Processing treatment of a lead-free Sn–Ag–Cu–Bi solder by rapid laser-beam reflowing and the creep property of its soldered connection

In this study, the processing performance of a lead-free Sn–Ag–Cu–Bi solder after rapid laser-beam reflowing was investigated, and the creep behaviors of the soldered joints were evaluated under different homologue temperatures from 0.68 to 0.82, with a systematical comparison to that of a Sn60Pb40 solder. The results show that after rapid laser-beam reflowing treatment the strength of the solder connections has been increased obviously and this is mainly due to grain refining effect and the Cu alloying effect; the lead-free Sn–Ag–Cu–Bi solder joints show a superior creep resistance in terms of a much lower creep rate and the elongated creep fracture lifetime over the traditional Sn–Pb solder.