Microstructure Signature Evolution in Solder Joints, Solder Bumps, and Micro-Bumps Interconnection in A Large 2.5D FCBGA Package During Thermo-Mechanical Cycling

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arman Ahari ◽  
Andy Hsiao ◽  
Greg Baty ◽  
Peng Su ◽  
Tae-Kyu Lee
Keyword(s):  
Solder Joints ◽  
Mechanical Cycling ◽  
Solder Bumps

Quantitative Evaluation of Voids in Lead Free Solder Joints

2015 ◽  
Vol 772 ◽  
pp. 284-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabuj Mallik ◽  
Jude Njoku ◽  
Gabriel Takyi
Keyword(s):  
Solder Bump ◽  
Solder Joints ◽  
Void Formation ◽  
Lead Free ◽  
Lead Free Solder ◽  
Solder Paste ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Solder Bumps ◽  
Free Solder

Voiding in solder joints poses a serious reliability concern for electronic products. The aim of this research was to quantify the void formation in lead-free solder joints through X-ray inspections. Experiments were designed to investigate how void formation is affected by solder bump size and shape, differences in reflow time and temperature, and differences in solder paste formulation. Four different lead-free solder paste samples were used to produce solder bumps on a number of test boards, using surface mount reflow soldering process. Using an advanced X-ray inspection system void percentages were measured for three different size and shape solder bumps. Results indicate that the voiding in solder joint is strongly influenced by solder bump size and shape, with voids found to have increased when bump size decreased. A longer soaking period during reflow stage has negatively affectedsolder voids. Voiding was also accelerated with smaller solder particles in solder paste.

A Highly Accelerated Thermal Cycling (HATC) Test for Solder Reliability Assessment in BGA Packages

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Long ◽  
I. Dutta ◽  
R. Guduru ◽  
R. Prasanna ◽  
M. Pacheco
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Cycling ◽  
Solder Joints ◽  
Low Cycle Fatigue ◽  
Inelastic Strain ◽  
Fatigue Reliability ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Mechanical Cycling ◽  
Experimental Apparatus ◽  
Dependent Strain ◽  
Accelerated Thermal Cycling

A thermo-mechanical loading system, which can superimpose a temperature and location dependent strain on solder joints, is proposed in order to conduct highly accelerated thermal-mechanical cycling (HATC) tests to assess thermal fatigue reliability of Ball Grid Array (BGA) solder joints in microelectronics packages. The application of this temperature and position dependent strain produces generally similar loading modes (shear and tension) encountered by BGA solder joints during service, but substantially enhances the inelastic strain accumulated during thermal cycling over the same temperature range as conventional ATC (accelerated thermal cycling) tests, thereby leading to a substantial acceleration of low-cycle fatigue damage. Finite element analysis was conducted to aid the design of experimental apparatus and to predict the fatigue life of solder joints in HATC testing. Detailed analysis of the loading locations required to produce failure at the appropriate joint (next to the die-edge ball) under the appropriate tension/shear stress partition are presented. The simulations showed that the proposed HATC test constitutes a valid methodology for further accelerating conventional ATC tests. An experimental apparatus, capable of applying the requisite loads to a BGA package was constructed, and experiments were conducted under both HATC and ATC conditions. It is shown that HATC proffers much reduced cycling times compared to ATC.

Nondestructive Observation of Thermal Fatigue Crack Propagation in FBGA and Die Attached Solder Joints by Synchrotron Radiation X-Ray Laminography

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Tsuritani ◽  
Toshihiko Sayama ◽  
Yoshiyuki Okamoto ◽  
Takeshi Takayanagi ◽  
Masato Hoshino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Synchrotron Radiation ◽  
Crack Propagation ◽  
Thermal Fatigue ◽  
Solder Joints ◽  
Fatigue Cracks ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Micro Cracks ◽  
Solder Bumps

The reliability of solder joints on printed circuit boards (PCBs) is significantly affected by thermal fatigue processes due to downsizing and high density packaging in electronic components. Accordingly, there is a strong desire in related industries for development of a new nondestructive inspection technology to detect fatigue cracks appearing in these joints. The authors have applied the SP-μCT, a synchrotron radiation X-ray microtomography system, to the nondestructive observation of such cracks. However, for planar objects such as PCB substrates, reconstruction of CT images is difficult due to insufficient X-ray transmission along the parallel axis of the substrate. In order to solve this problem, a synchrotron radiation X-ray laminography system was developed to overcome the size limits of such specimens. In this work, this system was applied to the three-dimensional, nondestructive observation of thermal fatigue cracks in solder joints, for which X-ray CT inspection has been extremely difficult. The observed specimens included two typical joint structures formed using Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder: (1) a fine pitch ball grid array (FBGA) joint specimen in which an LSI package is connected to a substrate by solder bumps 360 μm in diameter, and (2) a die-attached specimen in which a 3 mm square ceramic chip is mounted on a substrate. The optical system developed for use in X-ray laminography was constructed to provide a rotation axis with a 30° tilt from the right angle to the X-ray beam, and to obtain X-ray projection images via the beam monitor. The same solder joints were observed successively using the laminography system at beamline BL20XU at SPring-8, the largest synchrotron radiation facility in Japan. In the FBGA type specimen, fatigue cracks were clearly observed to appear at the periphery of the joint interface, and to propagate gradually to the inner regions of the solder bumps as thermal cycling proceeded. In contrast, in the die-attached joint specimen, micro-cracks were observed to appear and propagate through the thin solder layer. An important observation was that these micro-cracks become interconnected prior to propagation of the main fatigue crack. The fatigue crack propagation lifetime was also estimated in both specimens by measuring the crack surface area and calculating the average crack propagation rate through the three-dimensional images. Consequently, the sectional images obtained by the laminography system clearly show the process of crack propagation due to thermal cyclic loading.

Effects of Shear Cycling on the Mechanical Properties of SAC and SAC+X Lead Free Solder Joints

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Aminul Hoque ◽  
Md Mahmudur Chowdhury ◽  
Sa’d Hamasha ◽  
Jeffrey C. Suhling ◽  
Pradeep Lall
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Solder Joints ◽  
Coefficient Of Thermal Expansion ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Material Behavior ◽  
Lead Free ◽  
Lead Free Solder ◽  
Cyclic Shear ◽  
Mechanical Cycling ◽  
Free Solder

Abstract Solder joint reliability is a chief concern in electronic assemblies. Electronic packages consist of various materials, each having their own Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE). When assembled packages experience high temperature gradients and thermal cycles, a mismatch in the CTE values brings about cyclic shear strains in the solder joints, which can ultimately lead to failure. Thus, it is important to understand the effects of shear cycling on the damage accumulated in solder joints. Previous studies conducted on the effect of mechanical cycling on the material behavior of lead free solders have been performed on bulk samples subjected to tension and compression. Our goal in this study was to determine the evolution of the mechanical properties of doped lead free solder joints when subjected to mechanical shear cycling. Experiments conducted on actual solder joints would help us gain a better understanding on the real life effects of shear cycling. The test specimens consisted of a 3 × 3 array of nine solder joints of approximately 0.75 mm diameter. With the aid of specially designed test fixtures, the specimens were gripped and then subjected to mechanical cycling in the shear using an Instron Micromechanical tester. Testing was performed on both SAC305 and SACX (SAC+Bi) solder joints. The joints were cycled for certain durations, and a nanoindentation system was used to measure the evolution of the mechanical properties (elastic modulus, hardness, creep rate) as a function of the number of shear cycles.

Property of Sn-37Pb solder bumps with different diameter during thermal shock

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guisheng Gan ◽  
Donghua Yang ◽  
Yi-ping Wu ◽  
Xin Liu ◽  
Pengfei Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shear Strength ◽  
Solder Joint ◽  
Thermal Shock ◽  
Solder Joints ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ball Size ◽  
Solder Bumps ◽  
Free Solder ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The impact strength of solder joint under high strain rate was evaluated by board level test method. However, the impact shear test of single solder bump was more convenient and economical than the board level test method. With the miniaturization of solder joints, solder joints were more prone to failure under thermal shock and more attention has been paid to the impact reliability of solder joint. But Pb-free solder joints may be paid too much attention and Sn-Pb solder joints may be ignored. Design/methodology/approach In this study, thermal shock test between −55°C and 125°C was conducted on Sn-37Pb solder bumps in the BGA package to investigate microstructural evolution and growth mechanism of interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMCs) layer. The effects of thermal shock and ball diameter on the mechanical property and fracture behavior of Sn-37Pb solder bumps were discussed. Findings With the increase of ball size, the same change tendency of shear strength with thermal shock cycles. The shear strength of the solder bumps was the highest after reflow; with the increase of the number of thermal shocks, the shear strength of the solder bumps was decreased. But at the time of 2,000 cycles, the shear strength was increased to the initial strength. Minimum shear strength almost took place at 1,500 cycles in all solder bumps. The differences between maximum shear strength and minimum shear strength were 9.11 MPa and 16.83 MPa, 17.07 MPa and 15.59 MPa in φ0.3 mm and φ0.4 mm, φ0.5 mm and φ0.6 mm, respectively, differences were increased with increasing of ball size. With similar reflow profile, the thickness of IMC decreased as the diameter of the ball increased. The thickness of IMC was 2.42 µm and 2.17 µm, 1.63 µm and 1.77 µm with increasing of the ball size, respectively. Originality/value Pb-free solder was gradually used to replace traditional Sn-Pb solder and has been widely used in industry. Nevertheless, some products inevitably used a mixture of Sn-Pb and Pb-free solder to make the transition from Sn-Pb to Pb-free solder. Therefore, it was very important to understand the reliability of Sn-Pb solder joint and more further research works were also needed.

Dynamic Recrystallization of Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu Pb-Free Solder Alloy

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Holdermann ◽  
Gayatri Cuddalorepatta ◽  
Abhijit Dasgupta
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Solder Joints ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Fatigue Tests ◽  
Sac305 Solder ◽  
Creep Tests ◽  
Lap Shear ◽  
Mechanical Cycling ◽  
Sac Solder

This study examines microstructural recrystallization in Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) solder joints due to isothermal, mechanical cycling. It is well known that after reflow SAC solder joints at length scales of 200 μm consist of only a few grains [1–3]. This coarse microstructure makes the joint mechanically inhomogeneous and anisotropic, and non-repeatable. Creep tests conducted on modified lap-shear SAC305 solder joints therefore show significant scatter in their results, because of piece-to-piece variability in the microstructural morphology [1]. However, results of cyclic fatigue tests of the same SAC305 solder joints show less significant scatter [4]. One possible hypothesis is that dynamic recrystallization occurs during the cycling, resulting in a much finer (and hence more isotropic, homogeneous and repeatable) microstructure. Recrystallization of solder has been reported to occur under thermal cycling [5–6]. The objective of this study is to assess the extent of recrystallization of SAC305 solder during isothermal mechanical cycling fatigue. Focused ion beam technology is used to prepare a very clean and even surface to reveal the SAC305 grains in modified lap-shear test specimens, both before and after isothermal mechanical cycling. Polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and focused ion beam microscopy are used to reveal the microstructure of these SAC305 solder joints. The results show that mechanical cycling produces the same type of recrystallization behavior of SAC solder, as has been reported in the literature for thermally cycled specimens [5–6]. The number of grains in the SAC305 solder joint changes from a few to hundreds, during mechanical cycling. As expected, the recrystallization is observed to be localized around cracks in the solder joint, where the local stresses are the highest. The minimal grain size near the cracked region is approximately 4–6 μm and the average grain size increases significantly with increasing distance from the crack face. The transition of solder from very few (non-homogeneous and anisotropic) to a homogenous recrystallized state may be one possible explanation for differences in the extent of scatter in the data from creep tests and isothermal mechanical fatigue tests.

Gold in Flux-less Bonding: Noble or not Noble

2011 ◽  
Vol 1299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Balucani ◽  
Paolo Nenzi ◽  
Fabrizio Palma ◽  
Hanna Bandarenka ◽  
Leonid Dolgyi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solder Joints ◽  
Gold Surface ◽  
Surface Finishing ◽  
Compression Process ◽  
Free Standing ◽  
Plating Bath ◽  
Solder Bumps ◽  
Atmosphere Temperature ◽  
Gold Diffusion ◽  
Pulling Force

ABSTRACTThis work highlights the solder joints reliability issues emerged during the development of a novel compliant contacting technology. The peculiar process in this technology is a mechanical lifting procedure in which a pulling force is exerted onto 63Sn-37Pb (eutectic) solder joints (realized by a flux-less thermo compression process), releasing metal traces from the substrate, to form free standing vertical structures. Since joints mechanical characteristics are critical for the successful fabrication of contacts, different bonding conditions (inert or forming atmosphere, temperature rates) and surface finishing (electroplated gold and preformed solder) have been tested. SEM and EDX analyses have been performed on failing joints to investigate failure causes and classify defect typologies. A constantly higher failure rate (percent number of failing joints) has been observed on gold finished surfaces. Analyses proved that such unusual rate was due to contamination of gold surface left by additives in the plating bath and to the embrittlement caused by gold diffusion into molten solder. Plating additives contamination reduces the wettability of gold surfaces. Concentration values of 3 wt.% for gold, considered safe for surface mount applications, caused embrittlement in solder bumps of 20-40 μm diameters.

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