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2026 Council of Members Meeting

30 June 2026

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Electromigration of SnBi Solder for Second-Level Interconnect, Phase 1



Statement of Work & Project Statement

Statement of Work (v1.2, December 8, 2021)
Project Statement (v1.0, December 8, 2021)

Background

The low melting temperature of 138°C makes SnBi alloys attractive for assembling thermally warpage-prone high-density microelectronic packaging. However, Bi has a high propensity for electromigration and segregation at the anode under high current density conditions. This can lead to potentially brittle solder joints with high electrical resistance over time in the field. There is need to explore ways to mitigate such shortcoming and develop SnBi solder joints that maintain their performance and reliability over the product life. This INEMI project plans to explore the potential to reduce electromigration in low height solder joints by taking advantage of mechanical and/or chemical back stresses. 

Objective

The overall project objective is to determine the boundaries of the envelope formed by joint height, temperature, current density and PCB finishes within which the solder joint will operate reliably over the product life. 

The project has multiple phases planned. The first phase will:

  • Establish an appropriate test vehicle for electromigration study of solder joints, including a convenient means of achieving various joint heights.
  • Investigate the role of back pressure in reducing electromigration in eutectic SnBi solder joints by determining the rate of electromigration of SnBi solder joints with and without diffusion barriers as a function of current density, temperature and joint height.

Related Project

Electromigration of SnBi Solder for Second-Level Interconnect Project, Phase 2

Presentations

Phase 1 End-of-Project & Phase 2 Call-for-Participation Webinars

“In Situ Study of Electromigration in Eutectic Tin-Bismuth Planar Solder Joints,” Prabjit Singh, Ph.D., (IBM Corporation), Session 5, SMTA Pan Pacific Strategic Electronics Symposium, January 31, 2024, The Big Island of Hawaii.   paper presentation

“Electromigration in Eutectic Tin-Bismuth Bottom-Terminated Component Solder Joints,” Prabjit Singh (IBM), Session 35: Reliability and Current Stressing of Solder Interconnections, 74th Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), May 31, 2024, Denver, Colorado USA      paper   presentation

LTS Tech Topic Series: Electromigration in Tin-Bismuth Planar Solder Joints, Prabjit Singh, PhD (IBM), October 17/18, 2023 

Comparison of Electromigration in Tin-Bismuth Planar and Bottom Terminated Component Solder Joints,” Prabjit Singh, Ph.D., IBM Corporation, SMTA International 2023, Session LTS3: Electromigration, Shear and Drop Shock Assessment of Low Temperature Sn-Bi Solder Joints, October 11, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Originally published in the proceedings of the SMTA International, October 9 - October 12, 2023)
NOTE: This paper received an honorable mention for “best of proceedings”

“A Novel Setup for Studying Electromigration,” Prabjit Singh (IBM), PanPacific Conference, Session 7, February 2, 2022; Hawaii.
paper presentation

Presentation: Call-for-Participation Webinar (January 11 & 13, 2022)

Contact

Haley Fu
[email protected]

Project Leaders

Prabjit Singh, IBM

Raiyo Aspandiar, Intel

 

Hemant M. Shah, Intel

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