Impact of Thermal Cycling on Sn-Ag-Cu Solder Joints and Board-Level Drop Reliability

The electronic packaging industry uses electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) or Cu-organic solderability preservative (Cu-OSP) as a bonding pad surface finish for solder joints. In portable electronic products, drop impact tests induce solder joint failures via the interfacial intermetallic, which is a serious reliability concern. The intermetallic compound (IMC) is subjected to thermal cycling, which negatively affects the drop impact reliability. In this work, the reliability of lead-free Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC) soldered fine-pitch ball grid array assemblies were investigated after being subjected to a combination of thermal cycling followed by board level drop tests. Drop impact tests conducted before and after thermal aging cycles (500, 1000, and 1500 thermal cycles) show a transition of failure modes and a significant reduction in drop durability for both SAC/ENIG and SAC/Cu-OSP soldered assemblies. Without thermal cycling aging, the boards with the Cu-OSP surface finish exhibit better drop impact reliability than those with ENIG. However, the reverse is true if thermal cycle (TC) aging is performed. For SAC/Cu-OSP soldered assemblies, a large number of Kirkendall voids were observed at the interface between the intermetallic and Cu pad after thermal cycling aging. The void formation resulted in weak bonding between the solder and Cu, leading to brittle interface fracture in the drop impact test, which resulted in significantly lower drop test lifetimes. For SAC/ENIG soldered assemblies, the consumption of Ni in the formation of NiCuSn intermetallics induced vertical voids in the Ni(P) layer.     

BGA焊点在板级跌落实验中的疲劳寿命估计

按照JEDEC标准对板级跌落实验的要求测试了有铅和无铅焊点的球栅阵列封装.用ANSYS软件建立了有限元分析模型,并用ANSYS/LS-DYNA直接求解器计算了典型结点的应力和应变,以及每次跌落时积累在焊点中的平均应变能密度.利用实验和模拟的结果重新计算了Darveaux模型中的常数,将这个模型的应用范围扩展到了跌落环境,并计算了各种条件下焊点的疲劳寿命.     

Effect of Interfacial Reactions on the Reliability of Lead-Free Assemblies after Board Level Drop Tests

The reliability of lead-free electronic assemblies after board level drop tests was investigated. Thin small outline package (TSOP) components with 42 FeNi alloy leads were reflow soldered on FR4 printed circuit boards (PCBs) with Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (wt%) solder. The effects of different PCB finishes [organic solderability preservative (OSP) and electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG)], multiple reflow (once and three times), and isothermal aging (500 h at 125°C after one time reflow) were studied. The ENIG finish showed better performance than its OSP counterparts. With the OSP finish, solder joints reflowed three times showed obvious improvement compared to those of the sample reflowed once, while aging led to apparent degradation. The results showed that intermetallic compound (IMC) types, IMC microstructure and solder microstructure compete with each other, all playing very important roles in the solder joint lifetime. The results also showed that it is important to specify adequate conditions for a given reliability assessment program, to allow meaningful comparison between results of different investigators.     

Ball Impact Responses of Ni- or Ge-Doped Sn-Ag-Cu Solder Joints

In this work, we present ball impact test (BIT) responses and fractographies obtained at an impact velocity of 500 mm/s on Sn-4Ag-0.5Cu, Sn-1Ag-0.5Cu, Sn-1Ag-0.5Cu-0.05Ni, Sn-1.2Ag-0.5Cu-0.05Ni, and Sn-1Ag-0.5Cu-0.05Ge package-level solder joints. The solder joints are bonded on substrate pads of either immersion tin (IT) or direct solder on pad (DSOP) surface finishes. Differences of BIT results with respect to multi-reflow are also reported. Taking the impact energy as an indication of board-level drop reliability of the solder joints, the BIT results indicate that better reliability can be achieved by adopting Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys with low Ag weight contents as well as IT substrate pad finish rather than DSOP. Moreover, the addition of Ni or Ge to the solder alloy provides a large improvement; Ni alters the interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) structure while Ge enhances the mechanical behavior of the bulk solder.     

Predicting the Drop Performance of Solder Joints by Evaluating the Elastic Strain Energy from High-Speed Ball Pull Tests

Despite being expensive and time consuming, board-level drop testing has been widely used to assess the drop or impact resistance of the solder joints in handheld microelectronic devices, such as cellphones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). In this study, a new test method, which is much simpler and quicker, is proposed. The method involves evaluating the elastic strain energy and relating it to the impact resistance of the solder joint by considering the Young’s modulus of the bulk solder and the fracture stress of the solder joint during a ball pull test at high strain rates. The results show that solder joints can be ranked in order of descending elastic strain energy as follows: Sn-37Pb, Sn-1Ag-0.5Cu, Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu, and Sn-4Ag-0.5Cu. This order is consistent with the actual drop performances of the samples.     

Effect of Thermal Aging on Drop Performance of Chip Scale Packages with SnAgCu Solder Joints on Cu Pads

Because of the trend of miniaturization, the drop performance of portable electronic devices is becoming increasingly critical. This study was focused on the influential factors in the drop performance of chip scale packages (CSPs) with Cu/SnAgCu solder joints after thermal aging. Assembled CSP test boards were thermally aged at 100–150°C for up to 1,000 h before drop test. Microstructural evolution in the bulk solder and the interfacial region was investigated after drop test. Crack propagation by drop test and the fractured surfaces were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Kirkendall voiding at the solder/Cu interface and the thickness of interfacial intermetallic compounds did not have a significant effect on the occurrence of the first failure by drop test. Correlation between drop performance and microstructural changes was observed. A model was built to explain the complex drop test results based on the relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties of solder joints.     

电路板印刷中阻焊油墨的选用和常见故障的处理

阻焊油墨在印制电路板（PCB）制作上有重要的作用,要正确选择阻焊油墨,掌握印刷技术,以保证PCB制作的质量。文章主要介绍阻焊油墨印制中要注意的问题和常见故障的解决方法。     

Failure Mechanisms of Thermomechanically Loaded SnAgCu/Plastic Core Solder Ball Composite Joints in Low-Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic/Printed Wiring Board Assemblies

The thermal fatigue endurance of completely lead-free 95.5Sn4Ag0.7Cu/plastic core solder ball (PCSB) composite joint structures in low-temperature Co-fired ceramic/printed wiring board (LTCC/PWB) assemblies was investigated using thermal cycling tests over the temperature ranges of −40°C–125°C and 0°C–100°C. Two separate creep/fatigue failures initiated and propagated in the joints during the tests: (1) a crack along the intermetallic compound (IMC)/solder interface on the LTCC side of the joint, which formed at the high-temperature extremes; and (2) a crack in the solder near the LTCC solder land, which formed at the low-temperature extremes. Moreover, localized recrystallization was detected at the outer edge of the joints that were tested in the harsh (−40°C–125°C) test conditions. The failure mechanism was creep/fatigue-induced mixed intergranular and transgranular cracking in the recrystallized zone, but it was dominated by transgranular thermal fatigue failure beyond the recrystallized zone. The change in the failure mechanism increased the rate of crack growth. When the lower temperature extreme was raised from −40°C to 0°C, no recrystallized zone was detected and the failure was due to intergranular cracks. (Received ...; accepted ...)     

基于再流焊冷却过程应力分析的板极组件BGA焊点参数优化

建立了板级组件BGA（Ball Grid Array）焊点有限元分析模型,对BGA焊点进行了再流焊冷却过程应力仿真分析,设计并完成了验证性实验以验证仿真分析方法的有效性,分析了焊点结构参数和材料变化对焊点再流焊冷却过程应力应变的影响,采用响应面法建立了焊点应力与结构参数的回归方程,结合遗传算法对焊点结构参数进行了优化.结果表明：实验结果证明了仿真分析的有效性;焊点应力随着焊点高度的增加而增大,随着焊点直径的增加而减小;最优焊点结构参数水平组合为：焊点高度0.44mm、焊点直径0.65mm、焊盘直径0.52mm和焊点间距1.10mm;对该最优焊点仿真验证表明最大应力下降了0.1101MPa.     

Failure Morphology after the Drop Impact Test of the Ball Grid Array Package with Lead-Free Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu on Cu and Ni Under-Bump Metallurgies

High strain-rate drop impact tests were performed on ball grid array (BGA) packages with lead-free Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu solder (in wt.%). Plated Ni and Cu under-bump metallurgies (UBMs) were used on the device side, and their drop test performances were compared. Failure occurred at the device side, exhibiting brittle interfacial fracture. For Ni UBM, failure occurred along the Ni/(Cu,Ni)₆Sn₅ interface, while the Cu UBM case showed failure along the interface between two intermetallics, Cu₆Sn₅/Cu₃Sn. However, the damage across the package varied. For Cu UBM, only a few solder balls failed at the device edge, whereas on Ni UBM, many more solder bumps failed. The difference in the failure behavior is due to the adhesion of the UBM and intermetallics rather than the intermetallic thickness. The better adhesion of Cu UBM is due to a more active soldering reaction than Ni, leading to stronger chemical bonding between intermetallics and UBM. In our reflow condition, the soldering reaction rate was about 4 times faster on Cu UBM than on Ni UBM.     

"印制板设计与实现"课程的改革探讨

以PCB产业发展与教学内容为背景,通过反馈信息,分析了学生在“印制板设计与实现”课程学习中,由于缺少感性认识,学习兴趣不高,普遍存有疑虑,最后导致连基本的PCB设计任务也无从下手的现象。为此,采取了突破传统教学模式的系列措施：编写适合学生特点的教材;让学生观察实物;改变检查考核的方式等。由于这些措施符合课程内涵的特点,使学生朝着一种在适度理论知识下,较充分地向展示自身能力特色的方向发展,取得了比较满意的教学效果。     

高速印刷电路板中电磁带隙结构的同步开关噪声抑制和传输特性分析

该文从频域和时域两方面对一种正六边形贴片的电磁带隙(EBG)结构进行了特性分析和研究。利用等效电路理论分析和研究了贴片边长、贴片间距和过孔半径对该结构的带隙和传输特性的各自不同的影响,得到并验证了准确估算不同贴片边长带隙的上、下限频率和带宽的数学表达式。研究表明可以通过贴片间距来改变带宽,但不影响带隙左侧特性,过孔半径的缩小会导致带隙左移并变窄。最终分析了以EBG结构为返回路径的信号线的时域特性,实验证明EBG结构的周期越小,信号的传输质量越差。