Creep mitigation in Sn–Ag–Cu composite solder with Ni-coated carbon nanotubes

Abstract

In the present study, the powder metallurgy route was used to successfully incorporate Ni-coated carbon nanotubes into SnAgCu solder, to form a nanocomposite solder. Nanoindentation tests were performed on both composite and SnAgCu solder samples to investigate their creep behaviour at room temperature. Characterization results revealed that with the addition of Ni-coated carbon nanotubes, the creep behaviour of composite solder improved significantly as compared to that of the unreinforced solder alloy. Moreover, increasing the maximum load from 20 to 100 mN increased the percentage reduction in creep strain rate from 4 to 28%, for the composite compared to SnAgCu solder after 300 s of holding.