on solder/pad in-
terfaces, and thus greatly increase the solder joint reliability. Among
all RE supplements, La has been considered to be the best additive due
to their lower cost, wide availability and low melting point as compare
to the other RE elements [34] but proper care is necessary in its concen-
tration as greater concentration has adverse effect on the properties of
the bulk solder [43].
Literature showed that Pei and Qu [44] conducted extensive testing to
study the impact of La inclusion on creep and fatigue behavior of Sn-Ag
alloy and concluded that La doping enhance the fatigue life by about
five times. Furthermore, the optimized level of doping for better fatigue
performance is around 0.1%. In another study of Pei and Qu [45], quanti-
tative microstructure studies are performed to inspect the effect of La due
to thermal aging for eutectic Sn-Ag3.5 alloy. It is also articled that La addi-
tion (0.05, 0.1 and 0.25) wt% reduces the grain size remarkably and the
new size remains stable during thermal aging. Another observation is
that the interparticle spacing remains unaffected by the doping. There-
fore, higher La doping level leads to higher volume fraction of the eutectic
Table 1
Selected Sn-Ag-Cu compositions.
Sn (wt%) Ag (wt%) Cu (wt%) La (wt%)
96.5 3.0 0.5 0
96.1 3.0 0.5 0.4
 M. Aamir et al. / Microelectronics Reliability 78 (2017) 311–318
Fig. 3. SEM images of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 at various magnifications.
region due to the increased total number of Ag3Sn particles. However, in-
formation regarding composition about higher La doping is missing.
Yasmin et al. [46] suggested the same findings about reduction of
IMCs particle size due to La doping (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5) wt%, which con-
trolled the growth of IMCs particle after thermal aging (60 h at 100 °C
and 120 h at 120 °C). It is further concluded that grain size is reduced
and kept stable during thermal aging. Their candidate alloy was Sn-
Ag3.0-Cu0.5 and no information is given about the optimized La supple-
ment in conclusion.
Ali, 2015 [47] also reported effects of La inclusion (0.3 and 0.6) wt%
in Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 and concluded that an appropriate La doping reduced
the grain size and significantly restricted IMCs growth at elevated
temperatures, thus by refining the microstructure. A good improvement
in yield stress and tensile strength is also recorded. In addition, the in-
vestigations claimed that the set of properties found is better than
those reported from any other previous study. Further, an optimum La
doping concentration in Sn-Ag-Cu is found to be 0.3 wt%, however, the
optimal value is articled for ductility.
Therefore, the current work includes the study of 0.4 wt% La inclu-
sions on the microstructure evolution of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 in terms of
IMCs particle size in the bulk solder to thermal aging at different levels
of temperature and evaluation of mechanical properties of LFS alloys
for the application of green electronics.
2. Material and methods
The samples of Pure Sn (19 μm), Ag (10 μm), Cu (4–7 μm) and La
(50–75 μm) were obtained in powder form from Beijing Gao Ye Tech-
nology Co. Ltd. Since preparing good samples are necessary in order to
get good characterization, samples of Sn, Ag, Cu and La have been casted
by putting the elements in the pure powder form in a crucible and then
placing it in a furnace that was heated upto1400 °C to get the molten
metal into the die after heating. The target compositions were achieved
by weighing the pure metals in proportion of weights and mixed
Fig. 4. EDX of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5.
313
mechanically. A die consists of two parts of aluminum with central
steel plate has been used to get the tensile specimen, finally used to ob-
tain data for stress-strain curve. The die as shown in Fig. 1 is designed in
such a way that it provides high cooling rate during the solidification
process. Before pouring the molten metal into the die, it was heated
for about 40 min. A crucible was used to put the proper weight propor-
tions of the metals into it and was then heated in the furnace to ensure
complete melting. The furnace had a stirring arrangement to ensure
proper mixing of the constituent metals. The molten material was
then poured into the preheated die for quenching. The samples were
then left at room temperature for one whole day to release some of
the residual stresses. Fig. 2 shows the solder bar specimen. The alloys
used in this work have the elemental composition given in Table 1.
For the microstructure examination, the specimen is cut in three
pieces and mounted in bakelite for proper handling and to avoid any dis-
tortion. Initial grinding is then performed to remove the oxidized layers
and big scratches using metallurgical silicon carbide (SiC) water proof
sand papers in grit size 350, 600, 800, and 1200. To avoid damage to
surface when heat is generated during sand paper grinding process, tap
water for lubrication purpose is used. After 1200 SiC sand paper grinding,
the polishing process with polycrystalline diamond suspension as the
abrasive particle size of 6 μm, 1 μm and 0.25 μm on cotton silk paper is
carried out. The purpose of the polishing is to give extra shine to the sur-
face. The sample is then cleaned by distilled water to remove any residue
left during polishing. The specimen is finally etched with 95% ethanol and
5% hydrochloric acid solution. The etching times for Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 and Sn-
Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4 were 9 and 40 s, respectively. The samples are placed for
two minutes in sputter coater and vacuum evaporator for gold coating to
make it conductive. SEM images at different location and magnification
are taken using scanning electron microscopy. EDX analysis is also carried
out to confirm the chemical compositions.
Digital image analysis plays an important role in the material science
for the analyses of microstructure of materials. Therefore, The SEM im-
ages are further analyzed by ImageJ software to investigate the size of
Fig. 5. EDX peaks for Cu6Sn5.
314 M. Aamir et al. / Microelectronics Reliability 78 (2017) 311–318
Fig. 6. EDX peaks for Ag3Sn.
the IMCs particles. The calculation is based on the statistics of the pixel
value of the defined image. Uploading the image in imageJ, the thresh-
old of the image is adjusted such that the IMCs and matrix become
clear and visible, using analyze particle size command gives result in
an excel sheet with different parameters including average size, circu-
larity, solidity, parameters, median, mean, mode, etc.
The samples are exposed at different levels of temperatures or ther-
mal aging followed by microstructure examination and tensile testing.
Thermal aging was undertaken to get a better understanding of the per-
formance by considering the operating conditions during service. In
many applications, like consumable electronics and automotives,
other than the room temperature testing the solder joints are exposed
to quite low and quite high temperatures during service that consist
of high temperature isothermal aging and thermal cycles [48]. There-
fore, the lowest aging temperature used in this study is 60 °C, whereas
the highest temperature used is 140 °C. For thermal aging of the sam-
ples, the samples are placed in oven (Thomas Scientific Model 605
with maximum 300 °C drying) and three levels of temperature 60 °C,
100 °C, 140 °C were selected each with 50 h aging time. The microstruc-
ture analysis and mechanical properties were performed after each
stage of aging temperature. Finally, the microstructure and mechanical
properties of the as-casted and thermally aged samples are compared.
A more precise mathematical equation is also developed as a function
of thermal aging temperature.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Microstructure analyses
The microstructure of the Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 solder alloy observed using
SEM is shown in Fig. 3 and verification of chemical composition by
EDX is given in Fig. 4. The microstructure of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloy mainly
consists of Sn and IMCs of Ag and Cu [34]. These IMCs are hard and brittle
in nature as compared to the soft Sn matrix and dictate the mechanical
Fig. 7. SEM images of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4 at various magnifications.
Fig. 8. EDX of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4.
properties of solder alloys [49]. The black zone is composed of Sn and
the white particles are the IMCs (Ag and Cu rich). From EDX analyses
given in Figs. 5–6, the Cu based IMCs marked as A (Cu6Sn5) can be easily
distinguished from Ag based marked as B (Ag3Sn) since Cu are much
darker i.e. grey in color than Ag based IMCs depicted in Fig. 3 which is
in agreement with [50].
The microstructure of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4 is shown in Fig. 7. The La
doped microstructure is similar to Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 but additional La5Sn3
IMCs exist which has a complex structure that usually resembles
clusters of snowflakes [46]. The La presence in the microstructure is
confirmed by the EDX shown in Fig. 8. RE is also recognized as a surface-
active agent because it can lower the surface/interface tension or ener-
gy. It can aggregate at the grain/dendrite boundaries and lower the
grain/dendrite boundary energy. However, it is interesting to note that
addition of 0.4 wt% La leads to the formation of bulk IMCs which results
in destabilization of the boundaries. Therefore, proper care is necessary
in selecting an appropriate concentration of La doping.
3.2. Analysis of IMCs particle size
The microstructure evolution in this study is observed in terms of
the average size of the IMCs particle size. Therefore, for further investi-
gation of changes in the microstructure in terms of 0.4 wt% La doping
and thermal aging, the as-casted and thermally aged samples of Sn-
Ag3.0-Cu0.5 and Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4 solder alloys analyzed under SEM at
different spectrum are digitally developed using ImageJ software to dif-
ferentiate the IMCs particle size from the matrix material. The SEM im-
ages analyzed in ImageJ are shown in Figs. 9–10. The data collected
from ImageJ has been taken several times with 5% error is given in
Fig. 11. It is observed that thermal aging has also contributed in the
coarsening of the microstructure since thermal aging is responsible for
the evolution of both IMCs including Cu6Sn5 and Ag3Sn particles average
size which is also in consistence with [51]. Therefore, after thermal
aging the IMC particles started to join together to form bulk IMCs. On
 M. Aamir et al. / Microelectronics Reliability 78 (2017) 311–318 315

Fig. 9. SEM images of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 analyzed in ImageJ (a) as-casted and thermally aged at (b) 60 °C (c) 100 °C (d) 140 °C.

increasing aging temperature, the bulk IMCs grows larger due to atomic
diffusion, and started to segregate out from the grain boundaries. The
percent increment of IMCs particle size of thermally aged Sn-Ag3.0-
Cu0.5 at 60 °C, 100 °C and 140 °C with respect to as-casted alloy is
15.73%, 35.40% and 56%, respectively. In comparison to Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5
alloy, a significant coarsening of the average size of IMCs upto 40.31%
at 60 °C, 64.29% at 100 °C and 71.47% at 140 °C with respect to as-casted
La doped alloy is identified. The growth of these IMCs resulted in the
coarsening of the microstructure; therefore, the IMCs average particle
size is drastically increased with 0.4 wt% La doping. This is because the
La contents are not accumulated well at the interface to provide a barri-
er for the formation of IMCs due to its high supplement (0.4 wt%), which
is in agreement with [43], The distribution of IMCs is not uniform which
makes the microstructure coarsen and this coarsening is expected to re-
sult in the degradation of mechanical properties [47]. Further, it is clear
that the La doped alloy shows a rapid growth of IMCs from 100 °C in
comparison to un-doped alloy. Therefore, the La content should be lim-
ited in small concentration, since 0.4 wt% La resulted in coarsening of
the microstructure. The increase in average particle size IMCs also influ-
ences the mechanical properties of LFSs. This also shows that solder

Fig. 10. SEM images of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4 analyzed in ImageJ (a) as-casted and thermally aged at (b) 60 °C (c) 100 °C (d) 140 °C.
316 M. Aamir et al. / Microelectronics Reliability 78 (2017) 311–318
Fig. 11. ImageJ analysis.
alloys are highly microstructure dependent which changes considerably
during its life time. Therefore, it is reasonably expected that after ther-
mal aging the IMCs particle size increases due to coarsening of the mi-
crostructure. To justify this conclusion, tensile tests have been
performed on tensile specimen for the doped and un-doped specimens
from the as-casted to samples thermally aged at 60 °C, 100 °C and 140
°C, respectively, to link and confirm the microstructure changes with
mechanical properties.
3.3. Mechanical properties
Mechanical properties of solder joints need to be carefully examined
because they are considered to be the weakest link in electronic packages
due to poor mechanical properties in comparison to the metalized sub-
strate to which they are connected [47,52]. Therefore, the as-casted and
thermally aged specimens of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 and Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4 solder
alloys are tested to determine the YS and UTS from tensile testing. Figs.
12–13 show stress-strain curves of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 and Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4
solder alloy as a function of different aging temperatures. It is clear from
the stress-strain curves shown in Figs. 12–13 that a significant decrease
in both YS and UTS can be observed with 0.4 wt% La additions and this
is due to the coarsening of the microstructure as a result of increase in
the particle size of the IMCs. The YS and UTS of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 containing
La displayed consistently lower values than Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 due to the for-
mation of bulk IMC particles. The results show peak values for YS
(31.08 N/mm2) and UTS (36.24 N/mm2) of as-casted Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5,
while with 0.4 wt% La addition the values are decreased to
Fig. 12. Stress strain curve of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5.
Fig. 13. Stress strain curve of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4.
26.68 N/mm2 and 34.45 N/mm2 for YS and UTS respectively. This low
values of mechanical properties are because of the heterogonous disper-
sion of coarsen IMC particles in the Sn-matrix. Therefore, an appropriate
La addition is mandatory logically below 0.4 wt% to control the formation
and growth of IMCs for the refinement of the microstructure.
Similar specimens like as-casted are also thermally aged at 60 °C, 100
°C and 140 °C. The evolution of YS and UTS are given in Figs. 12–13 and
the data are summarized in Table 2. It is clear from the stress-strain
curves of doped and un-doped samples that as the aging temperature in-
creases, a reduction in YS and UTS occurred which is logically accepted
that thermal aging has also greatly affected the microstructure of both
alloys as a result of IMCs growth which causes an early failure and thus re-
duces the solder joint reliability. This coarsening of the microstructure
and growth of IMCs have resulted in less number of grain boundaries
for blocking of dislocation movement and hence a decrease in strength
occurred which is also in consistent with [53–55]. The percent increment
of mechanical properties (YS and UTS) of thermally aged Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 is
(21.24% and 12.61%) at 60 °C, (27.51% and 30.82%) at 100 °C and (36.13%
and 37.25%) at 140 °C with respect to as-casted alloy. In contrast to Sn-
Ag3.0-Cu0.5 alloy, the mechanical properties of La doped alloy are less. A
significant decrease in mechanical properties (YS and UTS) up to
(16.75% and 16.84%) at 60 °C, (36.51% and 35.75%) at 100 °C and
(47.49% and 46.12%) at 140 °C with respect to as-casted La doped alloy
is identified. In all three levels, the aging temperature has decreased the
strength of the doped and un-doped solder alloys.
Further, the tensile test is checked on the fracture surface. The
fractograph comprises the fracture humps or terraces and there are sev-
eral regions revealing sticky surface and shows a ductile character.
There is no obvious difference between the fractographs of the targeted
solder alloys. The fractography analysis using SEM is given in Fig. 14.
In order to further discuss these properties, a mathematical model
based on experimental values is developed between aging temperature
and mechanical properties. These Eqs. are valid for satisfying and
Table 2
Yield stress and tensile strength at different aging temperature.
Solder Alloy Condition YS (N/mm2) UTS (N/mm2)
a
Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 as-casted 31.080 36.240
60 °C aged at 50 h 24.478 31.670
100 °C aged at 50 h 22.530 25.070
140 °C aged at 50 h 19.850 22.740
Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4 as-casteda 26.680 34.450
60 °C aged at 50 h 22.210 28.650
100 °C aged at 50 h 16.940 22.130
140 °C aged at 50 h 14.010 18.560
a
Room temperature.
 M. Aamir et al. / Microelectronics Reliability 78 (2017) 311–318 317

Fig. 14. Fractography analyses of tensile test (a) Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 (b) Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4.

predicting values of YS and UTS for the given values of aging tempera- 4. Conclusions
ture, and are given below:
The effects of La addition on the microstructure and mechanical


YSðSn−Ag−CuÞ ¼ 1= a1 þ a2  T g ð1Þ properties of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 solder alloy under different temperature
aging have been investigated. In addition to experimental study, math-

ematical relations for the prediction of mechanical properties at various
UTSðSn−Ag−CuÞ ¼ 1= b1 þ b2 T g ð2Þ thermally aged temperatures have also been presented. Some impor-
tant conclusions are:


YSðSn−Ag−Cu−0:4LaÞ ¼ 1= c1 þ c2  T g ð3Þ
i. The microstructure of Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 and Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4 com-

prise of Sn matrix and IMCs of Cu6Sn5 and Ag3Sn IMCs particles

UTSðSn−Ag−Cu−0:4LaÞ ¼ 1= d1 þ d2 T g ð4Þ which is finely distributed in the Sn matrix. However, the La doped
alloy consists of additional La5Sn3 IMCs. Addition of 0.4 wt% La coars-
en the microstructure of Sn96.5-Ag3.0-Cu0.5, therefore, an appropriate
The Eqs. (1)–(4), satisfied that on increasing aging temperature, the
concentration less than 0.4 wt% is necessary for restriction of IMCs
levels of YS and UTS decrease, which is in consistent with our experi-
growth at high temperatures.
mental results. Where Tg is the aging temperature and a1, a2, b1, b2, c1,
ii. Thermal aging at different temperatures has also contributed in
c2, d1, d2 are the constants for the YS and UTS. The details of these con-
coarsening of the microstructure due to increase in IMCs particle
stants are provided in Table 3. The predicted values extracted from the
size.
above Eqs. (1)–(4) for the un-doped and La doped in comparison with
iii. The mechanical properties including YS and UTS degrade after
experimental values as a function of aging temperature are presented
0.4 wt% La doping and thermal aging at different levels of tempera-
in Table 4 which show a close linked with the predicted values. For ac-
ture. This is mainly due to the coarse microstructure and growth of
curacy of the mathematical relations, error analysis with predicted
IMCs which shows that mechanical properties are highly micro-
values is also presented. The predicted values of mechanical properties
structure dependent.
are accurate with experimental data with maximum 5.89% and mini-
iv. The aging temperature dependent mathematical relations have
mum 1.31% for YS and 3.60% maximum and 0.86% minimum for UTS.
been developed and a good fit of predicted values has been observed
with experimental findings with minimum errors which can be
Table 3 used to predict the values of YS and UTS.
Mathematical constants.

Solder Alloy YS UTS Acknowledgments

Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5 a1 a2 b1 b2
2.88 × 10−2 1.63 × 10−4 2.36 × 10−2 1.49 × 10−4 This work was supported by CECOS University, Peshawar, Pakistan.
Sn-Ag3.0-Cu0.5-La0.4 c1 c2 d1 d3 The authors are highly grateful for the support and facilitation at cen-
2.99 × 10−2 2.83 × 10−4 2.34 × 10−2 2.11 × 10−4 tralized resource laboratory and material research laboratory of Univer-
sity of Peshawar, Pakistan.

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Table 4
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