Microstructural and Diffusion Analysis of Au-Sn Diffusion Couple Layer Undergoing Heat Treatment at Near Eutectic Temperatures

Diffusion couples of pure gold and pure tin were created by mechanical cold rolling method. The couples were isothermally treated at temperatures slightly above and below the eutectic temperature near tin-rich region of the equilibrium phase diagram. Differences in the diffusion behaviors were observed as a function of treatment temperatures below (473 K) and above (498 K) the eutectic temperature. At the boundary, it was found that first solid state inter-diffusion was initiated which resulted in local compositional change and solid-state formation of intermetallic compounds. As the composition shifts away towards mixing, the growth of the intermetallic phases was monitored as a function of temperature and time. At temperature above the eutectic, there may be a liquid fraction as the interface isothermally melted. The kinetic involves dissolution of Au atoms into locallized tin-rich liquid. At below eutectic temperature, the formation and growth kinetic of phases follows a solid state diffusion mechanism. By investigation the exponent n values in the growth equation l=k(t/t0)n, the values were found to be in between 0.62 - 0.77 which implies that the kinetics of IMC formations experiment are controlled by both diffusion and intermetallic reaction. The bonding temperature was found to be faster and more reliable at bonding temperature slightly above the eutectic.