Journal of Materials Science and Engineering A 8 (9-10) (2018) 185-189 doi: 10.17265/2161-6213/2018.9-10.002 The Effect of Electrochemical Migration of Pb-free Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu Solder Reinforced by NiO Nanoparticles Fakhrul Rifdi Omar 1 , Emee Marina Salleh 1 , Norinsan Kamil Othman 1 , Fakhrozi Che Ani 2 and Zambri Samsudin 2 1. School of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia 2. Jabil Circuit Sdn. Bhd., Bayan Lepas Industrial Park, Penang 11900, Malaysia Abstract: As electronic devices continue to become lighter and thinner, they require much smaller solder joints and fine-pitch interconnections for microelectronic packaging. Pb-free solders incorporated with nano-sized particles have been identified as potential Pb-free nanocomposite solders that could provide higher microstructure stability and better mechanical properties than the conventional solders. The present study investigates the effects of NiO addition on the mechanical properties and microstructure of the Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solder alloy. In this study, three different solder alloys were prepared by reflow soldering. Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC 305) solder alloys were doped with different percentage of NiO (nickel oxide) nanoparticles content; i.e. 0.01 wt%, 0.05 wt%, and 0.15 wt% in producing nanocomposite solder paste. Morphology refinement of SAC305-NiO nanocomposite solder contributed to the enhancement of mechanical properties in the field of microelectronic industries. ECM (electrochemical migration) of SAC-NiO nanocomposites solder pastes was measured using a WDT (water drop test). Effects of electrochemical migration of its surface morphology were investigated using OM (optical microscopy). Key words : SAC305, NiO nanoparticle, microstructure, corrosion, dendrite. 1. Introduction Soldering offers important technology on microelectronic packaging industries. It allows electrical current to flow from one point to another and become a supporter of the electrical components. Recently, lead free, tin, silver and copper (Sn-Ag-Cu) solder alloy has been commercially used as an alternative to tin and lead (Sn-Pb) solder due to the vital issue on hazardous effect [1–4]. This is due to poisonous qualities of lead which are harmful to human health and also to the environment [5]. Tin based solder alloy becomes the replacement for lead solder alloy. Tin has been described as the most attractive element for the replacement of the typical Sn-Pb solder as it can overcome the environmental problem and fulfil economic growth and metallurgical development [4]. Tin containing binary and ternary Corresponding author: Norinsan Kamil Othman, associate professor dr., research field: corrosión. E-mail: insan@ukm.edu.my. alloying elements has been most directed towards it [6]. Basically, not all lead free solders are suitable to be used in microelectronic packaging aspects since reflow soldering poses risk of damaging electronic components [7–9]. Other researchers had focused on some lead-free content solders which may cause high risk in electronic devices due to ECM (electrochemical migration) failure phenomenon [9]. ECM commonly occurs in all electronic devices in the electronic industry. This phenomenon involves the dendritic growth [10, 11] . It will led to short circuit to occur in the electronic device issue which is related to the susceptibility of Sn-Ag-Cu to corrosion [12]. The overall properties include the mechanical properties and reliability of lead free solders as Sn-Pb solder replacements is very promising [13]. Moreover, the properties of the lead-free solder alloys containing NiO nanoparticles have not been widely reported even though it is an important issue in many work fields. D DAVID PUBLISHING