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Spontaneous growth of tin whiskers on tin−rare-earth alloys

2007; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 87; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09500830701432607

1362-3036

Bo Jiang, A. P. Xian,

Intermetallics and Advanced Alloy Properties

Tin whisker growth has been observed on the surface of bulk Sn–Nd alloys with Nd contents of 30, 5 and 0.5 wt%, under ambient conditions of temperature and atmosphere. It is shown that the whiskers originate from the area of Sn–Nd intermetallic compounds after a very short incubation period and that they exhibit a relatively high growth rate on the surface of the bulk alloys. The results show that these Sn-based, rare-earth alloys have a very strong propensity to grow tin whiskers, i.e. this rare-earth element in tin is a catalytic agent for whisker growth. Direct evidence is also shown that whiskers can grow from the surface of a bulk Sn-based alloy.