Whisker (metallurgy)

Metal whiskering is a phenomenon which occurs in electrical devices when metals form long whisker-like projections over time. Tin whiskers were noticed and documented in the vacuum tube era of electronics early in the 20th century in equipment that used pure, or almost pure, tin solder in their production. It was noticed that small metal hairs or tendrils grew between metal solder pads, causing short circuits. Metal whiskers form in the presence of compressive stress. Germanium, zinc, cadmium, and even lead whiskers have been documented. Many techniques are used to mitigate the problem, including changes to the annealing process (heating and cooling), the addition of elements like copper and nickel, and the inclusion of conformal coatings. Traditionally, lead has been added to slow down whisker growth in tin-based solders. Following the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS), the European Union banned the use of lead in most consumer electronic products from 2006 due to health problems associated with lead and the "high-tech trash" problem, leading to a re-focusing on the issue of whisker formation in lead-free solders. Metal whiskering is a crystalline metallurgical phenomenon involving the spontaneous growth of tiny, filiform hairs from a metallic surface. The effect is primarily seen on elemental metals but also occurs with alloys. The mechanism behind metal whisker growth is not well understood, but seems to be encouraged by compressive mechanical stresses including: energy gained due to electrostatic polarization of metal filaments in the electric field, residual stresses caused by electroplating, mechanically induced stresses, stresses induced by diffusion of different metals, thermally induced stresses, and strain gradients in materials. Metal whiskers differ from metallic dendrites in several respects: dendrites are fern-shaped and grow across the surface of the metal, while metal whiskers are hair-like and project normal to the surface.