Researchers studied a solder alloy (Sn99Ag0.3Cu0.7) reinforced with different sizes of ZnO nanoparticles to understand how they affect the alloy's properties.
They found that adding ZnO reduced the wettability, which led to more voids in the solder, but the mechanical strength and thermoelectric performance remained similar to the standard alloy.
Improved wettability could be achieved with more active fluxes, suggesting that these ZnO composite solders might be beneficial for high-power applications.
The effect of the microstructure of solder joints on the thermal properties of power LEDs is investigated. Solder joints were prepared with different solder pastes, namely 99Sn0.3Ag0.