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Basic Info/FAQ
Tin whiskers are not a new phenomenon. Indeed, the first published reports of tin whiskers date back to the 1940s and 1950s. Tin is only one of
several metals that is known to be capable of growing whiskers. Other examples of metals that may form whiskers include some tin alloys, zinc,
cadmium, indium, antimony, silver among others .
People sometimes confuse the term "whiskers" with a more familiar phenomenon known as "dendrites" commonly formed by electrochemical
migration processes. Therefore, it is important to note here that whiskers and dendrites are two very different phenomena. A "Whisker" generally has
the shape of a very thin, single filament or hair-like protrusion that emerges outward (z-axis) from a surface. "Dendrites", on the other hand, form in
fern-like or snowflake-like patterns growing along a surface (x-y plane) rather than outward from it. The growth mechanism for dendrites is well-
understood and requires some type of moisture capable of dissolving the metal (e.g., tin) into a solution of metal ions which are then redistributed by
electromigration in the presence of an electromagnetic field. While the precise mechanism for whisker formation remains unknown, it is known that
whisker formation does NOT require either dissolution of the metal NOR the presence of electromagnetic field.
"Dendrites" are NOT "Whiskers"
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Those advocating "stress" as crucial for metal whisker formation point to some commonly accepted factors that can impart additional residual stress:
1. Residual stresses within the tin plating caused by factors such as the plating chemistry and process. Electroplated finishes (especially
"bright" finishes) appear to be most susceptible to whisker formation reportedly because bright tin plating processes can introduce greater
residual stresses than other plating processes.
2. Intermetallic Formation: The diffusion of the substrate material into the tin plating (or vice versa) can lead to formation of intermetallic
compounds (such as Cu6Sn5 for a Sn over Cu system) that alter the lattice spacing in the tin plating. The change in lattice spacing may
impart stresses to the tin plating that may be relieved through the formation of tin whiskers.
3. Externally Applied Compressive Stresses such as those introduced by torquing of a nut or a screw or clamping against a tin-coated surface
can sometimes produce regions of whisker growth.
4. Bending or Stretching of the surface after plating (such as during lead-formation prior to mounting of an electronic component)
5. Scratches or nicks in the plating and/or the substrate material introduced by handling, probing, etc.
6. Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Mismatches between the plating material and substrate
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With respect to factors such as solderability, ease of manufacture and compatibility with existing assembly methods, pure tin plating is seen by the
industry as a potentially simple and cost effective alternative. In fact, many manufacturers have been offering pure tin plated components as a
standard commercial (and in some cases high reliability) product for years while others are exploring pure tin alternatives for the very first time. Many
electronics manufacturers have never heard of the phenomenon of tin whiskers and therefore, may not consider the risks of tin whisker growth during
the validation of new plating systems.
Continuing reports of tin whisker-induced failures coupled with the lack of an industry accepted understanding of tin whisker growth factors and/or
proven and reliable test methods to identify whisker-prone products has made a blanket acceptance of pure tin plating a risky proposition for high
reliability systems. Still, organizations such as NASA and the DoD may soon be faced with few options other than pure tin plating since the desires
of the commercial market for environmentally friendly components carry far more weight than the infinitesimally small market share of the high
reliability user.
1. Shapes: Whiskers may be straight, kinked, hooked or forked. Their outer surfaces are often grooved. Some growths may form as nodules or
pyramidal structures.
2. Incubation (Dormancy) Period: Experimenters report the incubation period may range from days to years. This attribute of whisker growth
is particularly concerning because meaningful experiments to determine the propensity for a particular process to form whiskers may need to
span very long periods of time.
3. Growth Rate: Growth rates from 0.03 to 9 mm/yr have been reported. Growth is highly variable and is likely to be determined by a complex
relationship of factors including plating chemistry, plating thickness, substrate materials, grain structure and environmental storage conditions.
4. Whisker Length: Whiskers as long as a few millimeters are not uncommon with some experimenters observing whiskers in excess of 10
mm (400 mils) in length. Only a few researchers have measured the distribution of whisker lengths for specific specimens. Invariably, these
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researchers report the length distribution fits a lognormal distribution.
5. Whisker Diameter: Typical diameters are a few microns with some reports in excess of 10 um and rarely less than 100 nm.
6. Environmental Factors: There is a great deal of contradictory information regarding environmental factors that might affect whisker
formation. Several organizations are attempting to devise accelerated test methods to determine a particular plating process's propensity to
form tin whiskers. However, to date, there are no accepted test methods for evaluating whisker propensity. Indeed, much of the experimental
data compiled to date has produced contradictory findings regarding which factors accelerate (or retard) whisker growth.
Temperature: Some experimenters report that ambient temperatures of approximately 50°C are optimal for whisker formation, while
others
observe that room temperatures (22°C to 25°C) grow whiskers faster. Reportedly, whisker growth ceases at temperatures above 150°C
Pressure: Whiskers will grow in vacuum as well as earth based atmospheric pressure.
Moisture: Some observe that whiskers form more readily in high humidity (85% RH) whereas others report moisture is not a
contributing factor
Thermal Cycling: Some experimenters report that thermal cycling increases the growth rate of whiskers, but others report no effect
due to thermal cycling.
Electric Field: Whiskers grow spontaneously without requiring an applied electric field to encourage their growth. Some recent
observations of tin whisker induced field problems in the commercial sector seem to suggest that an electric field could stimulate
whisker growth, but more analysis is required to confirm these effects (if any). GSFC has demonstrated that whiskers can bend due to
the forces of electrostatic attraction thus increasing the likelihood of tin whisker shorts (ref. to GSFC experiment #4).
7. Whisker Prone Processes: There is tremendous debate in the industry regarding which plating processes are prone to whisker
formation. Most of the literature agrees that "pure tin" electroplated surfaces (especially those that employ brighteners in the plating process)
are the most susceptible to whisker formation. There are also reports that tin-lead plating can grow whiskers; however, such whiskers are
generally reported to be less than 50um long.
1. Avoid the use of PURE TIN plated components if possible. Utilization of procurement specifications that have clear restrictions against the
use of pure tin plating is highly recommended. Most (but not all) of the commonly used military specifications currently have prohibitions
against pure tin plating. Studies have shown that alloying tin with a second metal reduces the propensity for whisker growth. Alloys of tin and
lead are generally considered to be acceptable where the alloy contains a minimum of 3% lead by weight. Although some experimenters have
reported whisker growth from tin-lead alloys, such whiskers have also been reported to be dramatically smaller than those from pure tin plated
surfaces and are believed to sufficiently small so as not to pose a significant risk for the geometries of today's microelectronics.
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2. Post Procurement It can be dangerous to rely on the part manufacturer's certification that pure tin plating was not used in the production of
the product supplied. NASA GSFC is aware of several instances where the procurement specification required "No Pure Tin", but the product
supplied was later determined to be pure tin. In some of these instances, tin whisker growths were also discovered. Users are advised to
analyze the plating composition of the products received as an independent verification.
When simple avoidance of pure tin plating is not a viable option (such as in cases where its use is discovered late in system integration/test), then
the following approaches may also be considered to reduce risk.
1. Solder Dip the plated surfaces sufficiently using a tin-lead solder to completely reflow and alloy the tin plating. Obviously, special precautions
are required to prevent thermal shock induced damage, to prevent loss of hermeticity and to avoid thermal degradation. This approach may
have limited success since it may be difficult to ensure that the entire surface is properly reflowed. See the April 2004 Photo of the Month for
one example of the limitations associated with this particular mitigation strategy.
2. Replate the whisker prone areas. Some manufacturers may be willing to strip the pure tin plate from finished products and re-plate using a
suitable alternate plating material such as tin/lead or Nickel. Caution is advised if considering use of an external plated finish (e.g., Sn-Pb or
Cu) on top of an existing pure tin deposit. There is some evidence that whiskers may still form from the pure tin layer and protrude through the
thin external deposit.
3. Conformal Coat or foam encapsulation over the whisker prone surface can significantly reduce the risk of electrical short circuits caused
by whiskers. The choice of coating material, thickness and possible degradation with time/environmental exposure can impact the
effectiveness of the coating. NASA GSFC experiments have shown that use of Arathane 5750 (formerly Uralane 5750) conformal when applied
uniformly to a nominal 2 to 3 mils thickness can provide significant benefit by containing whisker growth outward through the coating. This
coating is also resistant to being penetrated by whiskers attempting to puncture the coating from the outside.
"Metal Whiskers: A Discussion for CALCE Symposium", Symp. on Part Reprocessing, Tin Whisker Mitigation and Assembly Rework,
Nov. 12, 2008
J. Brusse, H. Leidecker, L. Panashchenko (especially pages 19-28)
See also the following research by Dr. Tom Woodrow (Boeing) in which he evaluated 6 different conformal coat materials for purposes of
inhibiting whisker formation and subsequent shorting hazards.
"Evaluation of Conformal Coatings as a Tin Whisker Mitigation Strategy, Part 2", SMTAI, Sept. 2006
"Evaluation of Conformal Coatings as a Tin Whisker Mitigation Strategy", IPC/JEDEC 8th International Conference on Pb-Free
Electronic Components and Assemblies, San Jose, CA, April 18-20, 2005
technical paper (~11 Mbytes) and
presentation (~19 Mbytes)
It has also been observed experimentally that conformal coating can restrict the availability of tin sufficiently to minimize the risk of plasma
formation during a shorting event. However, such factors as the minimum thickness of conformal coating necessary to prevent plasma
formation have not been determined. Similarly, it has been shown that foam can prevent sustained arcing but the effects of foam type, foam
density, pore size etc. have not been evaluated.
4. Evaluate Application Specific Risks. A variety of application specific considerations may be used to assess the risk of whisker induced
failures and assist in making "use as-is" or "repair/replace" decisions. These factors include circuit geometries that are sufficiently large to
preclude the risk of a tin whisker short, mission criticality, mission duration, collateral risk of rework, schedule and cost. To assist in
evaluating application specific risks, David Pinsky (Raytheon) has developed a tin whisker risk assessment algorithm which can be reviewed
Note: reference to this algorithm herein DOES NOT imply endorsement by NASA
In 2002, Dr. Mike Osterman (CALCE Center at the University of Maryland) published a white paper outlining pros and cons of assorted
strategies for mitigating risks associated with tin whiskers.
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