The complex reaction between liquid solder alloys and solid substrates has been studied ex-situ in a few studies, utilizing creative setups to "freeze" the reactions at different stages during the reflow soldering process. However, full understanding of the dynamics of the process is difficult due to the lack of direct observation at micro- and nano-meter resolutions. In this study, high voltage transmission electron microscopy (HV-TEM) is employed to observe the morphological changes that occur in Cu6Sn5 between a Sn-3.0 wt%Ag-0.5 wt%Cu (SAC305) solder alloy and a Cu substrate in situ at temperatures above the solidus of the alloy. This enables the continuous surveillance of rapid grain boundary movements of Cu6Sn5 during soldering and increases the fundamental understanding of reaction mechanisms in solder solid/liquid interfaces.
In-situ observations of the polymorphic transformation in a single targeted Cu₆Sn₅ grain constrained between Sn-0.7 wt % Cu solder and Cu-Cu₃Sn phases and the associated structural evolution during a solid-state thermal cycle were achieved via a high-voltage transmission electron microscope (HV-TEM) technique. Here, we show that the monoclinic η'-Cu₆Sn₅ superlattice reflections appear in the hexagonal η-Cu₆Sn₅ diffraction pattern upon cooling to isothermal 140 °C from 210 °C. The in-situ real space imaging shows that the η'-Cu₆Sn₅ contrast pattern is initiated at the grain boundary. This method demonstrates a new approach for further understanding the polymorphic transformation behavior on a real solder joint.