Electromigration-induced Pb and Sn whisker growth in SnPb solder stripes

Electromigration at 5 × 10⁴ A/cm² and 100 °C was conducted to grow composite Pb/Sn whiskers from SnPb solders, in which a Pb whisker grows first and then a whisker of Sn grows. In some cases, small Sn islands are embedded in Pb whiskers. The diameter of a composite whisker is <1 μm, which is much smaller than that of spontaneous Sn whisker growth on leadframes. The growth orientation of Pb whiskers was in the [110], [1^¯₁1], and [112] directions. This investigation proposes that compressive stress generated by electromigration at the anode provides the force driving whisker growth. Therefore, accelerated tests of whisker growth at higher temperatures using electromigration are feasible.