Fatigue Life Estimation of Solder Joints in SMT-PGA Packages
The fatigue life estimation of solder joints is one of the most critical requirements in the development of reliable electronic components. In this study, we first examined a constitutive model for Sn63-Pb37 solder based on the results of material tests. It was confirmed that the behavior of the solder material can be expressed by the elastic-creep constitutive equations when the strain rate was low. Secondly, elastic-creep stress analysis was carried out for the solder joints of a SMT-PGA (surface mount technology pin grid array) package. The location of the failure predicted by the analytical results agreed well with those of the thermal cycle tests (TCT). It was shown that the fatigue life estimation of solder joints based on the present method is satisfactory for engineering purposes.