Creep–Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of Pb-Containing
and Pb-Free Solders at Room and Elevated Temperatures
Fatigue crack growth tests of lead-containing (Sn-37Pb) and lead-free (Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu) solders were conducted at frequencies ranging from 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz at stress ratio of 0.1, at room temperature and at 70°C. The J-integral range (ΔJ) and the modified J-integral (C*) were used in assessing the cycle-dependent and time-dependent crack growth behavior for both solders. The experimental results showed that the crack growth behavior of both solders at the lower frequency and higher temperature was predominantly time dependent, whereas the crack growth behavior of both solders at the higher frequency and lower temperature was predominantly cycle dependent, with the transition in fatigue crack growth behavior from cycle dependent to time dependent expressed as f + 6500exp(1/T) = 6520. In both the cycle-dependent and time-dependent regions, the crack growth resistance of the lead-free solder was higher than that of lead-containing solder. Fracture surface observations showed that, as the frequency decreased and/or the temperature increased, the fracture path changed from transgranular to intergranular for Sn-37Pb solder, and from transgranular to mixed transgranular–intergranular for Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder.