Preparation and thermal analysis of Sn-Ag nano solders

In this study, Sn-Ag nano solders of three different compositions (Sn-1.0mass%Ag, Sn-3.5 mass%Ag and Sn-6.5 mass%Ag) were synthesized via arc-discharge process. The properties of Sn-Ag nano solders were analyzed using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Particle size relatively widely ranged from 10 nm to 340 nm. For Sn-1.0mass%Ag and Sn-3.5 mass%Ag, average size was 200∼240nm, and that for Sn-6.5 mass%Ag was 40∼50nm with some extra-ordinary large particles of ∼100nm. The melting points of the prepared SnAg nano solders were examined with DSC at different heating rates 1K, 3 K and 5 K/min. The congruent melting point of Sn-Ag nano solders was found to be 487 K.