Frank S. Biancaniello

Bio: Frank S. Biancaniello is an academic researcher from National Institute of Standards and Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Phase (matter) & Microstructure. The author has an hindex of 24, co-authored 67 publications receiving 2206 citations.

Experimental and thermodynamic assessment of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys

Abstract: Sn-rich alloys in the Sn-Ag-Cu system are being studied for their potential as Pb-free solders. Thus, the location of the ternary eutectic involving L, (Sn), Ag3Sn and Cu6Sn5 phases is of critical interest. Phase diagram data in the Sn-rich corner of the Sn-Ag-Cu system are measured. The ternary eutectic is confirmed to be at a composition of 3.5 wt.% Ag, 0.9 wt.% Cu at a temperature of 217.2±0.2°C (2σ). A thermodynamic calculation of the Sn-rich part of the diagram from the three constituent binary systems and the available ternary data using the CALPHAD method is conducted. The best fit to the experimental data is 3.66 wt.% Ag and 0.91 wt.% Cu at a temperature of 216.3°C. Using the thermodynamic description to obtain the enthalpy- temperature relation, the DTA signal is simulated and used to explain the difficulty of liquidus measurements in these alloys.

The Effect of Rapid Solidification Velocity on the Microstructure of Ag-Cu Alloys

Abstract: Electron beam solidification passes have been performed on a series of Ag-Cu alloys between 1 wt pct Cu and the eutectic composition (28.1 wt pct Cu) at speeds between 1.5 and 400 cm per second. At low growth rates conventional dendritic or eutectic structures are obtained. The maximum growth rate of eutectic structure is 2.5 cm per second. At high growth rates microsegregation-free single phase structures are obtained for all compositions. The velocity required to produce this structure increases with composition for dilute alloys and agrees with the theory of absolute stability of a planar liquid-solid interface with equilibrium partitioning. For alloys between 15 and 28 wt pct Cu, the velocity required to produce the microsegregation-free extended solid solution decreases with composition and is related to nonequilibrium trapping of solute at the liquid solid interface. At intermediate growth rates for alloys with 9 wt pct Cu or greater, a structure consisting of alternating bands of cellular and cell-free material is obtained. The bands form approximately parallel to the local interface.

The formation of ordered ω-related phases in alloys of composition Ti4Al3Nb

Abstract: During cooling of an alloy of composition Ti4Al3Nb from a B2 phase field above 1100°C, a metastable trigonal (P3m1) ω-related phase, designated ω″, forms along with small amounts of D019 and L10 phases. The ω″ phase exhibits partial collapse of 111 planes and reordering relative to its B2 parent. An apparently equilibrium low temperature phase with the B82 structure was found after 26 days of annealing at 700°C. Both ω″ and B82 structures were verified by means of transmission electron microscopy and by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The latter permitted detailed analysis of the collapse parameters and site occupancies. The observed transformation path, B2(Pm3m)→ω″(P3m1)→B82 (P63/mmc), occurs in two steps. The first involveds a subgroup transition during cooling that is primarily displacive with reordering consistent with the trigonal symmetry imposed by the ω-collapse. The second involves a supergroup transition during prolonged annealing that is primarily replacive and constitutes a chemical disordering. The direct equilibrium transformation, B2→B82, without the formation of an intermediate trigonal phase, can only occur by a reconstructive transformation.

Icosahedral and decagonal phase formation in Al-Mn alloys

Abstract: The solidification conditions leading to the formation of the icosahedral phase in Al-Mn alloys have been investigated, using samples prepared by melt spinning and electron beam surface melting. It is found that the icosahedral phase can grow with a range of compositions, but that it grows in competition with another metastable phase which is decagonal. Both of these phases can displace the equilibrium intermetallic phases by nucleating ahead of them in the melt when the solidification velocity is greater than a few centimeters per second. The relative abundance of the icosahedral and decagonal phases varies with composition and solidification rate. Icosahedral crystals in electron beam melt trails are often about 25 μm in diameter, and they grow dendritically along a preferred crystallographic direction.

Phase-Field Simulation of Solidification

Abstract: ▪ Abstract An overview of the phase-field method for modeling solidification is presented, together with several example results. Using a phase-field variable and a corresponding governing equation to describe the state (solid or liquid) in a material as a function of position and time, the diffusion equations for heat and solute can be solved without tracking the liquid-solid interface. The interfacial regions between liquid and solid involve smooth but highly localized variations of the phase-field variable. The method has been applied to a wide variety of problems including dendritic growth in pure materials; dendritic, eutectic, and peritectic growth in alloys; and solute trapping during rapid solidification.

Six cases of reliability study of Pb-free solder joints in electronic packaging technology

Abstract: Solder is widely used to connect chips to their packaging substrates in flip chip technology as well as in surface mount technology. At present, the electronic packaging industry is actively searching for Pb-free solders due to environmental concern of Pb-based solders. Concerning the reliability of Pb-free solders, some electronic companies are reluctant to adopt them into their high-end products. Hence, a review of the reliability behavior of Pb-free solders is timely. We use the format of “case study” to review six reliability problems of Pb-free solders in electronic packaging technology. We conducted analysis of these cases on the basis of thermodynamic driving force, time-dependent kinetic processes, and morphology and microstructure changes. We made a direct comparison to the similar problem in SnPb solder whenever it is available. Specifically, we reviewed: (1) interfacial reactions between Pb-free solder and thick metalliztion of bond-pad on the substrate-side, (2) interfacial reactions between Pb-free solder and thin-film under-bump metallization on the chip-side, (3) the growth of a layered intermetallic compound (IMC) by ripening in solid state aging of solder joints, (4) a long range interaction between chip-side and substrate-side metallizations across a solder joint, (5) electromigration in flip chip solder joints, and finally (6) Sn whisker growth on Pb-free finish on Cu leadframe. Perhaps, these cases may serve as helpful references to the understanding of other reliability behaviors of Pb-free solders.

Metastable alumina polymorphs : Crystal structures and transition sequences

Abstract: The available literature on the crystal structure of the metastable alumina polymorphs and their associated transitions is critically reviewed and summarized. All the metastable alumina structures have been identified as ordered or partially ordered cation arrays on the interstitial sites of an approximately close-packed oxygen sublattice (either face-centered cubic or hexagonal close packed). The analysis of the symmetry relations between reported alumina polymorphs having an approximately face-centered cubic packing of the oxygen anions allows for an exact interpretation of all the complex domain structures that have been observed experimentally. Possible mechanisms for the phase transitions between the different alumina polymorphs also are discussed.