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The influence of porosity on whisker growth in electroplated tin films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

J.P. Winterstein  and
M.G. Norton
J.P. Winterstein*
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164
M.G. Norton
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Tin whisker growth has been observed since the 1950s and has become of more interest in the past 15 to 20 years due to the desire to use lead-free solders, pure tin being a good lead-free candidate. In the same time period, failure of satellites and other devices using pure tin solders has been blamed on tin whisker growth. The accepted driving force for whisker growth is compressive stresses in films. This article reports a microstructure-control method of limiting whisker growth through the introduction of pores that permit an alternate means of stress relief.

Keywords

ElectrodepositionPorositySn
Type
Rapid Communications
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 21 , Issue 12 , December 2006 , pp. 2971 - 2974
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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