Structural, mechanical, hardness indentation measurements of Sn65-xAg25Sb10Cux solder alloys rapidly solidified from melt at cooling rate 1.1 x 105 Ks-1

Structural, mechanical properties, and hardness indentation measurements of Sn65-xAg25Sb10Cux(x= 0, 0.5, 1.0,1.5, 2.0, and 2.5wt%) solder alloys have been studied and analyzed. The alloy exhibits mechanical properties superior to those in both the Sn-Ag-25 binary and Sn-Ag25Sb10 ternary solder alloys. The addition of small amounts of Cu is found to refine the effective grain size, while retaining the uniform distribution of Ag3Sn, SnSb, and Cu10Sn3 precipitates in the solidification microstructure, thus significantly improving the ductility and strength. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.