Tin / Silver (Sn / Ag) Alloy Solders - Properties and Applications

Background

Tin/silver alloys were developed as an alternative to lead-containing solders. Typical commercial tin/silver alloys contain between 3 and 5% silver.

Tin/Silver solders are used for high temperature, high reliability interconnect applications. Solder joints using Tin/Silver alloys maintain better high temperature strength then tin/lead solders.

Key Properties

The Tin 96.5/Silver 3.5 eutectic has a melting point of 221°C.

The Tin 95/Silver 5 alloy has slightly higher melting point.

Applications

Tin/Silver solders are used for:

  • Electronic assemblies
  • Die attachments
  • Thick films
  • Soldering applications where lead use is prohibitive such as pipe joints that come into contact with water and/or foodstuffs
  • Central heating and hot water pipes where temperatures are high and temperature changes can result in sudden contraction in the solder joint.
  • Soldering of jewellery due to the alloys ability to maintain high levels of brightness

Primary author: AZoM.com

Comments

  1. Andy Dorman Andy Dorman United Kingdom says:

    Will tin silver solder produce an effective joint when used on epns cutlery ?

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of AZoM.com.

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