Solderability Preservative Coatings: Electroless Tin vs Organic Azoles

Substitution of lead‐free solders in electronic assemblies requires changes in the conventional Sn:Pb finishes on substrates and component leads to prevent contamination of the candidate solder. Options for solderability preservative coatings on the printed wiring board include organic (azole or rosin/resin based) films and tin‐based plated metallic coatings. This paper compares the solderability performance of electroless tin coatings versus organic azole films after exposure to a series of humidity and thermal cycling conditions. It is shown that the solderability of immersion tin is directly related to the tin oxide growth on the surface and is not affected by the formation of Sn‐Cu intermetallic phases as long as the intermetallic phase is protected by a surface Sn layer. For a nominal tin thickness of 60 ?inches, the typical thermal excursions associated with assembly were not sufficient to cause the intermetallic phase to consume the entire tin layer. Exposure to elevated temperatures, in the presence of humidity, promoted heavy tin oxide formation which led to solderability loss. In contrast, thin azole films were shown to be more robust to humidity exposure; however, upon heating in the presence of oxygen, they decomposed and led to severe solderability degradation. Evaluations of lead‐free solder pastes for surface mount assembly applications indicated that immersion tin significantly improved the spreading of Sn:Ag and Sn:Bi alloys compared with azole surface finishes.