Temperature and Oxygen Partial Pressure Dependences of the Surface Tension of Liquid Sn–Ag and Sn–Cu Lead-free Solder Alloys

Temperature dependence of the surface tension of liquid Sn–Ag and Sn–Cu base lead-free solder alloys and oxygen partial pressure dependence of liquid Sn–Ag alloy were evaluated using the experimental data obtained, respectively, by the constrained drop method and the sessile drop method in the previous studies [1, 2]. The temperature dependences of the surface tension have maximum positive values when the mol fraction of Ag and Cu is about 0.7, while those for pure liquid Sn, Ag, and Cu have negative values. The calculated values based on Butler’s equations were found to be in reasonable agreement with those of the experimental data. The oxygen partial pressure dependences of the surface tension of liquid Sn–Ag alloys at 1253 K have a minimum value when the mol fraction of Ag is about 0.9 and the oxygen partial pressure is less than about 10⁻¹³ atm. From this, it is considered that the oxygen adsorption increased by adding Ag to Sn when the mol fraction of Ag is less than 0.9.