Microstructural characterizations of metallized Al2O3 before/after surface treatment and Al2O3/Cu soldered joint

Joining Al2O3 ceramics to Cu heat pipes should be conducted at low temperatures since Cu heat pipes may fail at temperatures higher than 320 degrees C. Due to the poor wettability of low-temperature solder on Al2O3 ceramics, it is essential to metallize Al2O3 ceramics before joining Al2O3 to Cu with a low-temperature solder. Surface metallization of Al2O3 has been conducted using Ag-Cu-Ti active metal filler at 900 degrees C. Microanalysis indicates that an interfacial reaction occurs between the active metal filler and the Al2O3, leading to the formation of a Cu3Ti3O reaction layer. The metal layer on the surface of Al2O3 is primarily composed of Ag (s, s) (solid solution), Cu (s, s) and Ti2Cu. The polishing treatment of the surface metal layer in metallized Al2O3 results in a reduction of the oxide content and contaminants, which subsequently allows joining at low temperature. Low-temperature joining of metallized Al2O3 to Cu has been carried out using Sn-Ag-Cu solder at 280 degrees C. The joining area of the joint includes a Cu3Ti3O reaction layer, a metal layer and a solder layer. The solder layer mainly consists of Sn (s, s), Ag3Sn and Cu6Sn5. The Al2O3/Cu joint fractures in the solder layer after the shearing test, indicating that the strength of the solder is relatively low. However, the interfacial bonding between the metallized Al2O3, solder layer and Cu base material is satisfactory.