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Contents:
Reliabilityof Solder interconnections- General aspects
Literature:
K. Puttlitz, Handbook of Lead-Free Solder Technology for
Microelectronic Assemblies
D. Frear, The Mechanics of Solder Alloy Interconnects
J. Lau, Thermal Stress and Strain in Microelectronic Packaging
K. Puttlitz, Area array interconnection handbook
Design for Reliability 20.11.2012
Solder J oint Reliability
As stated before, electronic assembly designs have incorporated
various types of technology configurations to form mechanical,
electrical and thermal interconnections.
These configurations have developed from through-hole
technologies (single-sides, double-sided and PTH architectures)
to SMT technology
SMT technology includes:
Standard, fine pitch and very fine pitch devices
Leaded and leadless components
Ball and column grid arrays
Max. input/output- to component size ratio without excessive use of board
acreage
Durable, long-lasting and inexpensive mass production methods
2
Solder Joint Reliability is the ability of solder joints to remain in
conformance to their visual/mechanical, thermal and electrical
specifications over a given period of time, under a specified set
of operating conditions.
Component-level solder joint reliability within the package
structure itself
Board-level solder joint reliability deals with the reliability of
the solder joints of a package after it has been mounted on a
board or substrate, encompassing both the solder-to-package
and solder-to-board interfaces.
board-level reliability testing is more difficult to implement.
Solder J oint Reliability
Board level vs. die level
Mechanisms that determine the reliability (fatigue, creep, corrosion etc.)
are same in board and die level, but the differences in material/process
characteristics have to be taken into consideration
Crack propagation distance is much larger in bigger board level solder
joints
Strain levels can be considerably higher in board level because of CTE
mismatch
The influence of design, process, materials (thermomechanical)
properties and environment has to be addressed on both levels in order
to fully understand the reliability especially under cyclic stresses
(fatigue)
Board-Level Area Array Interconnect Reliability
3
The solder properties are largely dependent on both the mechanical and
physical properties (which are also dependent on chemical
composition)
The bulk solder and substrate compositions together with the thermo-
mechanical history define the condition, state and properties of the joint
(microstructure)
These factors greatly contribute to joint properties
Creep and fatigue strengths
Ductility
Electrical and thermal conductivity
Diffusivity
CTE
Resistance to corrosion and other environmental effects
Solder J oint Reliability
CTE Mismatch and area array package solder joint fatigue
PCB expands about 6 times more than typical ceramic package
Board-Level Area Array Interconnect Reliability
Temperature excursions in electronic systems
It is to be noted that while a device may be turned
on and off thousands of times a second the solder
joints only experience the average device-power
dissipation
Since the IC is the heat source it has a higher
temperature than the chip carrier which in turn has
higher temperature than the solder joint
4
Product reliability is an important factor especially in portable
electronics, because these increasingly powerful and more
complexelectronic equipment experience different kinds of
electrical, thermal, mechanical, and thermo-mechanical
strains and stresses in their service environments.
The importance of solder interconnection reliability is increased
mainly due to two reasons:
Firstly, higher interconnection densities
Secondly, the employment of lead-free solders, component under bump
or lead metallizations, and PWB protective coatings add to the
complexity of the interconnection metallurgies
Solder J oint Reliability
Reliability testing
Lead-free technology more complex reactions
more complex microstructures
Testing even more important than before
Better understanding of failure mechanisms under
different loading conditions is needed
Different combinations of various tests:
Thermal cycling
Drop-testing
Power cycling
Vibrational testing
Corrosive environment
Thermal annealing
etc.
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There are three major mechanisms of solder joint failure,
although these often interplay with each other simultaneously.
1) tensile rupture or fracture due to mechanical overloading
2) creep failure, or damage caused by a long-lasting permanent load or
stress
3) fatigue, or damage caused by cyclical loads or stresses.
One way to analyze solder joint reliability is to perform solder
joint modeling, or analysis of solder joint strengths and
weaknesses using computer models.
Solder J oint Reliability
Ref:C Bailey, University
of Greenwich
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Ref:C Bailey, University
of Greenwich
Numerous studies have been made of the effect of geometry on the
reliability
The most accurate models are finite element representations which consider
plastic flow properties
In the most sophisticated cases also the time- dependent processes
Creep deformation
Fatigue crack initiation and propagation
These suffer from the lack of parametric generality
Other models, which are analytic and parametric in nature, are weakened by
gross approximations in the solder behaviour and failure criteria
SMT-J oint Geometry and Design
} }

= A
A
= A dV dt W
V
V W
W
e
e
e
e
c o ,
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Stress distribution (von Mises) FC-joint
Elastic analysis(also solder):
Heating: 0 100 C
Max stress =170 MPa
Time dependent deformation:
Heating: 0 100 C
Max stress =11 MPa
40 - 50 MPa
Life-time according tom Darveaux
Crack nucleation [cycles]
Crack propagation [m/cycle]
Cysles to fracture
( )
2
1 0
C
f
W C N A =
( )
4
3
C
W C
dN
da
A =
dN
da
a
N N
f f
+ =
0
a
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The joint design, including lead shape and height, and volume (shape
and size) of the solder, has great effect on the long-term performance
of a joint.
An extremely simplified equation for estimating the shear stress () in the joint
is:
Ao=CTE difference,
AT=temperature change,
D
np
=distance from the neutral point (component centre) and
t=joint height
The flexible component leads decrease the stress affecting the solder joint in
leaded SMT-components
SMT-J oint Geometry and Design
t
D T
np
o A A
=
t
D T
np
o A A
=
9
t
D T
np
o A A
=
t
D T
np
o A A
=
10
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion
(CTE)
Global, local and internal effects result
from the CTE difference between
Component and PWB
Solder and metallizations
Different phases in solder etc.
Heating and cooling operations during
soldering processes can result in
extremely large ATs and temperature
gradients
Also power dissipation during use can
cause problems
Complicated states of stress and strain
may result
SMT-J oint Geometry and Design
t
D T
np
o A A
=
Aside from modeling, solder joint reliability is also assessed
through reliability testing.
Reliability testing consists of subjecting representative samples
bearing the solder joint of interest to industry-standard
reliability tests so that:
1) factors that cause or accelerate the various solder joint failure
mechanisms will be uncovered and understood
2) actual reliability data may be generated for further analysis.
Solder J oint Reliability
11
Solder volume associated with a joint affects the stress distribution and
can also affect crack propagation rates once crack has been initiated
Poorly formed joints can have built-in stress concentration sites that provide
premature crack initiation
Large solder volumes in leadless chip carriers have demonstrated better fatigue
resistance than smaller- volume joints
Larger volumes distribute the applied stress over larger cross-sectional area
Also large solder volume provides additional area for the crack to propagate
through
The main factors determining reliable solder joint are:
Uniform properties
Chemical composition
Microstructure
Joint shape
SMT-J oint Geometry and Design
Through-hole joint configurations refer to package types in
which the component leads are inserted and soldered into
predrilled holes in PWB
Solder J oint Reliability- Through Hole Components
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As PTH-joints are generally very reliable especially from mechanical
point of view, most problems arise from the quality of coatings and
manufacturing process.
Some rules of thumb:
A gap of 150-200m between lead and hole wall is normally specified
The protrusion of lead should be kept small (0.8-2.0 mm) to minimize drainage
of the solder fillet
The through-hole pad should be round and approx. three times the lead
diameter
To maintain appropriate fillet formation, the minimum height of the lead
should equal the pad width
Solder J oint Reliability- Through Hole Components
Process problems
Cold joints
Temperature of the surfaces are not high enough
Dissolution is slowed down/ prevented
Wetting problems
Macroscopic movement during cooling
Voids/cavities
Crack nucleation sites
Solder bridging
Bath contamination (Zn, Cd)
icicling
Bridging (also wave pressure affects)
Solder J oint Reliability- Through Hole Components