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Effect of humidity on tin whisker growth from Sn3Nd intermetallic compound

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2012

Ai-Ping Xian  and
Meng Liu
Ai-Ping Xian*
Affiliation:
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenyang 110016, China
Meng Liu
Affiliation:
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenyang 110016, China
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: ap.xian@imr.ac.cn
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Abstract

The spontaneous whisker growth phenomenon was investigated by exposing Sn3Nd intermetallic compound (IMC) to different environments. In a humid environment, tin whiskers grew rapidly; the incubation time for whisker formation was only 0.75 h. However, no whiskers were formed when Sn3Nd IMC was exposed to dry argon for 33 days or dry oxygen (DO) for 7 days. In situ observation of whisker growth during room ambient (RA) exposure gave an average whisker growth rate of the Sn3Nd IMC of about 11 Å/s, which are 2–3 orders of magnitude faster than that previously reported for tin plating. Following whisker growth, a new hydroxide compound, Nd(OH)3, was found to have formed on the Sn3Nd. The results show that the presence of humidity in the exposure environment is necessary for whisker growth from Sn3Nd. Finally, the driving force for whisker growth is also discussed.

Keywords

Sncompoundscrystal growthSn3Ndtin whiskers
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 27 , Issue 12 , 28 June 2012 , pp. 1652 - 1662
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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