Effects of Void, Crack, and PCB Thickness on the Solder Joint Reliability of Wafer-Level Chip-Scale Package (WLCSP) Assemblies

Author(s):  
John Lau ◽  
Yida Zou ◽  
Sergio Camerlo

The creep analyses of solder-bumped wafer-level chip-scale package (WLCSP) on printed circuit board (PCB) subjected to temperature cycling loading are presented. Emphasis is placed on the effects of PCB thickness on the solder joint reliability of the WLCSP assembly. Also, the effects of crack-length on the crack tip characteristics such as the J-integral in the WLCSP solder joint are studied by the fracture mechanics method. Finally, the effects of voids on the crack growth in the WLCSP solder joint are investigated.

Author(s):  
M. Niessner ◽  
G. Haubner ◽  
W. Hartner ◽  
S. Pahlke

A DfR (Design for Reliability) approach which is systematically based on simulation, sensitivity analysis and experimental validation is applied for identifying, understanding and controlling the key factors which determine the solder joint reliability of eWLB (Embedded Wafer Level Ball Grid Array) packages that carry embedded 77 GHz dies and sit on hybrid PCB (Printed Circuit Board) stacks. The hybrid stack investigated in this work is characteristic to automotive RADAR (Radio Detection And Ranging) applications and consists of one low-loss RF (Radio Frequency) layer and several FR4 layers. In line with previous work [1], the mechanical material properties of the low-loss RF laminate material are found to be the key factor. Simulation is used to systematically screen for mechanical properties which are favorable for achieving a high solder joint reliability on the unconstrained PCBs used for standardized solder joint reliability testing. A simplified virtual assessment of PCBs constrained by the mounting in system module housings is done. Both simulation and experimental results show that RF laminate materials with low Young’s modulus are the class of materials which allows for the highest solder joint reliability for all the conditions investigated in this study.


Author(s):  
Jefferson Talledo

Leadframe-based packages are commonly used for semiconductor power devices. With these packages, heat dissipation is much better compared with laminate substrated-based packages. However, the solder joint reliability requirement under thermal cycling condition is also higher and this is what makes the development of a power package challenging. One of the usual requirements from customers is that there should be no solder joint failure up to 2,000 thermal cycles. This paper presents the thermomechanical simulation of a power leadframe package that was conducted to improve its solder joint reliability. Board level solder joint cycle life was predicted using finite element analysis and the result was validated with actual solder life result from board level reliability evaluation. Since available solder prediction equation was for the characteristic life (63.2% accumulative failure), using the normalized characteristic life was implemented for predicting the number of cycles to first failure of the solder joint connection and the approach showed good agreement with the actual result. Results also indicated that the choice of epoxy mold material and the type of PCB (printed circuit board) have a significant contribution to the solder joint reliability performance.


Author(s):  
Jefferson Talledo

Solder joint reliability is very important to ensure that an integrated circuit (IC) semiconductor package is functional within its intended life span as the solder joint establishes electrical connection between the IC and the printed circuit board (PCB). Solder fatigue failure or crack under thermal cycling is one of the common problems with board-mounted packages. There are several factors or package characteristics that have impact on solder fatigue life like package size and material properties of the package components. This paper presents a thermo-mechanical modeling of a leadframe-based semiconductor package to study the impact of lead sidewall solder coverage and corner lead size on the solder joint reliability. Finite element analysis (FEA) technique was used to calculate the solder life considering 50% and 100% package lead sidewall solder coverage as well as smaller and larger critical corner leads of the package. The results of the analysis showed that higher lead sidewall solder coverage and larger lead could significantly increase solder life. Therefore, ensuring lead sidewall solder wettability to have higher solder coverage is beneficial. The study also reveals that packages with side wettable flanks are not only enabling high speed automated optical inspection required for the automotive industry, but they are also providing improved solder joint reliability.


2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Lau ◽  
Stephen H. Pan ◽  
Chris Chang

Abstract In this study, time-temperature-dependent nonlinear analyses of lead-free solder bumped wafer level chip scale package (WLCSP) on printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies subjected to thermal cycling conditions are presented. Two different lead-free solder alloys are considered, namely, 96.5wt%Sn-3.5wt%Ag and 100wt%In. The 62wt%Sn-36wt%Pb-2wt%Ag solder alloy is also considered to establish a baseline. All of these solder alloys are assumed to obey the Garofalo-Arrhenius steady-state creep constitutive law. The shear stress and shear creep strain hysteresis loops, shear stress history, and shear creep strain history at the corner solder joint are presented for a better understanding of the thermal-mechanical behaviors of lead-free solder bumped WLCSP on PCB assemblies. Also, the effects of microvia build-up PCB on the WLCSP solder joint reliability are investigated.


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