Large-Scale Damage Path Simulation for Solder Joints in a BGA Package

Author(s):  
Takahiro Omori ◽  
Kenji Hirohata ◽  
Tomoko Monda ◽  
Minoru Mukai

There is high demand for fatigue life prediction of solder joints in electronic packages such as ball grid arrays (BGAs). A key component of fatigue life prediction technology is a canary device, which warns of the impending risk of failure through loss of function before other important parts become severely impaired. In a BGA package, thermal fatigue of solder joints normally starts from the solder joints at the outermost part of the package. This can be taken advantage of by using the outermost solder joints as canary devices for detecting the degree of cumulative mechanical fatigue damage. To accurately estimate the lifetimes of other functional solder joints, it is essential to understand the relationship between the fatigue lives of canary joints and other functional joints. Damage path simulation is therefore proposed for predicting the crack propagation in solder joints on electronic packages through numerical simulation. During the process of designing the layout of canary joints and other joints, it is very useful to know not only the relationship between the fatigue lives of the canary and other joints, but also the path of crack propagation through all joints. This paper presents a method for estimating the relationship between the fatigue lives of canary joints and other joints by using damage path simulation. Some BGA packages mounted on a printed circuit board are modeled to demonstrate the process of estimating the lifetime of each joint under thermal cycle loading. A large-scale finite element model is used to accurately represent the geometrical properties of the printed circuit board and package. Both crack initiation and crack propagation processes can be simultaneously evaluated by modeling all of the solder joints on each package. The results show that damage path simulation and large-scale modeling are useful for determining the layout of canary joints in electronic packages.

1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Praharaj ◽  
S. Azarm

In this paper, a new approach for optimization-based design of nonlinearly mixed discrete-continuous problems has been developed. The approach is based on a two-level decomposition strategy in which the entire domain of variables is partitioned into two levels, one involving the continuous variables and the other involving the discrete variables. Variables in one level are optimized for fixed values of the variable from the other level. A modified penalty function is formed, based on monotonicity analysis, to solve for the discrete variables, and a conventional optimization method is used to solve for the continuous variables. To improve the computational effectiveness of the approach, a constrained derivative relationship is also adopted. The performance of the entire algorithm is then demonstrated through an example involving a simplified model for printed circuit board assemblies. The objective in the example is to maximize assembly reliability by: (1) adding redundant components to the boards, and (2) optimally distributing allocated mass flow to the individual channels of the circuit boards. Number of variables in the example is then varied to investigate the effectiveness and potential of the approach for large-scale problems.


Author(s):  
Minoru Mukai ◽  
Kenji Hirohata ◽  
Hiroyuki Takahashi ◽  
Takashi Kawakami ◽  
Kuniaki Takahashi

Fatigue life prediction of solder joints is one of the most important areas of research in the development of reliable electronic packages. Recent trends in electronic package development indicate a shift toward smaller solder joints and larger package sizes, and temperature changes under field conditions are also becoming greater. Since reliability design of solder joints has become severer, the estimation of the crack propagation is becoming important like the estimation of the crack initiation. In the present study, a new method of estimating the crack propagation, which is based on finite element analysis without geometrical crack model, was examined, in order to ensure suitability for practical use in electronic package design. On the basis of a damage model assumed for Sn-37Pb solder, the new method called ‘damage path simulation’ was verified for solder joints in QFP (Quad Flat Package). In the case of solder joints of the gull-wing type, fatigue cracks are commonly initiated from the upper surface of the solder fillet, and propagated in the vicinity of the interface with the outer lead. It was clear that the extension of the damage path showed good agreement with the behavior of crack propagation observed in the actual thermal cycle tests. Damage path extension from a pointed end of outer lead is also simulated simultaneously with that from the upper surface of the solder fillet, and both damage paths were finally combined at a gap between outer lead and printed circuit board. The advantage of the present method is especially evident when the fatigue cracks were initiated from two or more regions. From the results of this study, it was concluded that the estimation of the crack propagation in solder joints based on the present method is satisfactory for engineering purposes.


2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 884-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.H. Wong ◽  
S.K.W. Seah ◽  
C.S. Selvanayagam ◽  
R. Rajoo ◽  
W.D. van Driel ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
S. Praharaj ◽  
Shapour Azarm

Abstract In this paper, a new approach for optimization-based design of non-linearly mixed discrete-continuous problems has been developed. The approach is based on a two-level decomposition strategy in which the entire domain of variables is partitioned into two levels, one involving the continuous variables and the other involving the discrete variables. Variables in one level are optimized for fixed values of the variable from the other level. A modified penalty function is formed, based on monotonicity analysis, to solve for the discrete variables, and a conventional optimization method was used to solve for the continuous variables. To improve the computational effectiveness of the approach, a constrained derivative relationship was also adopted. The performance of the entire algorithm is then demonstrated through an example involving printed circuit board assemblies. The objective in the example is to maximize assembly reliability by: (1) adding redundant components to the boards and (2) optimally distributing allocated mass flow to the individual channels of the circuit boards. Number of variables in the example is then varied to investigate the effectiveness and potential of the approach for large-scale problems.


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