• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.152-159
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• 2007

When the electronics are tested with thermal shock for Pb-free solder joint reliability, there are temperature conditions with use environment but number of cycles for test don't clearly exist. To obtain the long term reliability data, electronic companies have spent the cost and times. Therefore this studies show the test method and number of thermal shock cycles for evaluating the solder joint reliability of electronic components and also research bonding strength variation with formation and growth of intermetallic compounds (IMC). SMD (surface mount device) 3216 chip resistor and 44 pin QFP (quad flat package) was utilized for experiments and each components were soldered with Sn-40Pb and Sn-3.0 Ag-0.5 Cu solder on the FR-4 PCB(printed circuit board) using by reflow soldering process. To reliability evaluation, thermal shock test was conducted between $-40^{\circ}C\;and\;+125^{\circ}C$ for 2,000 cycles, 10 minute dwell time, respectively. Also we analyzed the IMCs of solder joint using by SEM and EDX. To compare with bonding strength, resistor and QFP were tested shear strength and $45^{\circ}$ lead pull strength, respectively. From these results, optimized number of cycles was proposed with variation of bonding strength under thermal shock.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.17-26
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• 2010

Pb-Sn solder is rapidly being replaced by lead-free solder for board-level interconnection in microelectronic package assemblies due to the environmental protection requirement. There is a general lack of mechanical reliability information available on the lead-free solder. In this study, thermo-mechanical behaviors of wire-bond plastic ball grid array (WB-PBGA) package assemblies are characterized by high-sensitivity moire interferometry. Experiments are conducted for two types of WB-PBGA packages that have Pb-Sn solder and lead-free solder as joint interconnections. Using real-time moire setup, fringe patterns are recorded and analyzed for several temperatures. Bending deformations of the assemblies and average strains of the solder balls are investigated and compared for the two type of WB-PBGA package assemblies. Results show that shear strain in #3 solder ball located near the chip shadow boundary is dominant for the failure of the package with Pb-Sn solder, while normal strain in #7 most outer solder ball is dominant for that with lead-free solder. It is also shown that the package with lead-free solder has much larger bending deformation and 10% larger maximum effective strain than the package with Pb-Sn solder at same temperature level.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.41-47
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• 2010

The effect of PCB and BGA pad designs was investigated on the mechanical property of Pb-free solder joints. The mechanical property of solder joint was tested by three different test methods of drop impact tests, bending impact test, and high speed shear test. Two kinds of pad design such as NSMD (Non-Solder Mask Defined) and SMD (Solder Mask Defined) were applied with the OSP finished Pb-free solder (Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu, Sn-1.2Ag-0.5Cu). in the drop impact test and bending impact test, the characterized lifetime showed the same tendency, and SMD design showed better mechanical property of solder joint than NSMD regardless of test method, which was due to the different crack path. The fracture crack on SMD pad was propagated along the intermetallic compound (IMC) layer of solder joint, while the fracture crack on NSMD pad propagated through upper edge of land which shields pattern. In the high speed shear test, pad lift occurred on the solder joint of NSMD. SMD/SMD combination of pad design consequently illustrated the best mechanical property of BGA/PCB solder joint, followed by SMD/NSMD, NSMD/SMD, and NSMD/NSMD.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.505-509
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• 2002

Pb is considered to be eliminated from solder, due to its toxicity. However, melting temperatures of most Pb-free solders are known higher than that of Sn37Pb. Therefore, there is a difficulty to apply Pb-free solders to electronic industry. Since Sn3Ag8Bi5In has relatively lower melting range as $188~200^{\circ}C$, on this study. Wettability and soldering characteristics of Sn3Ag8Bi5In solder in BGA were investigated to solve for what kind of problem. Zero cross time, wetting time, and equilibrium force of Sn3Ag8Bi5In solder for Cu and plated Cu such as Sn, Ni, and Au/Ni-plated on Cu were estimated. Plated Sn on Cu showed best wettability for zero cross time, wetting time and equilibrium farce. Shear strength of the reflowed joint with Sn3Ag8Bi5In ball in BGA was investigated. Diameter of the ball was 0.5mm, UBM(under bump metallurgy) was $Au(0.5\mu\textrm{m})Ni(5\mu\textrm{m})/Cu(18\mu\textrm{m})$ and flux was RMA type. For the reflow soldering, the peak reflow temperature was changed in the range of $220~250^{\circ}C$, and conveyor speed was 0.6m/min.. The shear strength of Sn3Ag8Bi5In ball showed similar level as those of Sn37Pb. The soldered balls are aged at $110^{\circ}C$ for 36days and their shear strengths were evaluated. The shear strength of Sn3Ag8Bi5In ball was increased from 480gf to 580gf by aging for 5 days.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.919-926
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• 2002

In this study, the numerical prediction of the thermal fatigue lie? of a $\mu$BGA (Micro Ball Grid Array) solder joint was focused. Numerical method was performed using the three-dimensional finite element analysis for various solder alloys such as Sn-37%Pb, Sn-3.5%Ag, Sn-3.5%Ag-0.7%Cu and Sn-3.5%Ag-3%In-0.5%Bi during a given thermal cycling. Strain values obtained by the result of mechanical fatigue tests for solder alloys, were used to predict the solder joint fatigue life using the Coffin-Manson equation. The numerical results showed that Sn-3.5%Ag with the 50-degree ball shape geometry had the longest thermal fatigue life in low cycle fatigue. A practical correlation for the prediction of the thermal fatigue life was also suggested by using the dimensionless variable γ. Additionally Sn-3.5Ag-0.75Cu and Sn-2.0Ag-0.5Cu-2.0Bi were applied to 6$\times$8$\mu$BGA obtained from the 63Sn-37Pb Solder. This 6$\times$8$\mu$BGA were tested at different aging conditions at 130$\^{C}$, 150$\^{C}$, 170$\^{C}$ for 300, 600 and 900 hours. Thickness of the intermetallic compound layer was measured thor each condition and the activation energy thor their growth was computed. The fracture surfaces were analyzed using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) with EDS ( Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy).

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2002

As environmental concerns increasing, the electronics industry is focusing more attention on lead free solder alternatives. In this research, we have researched wettability of intermediate solder of Sn3Ag9Bi5In, which include In and Bi and has similar melting temperature to Sn37Pb eutectic solder. We investigated the wetting property of Sn3Ag9Bi5In. To estimate wettability of Sn3Ag9Bi5In solder on various substrates, the wettability of Sn3Ag9Bi5In solder on high-pure Cu-coupon was measured. Cu-coupon that plated Sn, Ni and Au/Ni and Si-wafer adsorbed Ni/Cu under bump metallurgy on one side. As a result, the wetting property of Sn3Ag9Bi5In solder is a little better than that of Sn37Pb and Sn3.5Ag.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.311-316
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• 2001

This paper presents that the affecting factors to the solderability and initial reliability. It is the factor that the coefficient of thermal expansion between package and PCB(Printed Circuit Board), the quantity of solder paste and reflow condition, and Au thickness of the solder ball pad on polyimide tape. As the reflow soldering condition for 48 ${\mu}BGA$ is changed, it is estimated that the quantity of Au diffusion at eutectic Sn-Pb solder surface and initial bonding strength of eutectic Sn-Pb solder and lead free solder. It is the result that quantitative measurement of Au diffusion quantity is difficult, but the shear strength of eutectic Sn-Pb solder joint is 842 mN at first reflow and increases 879 mN at third reflow. The major failure mode in solder is judged solder fracture. So, Au diffusion quantity is more affected by reflow temperature than by the reflow times.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.12 no.9
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• pp.750-760
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• 2002

In this study, three solders, Sn-37Pb, Sn-3.5Ag, and Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu were screen printed on both electroless Ni/Au and OSP metal finished micro-via PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards). The interfacial reaction between PCB metal pad finish materials and solder materials, and its effects on the solder bump joint mechanical reliability were investigated. The lead free solders formed a large amount of intermetallic compounds (IMC) than Sn-37Pb on both electroless Ni/Au and OSP (Organic Solderabilty Preservatives) finished PCBs during solder reflows because of the higher Sn content and higher reflow temperature. For OSP finish, scallop-like $Cu_{6}$ /$Sn_{5}$ and planar $Cu_3$Sn intermetallic compounds (IMC) were formed, and fracture occurred 100% within the solder regardless of reflow numbers and solder materials. Bump shear strength of lead free solders showed higher value than that of Sn-37Pb solder, because lead free solders are usually harder than eutectic Sn-37Pb solder. For Ni/Au finish, polygonal shaped $Ni_3$$Sn_4$ IMC and P-rich Ni layer were formed, and a brittle fracture at the Ni-Sn IMC layer or the interface between Ni-Sn intermetallic and P-rich Ni layer was observed after several reflows. Therefore, bump shear strength values of the Ni/Au finish are relatively lower than those of OSP finish. Especially, spalled IMCs at Sn-3.5Ag interface was observed after several reflow times. And, for the Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu solder case, the ternary Sn-Ni-Cu IMCs were observed. As a result, it was found that OSP finished PCB was a better choice for solders on PCB in terms of flip chip mechanical reliability.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.61-67
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• 2005

Since lead (Pb)-free solders for electronics have higher melting points than that of eutectic Sn-Pb solder, they need higher soldering temperatures. In order to decrease the soldering temperature we tried to coat Sn-Bi layer on $Sn-3.5\%Ag$ solder by electroplating, which applies the mechanism of transient liquid phase bonding to soldering. During heating Bi will diffuse into the $Sn-3.5\%Ag$ solder and this results in decreasing soldering temperature. As bonding samples, the 1608 capacitor electroplated with Sn, and PCB, its surface was finished with electroless-plated Ni/Au, were selected. The $Sn-95.7\%Bi$ coated Sn-3.5Ag was supplied as a solder between the capacitor and PCB land. The samples were reflowed at $220^{\circ}C$, which was lower than that of normal reflow temperature, $240\~250^{\circ}C$, for the Pb-free. As experimental result, the joint of $Sn-95.7\%Bi$ coated Sn-3.5Ag showed high shear strength. In the as-reflowed state, the shear strength of the coated solder showed 58.8N, whereas those of commercial ones were 37.2N (Sn-37Pb), 31.4N (Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu), and 40.2N (Sn-8Zn-3Bi). After thermal shock of 1000 cycles between $-40^{\circ}C$ and $+125^{\circ}C$, shear strength of the coated solder showed 56.8N, whereas the previous commercial solders were in the range of 32.3N and 45.1N. As the microstructures, in the solder $Ag_3Sn$ intermetallic compound (IMC), and along the bonded interface $Ni_3Sn_4$ IMC were observed.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.12
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• pp.842-851
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• 2009

The long-term reliability of Sn-0.3wt%Ag-0.7wt%Cu solder joints was evaluated and compared with Sn-3.0wt%Ag-0.5wt%Cu under thermal shock conditions. Test vehicles were prepared to use Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder alloys. To compare the shear strength of the solder joints, 0603, 1005, 1608, 2012, 3216 and 4232 multi-layer ceramic chip capacitors were used. A reflow soldering process was utilized in the preparation of the test vehicles involving a FR-4 material-based printed circuit board (PCB). To compare the shear strength degradation following the thermal shock cycles, a thermal shock test was conducted up to 2,000 cycles at temperatures ranging from $-40^{\circ}C$ to $85^{\circ}C$, with a dwell time of 30 min at each temperature. The shear strength of the solder joints of the chip capacitors was measured at every 500 cycles in each case. The intermetallic compounds (IMCs) of the solder joint interfaces werealso analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that the reliability of Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu solder joints was very close to that of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu. Consequently, it was confirmed that Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu solder alloy with a low silver content can be replaced with Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu.