Tin is widely used as a coating material for copper metal in the electronics industry where tin whisker growth is a concern
because it affects the reliability of electronic devices. Because whisker growth reduces joint reliability, it is important
to monitor the growth of Cu
3Sn and Cu
6Sn
5, which is usually done by using an X-ray diffraction method to estimate the thickness of the tin layer. In this study, we
use the sequential electrochemical reduction analysis (SERA) technique to measure the thickness of layers of pure tin, Cu
6Sn
5, and Cu
3Sn. We also discuss the depletion rate of tin layers at high-temperature aging and the growth of these intermetallics.
Keywords Grain morphology - intermetallic compound - tin plating - SERA