• Journal of Welding and Joining
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.21-27
• /
• 2006

This study was focused on the evaluation of the thermo-mechanical board-level reliability of Pb-bearing and Pb-free surface mount assemblies. The composition of Pb-bearing solder was a typical Sn-37Pb and that of Pb-free solder used in this study was a representative Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu in mass %. Thermal shock test was chosen for the reliability evaluation of the solder joints. Typical $Cu_6Sn_5$ intermetallic compound (IMC) layer was formed between both solders and Cu lead frame at the as-reflowed state, while a layer of $Cu_3Sn$ was additionally formed between the $Cu_6Sn_5$ and Cu lead frame during the thermal shock testing. Thickness of the IMC layers increased with increasing thermal shock cycles, and this is very similar result with that of isothermal aging study of solder joints. Shear test of the multi layer ceramic capacitor(MLCC) joints was also performed to investigate the degradation of mechanical bonding strength of solder joints during the thermal shock testing. Failure mode of the joints after shear testing revealed that the degradation was mainly due to the excessive growth of the IMC layers during the thermal shock testing.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.134-141
• /
• 2013

Reflow soldering process is essential in electronic package. Reflow process for a long time results from the decrease of reliability because IMC is formed excessively. Solder alloys of Sn-37Pb and Sn-Ag with different kinds of Cu contents (0, 0.5 and 1 wt.%) as compared with Ni and Cu plate joints are investigated according to varying reflow time. The interfaces of solder joints are observed to analyze IMC (intermetallic compound) growth rate by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Shear test is also performed by using SP (Share-Punch) tester. The test results are compared with the solder joints of two different plates (Ni and Cu plate). $Cu_6Sn_5$ IMCs are formed on Cu plate interfaces after reflows in all samples. Ni3Sn4 and $(Cu,Ni)_6Sn_5$ IMCs are also formed on Ni plate interfaces. The IMC layer forms are affected by reflow time and contents of solder alloy. These results show that mechanical strength of solder joints strongly depends on thickness and shape of IMC.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.47-54
• /
• 2008

In this paper, we studied how and why did abnormal IMC growth at component affect on board level mechanical reliability. First, interfacial reactions between Sn2.5Ag0.5Cu solder and electrolytic Ni/Au UBM of component side were investigated with reflow times and thermal aging time. Also, to compare mechanical reliability of component level, shear energy was evaluated using the ball shear test conducted with variation of shear tip speed. Finally, to evaluate mechanical reliability of board level, we surface-mounted component fabricated with each condition on PCB side. After conducting of 3 point bending test and impact test, we confirmed solder joint crack mode using cross-sectioning and dye & pry penetration method.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.55-61
• /
• 2008

This paper shows quantitative reliability evaluations of a Bluetooth module through extending previous qualitative methods limited to structure reliability tests and solder joint reliability tests for Bluetooth modules. Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) of the modules using temperature difference in temperature cycling as an accelerated stress was conducted for quantitative reliability evaluation under field environment conditions. Lifetime distribution parameters were estimated using the failure times obtained through the ALT, and then Coffin-Manson model was implemented. Results of the ALT showed that the failure mode of the modules was open and the failure mechanisms are both crack and delamination. The ALT reproduced the failure mode and mechanisms of failed Bluetooth modules collected from the field. Further, a quantitative reliability evaluation method with respect to various temperature differences in temperature cycling was proposed in this paper. $B_{10}$ lifetime of the module for the temperature difference $70^{\circ}C$ using the proposed method would be estimated as about 4 years.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.47 no.8
• /
• pp.500-507
• /
• 2009

Pb-free solder has recently been used in electronics in efforts to meet environmental regulations, and a number of Pb-free solder alloy choices beyond the near-eutectic SnAgCu solder are now available. With increased demand for thin and portable electronics, the high cost of alloys containing significant amounts of silver and their poor mechanical shock performance have spurred the development of low Ag SnAgCu solder, which provides improved mechanical performance at a reasonable cost. Although low Ag SnAgCu solder exhibits significantly higher fracture resistance under high-strain rates, little thermal fatigue data exist for this solder. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate thermal fatigue reliability of low Ag SnAgCu solder under variation of thermal stress in order to allow its implementation in electronic products with high reliability requirements. In this study, the reliability of Sn0.3Ag0.7Cu(SAC0307), a low Ag solder alloy, is discussed and compared with that of Sn3Ag0.5Cu(SAC305). Three sample types and six samples size are evaluated. Mechanical properties and microstructure of the solder joint are investigated under thermal shock cycles. It was observed that the mechanical strength of SAC0307 dropped slightly with thermal cycling relative to that of SAC305. This reveals that the failure mode of SAC0307 is different from that SAC305 under this critical condition.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2004.04a
• /
• pp.365-370
• /
• 2004

Generally, component and FR-4 board are connected by solder joint. Because material properties of components and FR-4 board are different, component and FR-4 board show different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) and thus strains in component and board are different when they are heated. That is, the differences in CTE of component and FR-4 board cause the dissimilarity in shear strain and solder joint' failure. The first order Taylor series expansion of the limit state function incorporating with Tresca failure criterion is used in order to estimate the failure probability of solder joints under heated condition. Using shear stresses and shear strains appeared on the solder joint, we estimate the failure probability of solder joints with the Tresca failure criterion. The effects of random variables such as CTE, distance of the solder joint from the neutral point(DNP), temperature variation and height of solder on the failure probability of the solder joint are systematically studied by using the failure probability model with first order reliability method(FORM).

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2003.05c
• /
• pp.204-207
• /
• 2003

The flip chip bonding utilizing self-aligning characteristic of solder becomes mandatory to meet to tolerances for the optical device. In this paper, a parametric study of aging condition and pad size of sample was conducted. A TiW/Cu UBM structure was adopted and sample was aging treated to analyze the effect of intermetallic compound with time variation. After aging treatment, the tendency to decrease in shear strength was measured and the structure of the fine joint area was observed by using SEM, TEM and EDS. In result, the shear strength was decreased of about 20% in the $100{\mu}m$ sample at $170^{\circ}C$ aging compared with the maximum shear strength of same pad size sample. In the case of the $120^{\circ}C$ aging treatment, 17% of decrease in shear strength was measured at the $100{\mu}m$ pad size sample. Also, intremetallic compound of $Cu_6Sn_5$ and $Cu_3Sn$ were observed through the TEM measurement by using an FIB technique that is very useful to prepare TEM thin foil specimens from the solder joint interface.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.78-83
• /
• 2007

The wettability of Sn-Xwt%Cu(X=$0{\sim}3wt%$) solder was evaluated with wetting balance tester. And, the intermetallic compounds(IMCs) which were formed at the interface between solders and pads were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS). The wetting force of Sn-0.7wt%Cu solder was higher than that of 100wt%Sn and Sn-3.0wt%Cu solder. The value of $\gamma_{fl}$ and ($\gamma_{fs}-\gamma_{ls}$) had a tendency to increase with increasing the wetting temperature. The activation energy with bare Cu pad and flux with 15% solid content was increased in the following order: Sn-0.7Cu (68.42 kJ/mol) ; Sn-3.0Cu(72.66 kJ/mol) ; Sn solder(94.53 kJ/mol). It was identified that the Cu6Sn5 phase was formed at the interface between Sn-Xwt%Cu solder and Cu pad.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.337-343
• /
• 2009

In this study, we optimized Pb-free Sn/Ni plating thickness and conditions were optimized to counteract the environmental regulations, such as RoHS and ELV(End-of Life Vehicles). The $B_{10}$ life verification method was also suggested to have been successful when used with the accelerated life test(ALT) for assessing Pb-free solder joint life of piezoelectric (PZT) ceramic resonator. In order to evaluate the solder joint life, a modified Norris-Landzberg equation and a Coffin-Manson equation were utilized. Test vehicles that were composed of 2520 PZT ceramic resonator on FR-4 PCB with Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu for ALT were manufactured as well. Thermal shock test was conducted with 1,500 cycles from $(-40{\pm}2)^{\circ}C$ to $(120{\pm}2)^{\circ}C$, and 30 minutes dwell time at each temperature, respectively. It was discovered that the thermal shock test is a very useful method in introducing the CTE mismatch caused by thermo-mechanical stress at the solder joints. The resonance frequency of test components was measured and observed the microsection views were also observed to confirm the crack generation of the solder joints.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.80-87
• /
• 2008

Many researches related to the reliability of Pb-free solder joints with PCB (printed circuit board) surface finish under thermal or vibration stresses are in progress, because the electronics is operating in hash environment. Therefore, it is necessary to assess Pb-free solder joints life with PCB surface finish under thermal and mechanical stresses. We have investigated 4-points bending fatigue lifetime of Pb-free solder joints with OSP (organic solderability preservative) and ENIG (electroless nickel and immersion gold) surface finish. To predict the bending fatigue life of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder joints, we use the test coupons mounted 192 BGA (ball grid array) package to be added the thermal stress by conducting thermal shock test, 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 cycles, respectively. An 4-point bending test is performed in force controlling mode. It is considered that as a failure when the resistance of daisy-chain circuit of test coupons reaches more than $1,000{\Omega}$. Finally, we obtained the solder joints fatigue life with OSP and ENIG surface finish using by Weibull probability distribution.