The joint strength and microstructure of fluxless Au/Sn solders in InP-based laser diode packages

The joint strength and microstructure of fluxless Au/Sn solders in InP-based laser-diode packages after thermal-aging testing were studied experimentally and numerically. Specimens were aged at 150 degrees C for up to 64 days. The joint strength decreased as aging time increased. The microstructure and fracture surface of the Au/Sn solder joints showed that the joint strength decrease was caused by both the enlargement of the initial voids and an increase in the number of voids as the aging time increased. Finite-element method (FEM) simulations of joint strength were in good agreement with experimental measurements. Both experimental and numerical results indicate that the enlargement of the initial voids and an increase in the number of voids, caused by stress concentration as the aging period increased, resulted in the weakness of joint strength. The effect of temperature-cycling testing on the power variation of the InP laser diodes using fluxless Au/Sn solders was also studied. It was shown that the laser diodes operated in the stable condition up to 500 cycles.