Crystallographic Texture and Whiskers in Electrodeposited Tin Films

Electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis was used to determine texture for electrodeposited tin films, and the results were compared to standard X-ray "times random" and full pole figure texture analysis. The data showed that EBSD and X-ray texture results differed as to primary and secondary texture determinations with some degree of correlation between texture determinations when primary/secondary/tertiary calculations were disregarded. It is these authors' opinion that film texture cannot be accurately determined using "times random" X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques, and that there is considerable room for error with X-ray pole figure analyses. These data must be considered preliminary due to the small sample size, but these results indicate that electroplaters may have better control over as-deposited tin film texture than is currently believed, and that there is a relationship between as-deposited texture and film stress