MICROSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION AND THERMAL CYCLING RELIABILITY OF SOLDERS UNDER ISOTHERMAL AGING AND ELECTRICAL CURRENT

Solder joints on printed circuit boards provide electrical and mechanical connections between electronic devices and metallized patterns on boards. These solder joints are often the cause of failure in electronic packages. Solders age under storage and operational life conditions, which can include temperature, mechanical loads, and electrical current. Aging occurring at a constant temperature is called isothermal aging. Isothermal aging leads to coarsening of the bulk microstructure and increased interfacial intermetallic compounds at the solder-pad interface. The coarsening of the solder bulk degrades the creep properties of solders, whereas the voiding and brittleness of interfacial intermetallic compounds leads to mechanical weakness of the solder joint. Industry guidelines on solder interconnect reliability test methods recommend preconditioning the solder assemblies by isothermal aging before conducting reliability tests. The guidelines assume that isothermal aging simulates a "reasonable use period," but do not relate the isothermal aging levels with specific use conditions. Studies on the effect of isothermal aging on the thermal cycling reliability of tin-lead and tin-silver-copper solders are limited in scope, and results have been contradictory. The effect of electrical current on solder joints has been has mostly focused on current densities above 104A/cm2 with high ambient temperature (≥100oC), where electromigration, thermomigration, and Joule heating are the dominant failure mechanisms. The effect of current density below 104A/cm2 on temperature cycling fatigue of solders has not been established. This research provides the relation between isothermal aging and the thermal cycling reliability of select Sn-based solders. The Sn-based solders with 3%, 1%, and 0% silver content that have replaced tin-lead are studied and compared against tin-lead solder. The activation energy and growth exponents of the Arrhenius model for the intermetallic growth in the solders are provided. An aging metric to quantify the aging of solder joints, in terms of phase size in the solder bulk and interfacial intermetallic compound thickness at the solder-pad interface, is established. Based on the findings of thermal cycling tests on aged solder assemblies, recommendations are made for isothermal aging of solders before thermal cycling tests. Additionally, the effect of active electrical current at 103 A/cm2 on thermal cycling reliability is reported

An Investigation of Reliability of High Density Electronic Package-to-Board Interconnections from the Perspective of Solder Joint Metallurgy

The integration and miniaturization trend of the electronic packaging leads to much finer pitch of the device and package lead terminations. Several reliability concerns and issues that were previously not encountered are now surfacing. The objective of this thesis work is to investigate the reliability of the package-to-board interconnection from the perspective of solder joint metallurgy. It was carried out with several advanced packages such as CSP, WLCSP and leadless ceramic packages on organic laminate PWBs using tin-silver-copper based interconnection materials. The assemblies were subjected to several loading conditions and levels such as thermal, mechanical, and environmental stresses. As expected, the board level reliability (BLR) of electronic assemblies strongly depended on microstructure and morphology of the solder joints. Dispersion strengthening effect of the intermetallic compounds (IMCs), coarsening of the IMC particles, strain rate hardening, solder fatigue, and recrystallization of Sn grains in the highly stressed areas were observed. These were found to directly impact Pb-free solder joint reliability. Appropriate thermal aging can improve joint reliability up to 50% due to coarsening of the IMC particles. In addition, other factors such as dissolution of metals, interfacial reactions, IMC spalling, and cross interaction of surface materials on the two sides of the joints were also observed and discussed. The effects can be expressed as a series of interactive relationships: materials (pad surface materials and solder alloy composition) and/or soldering process lead to microstructure change in bulk solder and/or at interface, which in turn leads to joint reliability variation

Numerical simulations for reliability assessment of lead-free solder interconnections in BGA packages

This work presents the results of computer-aided numerical simulations for the reliability assessment of lead-free solder interconnections in BGA packages. The finite element and Monte Carlo methods were employed for the macroscale structural and the mesoscale microstructural simulations, respectively. The major reliability tests for electronic component boards, i.e. thermal cycling, power cycling and drop impact tests, were simulated via the finite element method. The results provide a feasible tool for a better understanding of the observed failure modes in the reliability tests. The lifetime predictions based on the simulation results are helpful for the lifetime estimations of the BGA packages. The temperature effects on the drop impact reliability of the BGA packages were successfully elucidated by the finite element numerical experiments. In addition, a new algorithm was developed in order to predict dynamic recrystallization in solder interconnections during thermal cycling. The approach was realized by combining the Potts model based Monte Carlo method and the finite element method. The correlation between real time and Monte Carlo simulation time was established with the help of the in situ test results. Recrystallization with the presence of intermetallic particles in the solder matrix was simulated by introducing the energy amplification factors in the particle-affected deformation regions. The present algorithm predicted both the incubation period of the recrystallization as well as the growth tendency of the recrystallized regions in a way consistent with the experimental findings

Numerical analysis of lead-free solder joints: effects of thermal cycling and electromigration

To meet the requirements of miniaturization and multifunction in microelectronics, understanding of their reliability and performance has become an important research subject in order to characterise electronics served under various loadings. Along with the demands of the increasing miniaturization of electronic devices, various properties and the relevant thermo-mechanical-electrical response of the lead-free solder joints to thermal cycling and electro-migration become the critical factors, which affect the service life of microelectronics in different applications. However, due to the size and structure of solder interconnects in microelectronics, traditional methods based on experiments are not applicable in the evaluation of their reliability under complex joint loadings. This thesis presents an investigation, which is based on finite-element method, into the performance of lead-free solder interconnects under thermal fatigue and electro-migration, specifically in the areas as follows: (1) the investigation of thermal-mechanical performance and fatigue-life prediction of flip-chip package under different sizes to achieve a further understanding of IMC layer and size effects of a flip chip package under thermal cycling; (2) the establishment of a numerical method, simulating void-formation/crack-propagation based on the results of finite-element analysis, to allow the prediction of crack evolution and failure time for electro-migration reliability of solder bumps; (3) the establishment of a flow-based algorithm for combination effects of thermal-mechanical and electro-migration that was subsequent implemented in to an FE model to evaluate the reliability assessment of service lives associated with a flip chip package

Thermal Cycling Life Prediction of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu Solder Joint Using Type-I Censored Data

Because solder joint interconnections are the weaknesses of microelectronic packaging, their reliability has great influence on the reliability of the entire packaging structure. Based on an accelerated life test the reliability assessment and life prediction of lead-free solder joints using Weibull distribution are investigated. The type-I interval censored lifetime data were collected from a thermal cycling test, which was implemented on microelectronic packaging with lead-free ball grid array (BGA) and fine-pitch ball grid array (FBGA) interconnection structures. The number of cycles to failure of lead-free solder joints is predicted by using a modified Engelmaier fatigue life model and a type-I censored data processing method. Then, the Pan model is employed to calculate the acceleration factor of this test. A comparison of life predictions between the proposed method and the ones calculated directly by Matlab and Minitab is conducted to demonstrate the practicability and effectiveness of the proposed method. At last, failure analysis and microstructure evolution of lead-free solders are carried out to provide useful guidance for the regular maintenance, replacement of substructure, and subsequent processing of electronic products

Reliability of high-density lead-free solder interconnections under thermal cycling and mechanical shock loading

The reliability of portable electronic devices was studied by applying standardized test procedures for test vehicles that represent the technologies and lead-free materials typically used in novel portable products. Thermal cycling and drop testing are commonly used because they reveal the failure modes and mechanisms that portable devices experience in operational environments. A large number of component boards were assembled in a full-scale production line to enable proper statistical and fractographic analyses. The test boards were assembled with different printed wiring board protective coatings, component under bump metallizations, and solder pad structures. The component boards were tested and the times-to-failure of the various combinations were statistically analyzed. The reliability data were also analyzed by the Weibull method, and the characteristic lifetimes and shape parameters were calculated. The failure modes under the thermal cycling, where solder interconnections fail by cracking through the bulk solder, were different from those observed in the drop tests, where cracks propagate along the intermetallic layers on either side of the interconnections. Under the thermomechanical loading the as-soldered microstructure, which is composed of only a few large eutectic colonies, undergoes local recrystallization that produces networks of grain boundaries along which the intergranular cracks damage solder interconnections. Under the mechanical shock loading, in turn, the strain–rate hardening of the solder material forces cracks to propagate in the intermetallic layers instead of the bulk solder. It was found that the reliability of solder interconnections can improve when the component boards have undergone thermal cycles before drop testing. The high-angle boundaries between the recrystallized grains generated during thermal cycling provide paths along which cracks can propagate but the propagation through the bulk solder consumes more energy than the propagation through brittle intermetallic layers. On the other hand, prolonged lifetime at elevated temperatures can reduce the drop test reliability considerably due to the formation of Kirkendall voids in the Cu3Sn intermetallic layers.reviewe

EFFECT OF SURFACE FINISHES AND INTERMETALLICS ON THE RELIABILITY OF SnAgCu INTERCONNECTS

Power semiconductor devices are used in a wide range of applications. In these applications, power semiconductor devices are required to handle large currents and as a result they tend to dissipate large amounts of heat. In addition, the device and their attendant packages must be capable of withstanding power cycling for many years. Traditionally, devices have used high lead die attaches for high electrical and thermal conductivity. Now, with the drive in industry to replace lead-contained solder with lead-free solder alternatives, there is a drive to assess lead-free solder to use as the die attach in power device packages. This dissertation assesses the reliability of Sn3.5Ag0.8Cu lead-free die attach under accelerated power cycling conditions, especially the effect of surface finishes from the die and the substrate on die attach reliability because of the thin die attach thickness (<100mm), which is expected to increase the influence of intermetallics formed at the interfaces on the joint reliability. The main part of the thesis is to evaluate the power-cycle reliability of Sn3.5Ag0.8Cu die attach in power MOSFET modules subjected to power cycling. Accelerated power cycling tests, failure analysis, thermal transient analysis and thermo-mechanical modeling were conducted. 3D thermal analysis correlated an increase in the package thermal impedance to the amount of crack propagation and determined that crack initiation is the limiting process under power cycling. In the experiments, die tilt was observed and die attach cracks always occurred near the middle of the bond line on the side with thicker die attach. This is not addressed in typical thermo-mechanical simulations on solder joint reliability. Such simulations predicted that the thinner side exhibits higher stress than the thicker side and were expected to be easier to fail. Microstructural characterization provided evidences that microstructure of die attach changes with thickness. First, a higher Ag3Sn concentration was observed in the thinner die attach due to dissolution of Ag from backside die. Second, a more uniform distribution of Ag3Sn precipitates exists in the thinner die attach due to faster cooling. So a thinner Sn3.5Ag0.8Cu die attach is more resistant to fatigue failure even under higher stresses

Thermo-mechanical reliability studies of lead-free solder interconnects

N/ASolder interconnections, also known as solder joints, are the weakest link in electronics packaging. Reliability of these miniature joints is of utmost interest - especially in safety-critical applications in the automotive, medical, aerospace, power grid and oil and drilling sectors. Studies have shown that these joints' critical thermal and mechanical loading culminate in accelerated creep, fatigue, and a combination of these joints' induced failures. The ball grid array (BGA) components being an integral part of many electronic modules functioning in mission-critical systems. This study investigates the response of solder joints in BGA to crucial reliability influencing parameters derived from creep, visco-plastic and fatigue damage of the joints. These are the plastic strain, shear strain, plastic shear strain, creep energy density, strain energy density, deformation, equivalent (Von-Mises) stress etc. The parameters' obtained magnitudes are inputted into established life prediction models – Coffin-Manson, Engelmaier, Solomon (Low cycle fatigue) and Syed (Accumulated creep energy density) – to determine several BGA assemblies' fatigue lives. The joints are subjected to thermal, mechanical and random vibration loadings. The finite element analysis (FEA) is employed in a commercial software package to model and simulate the responses of the solder joints of the representative assemblies' finite element models. As the magnitude and rate of degradation of solder joints in the BGA significantly depend on the composition of the solder alloys used to assembly the BGA on the printed circuit board, this research studies the response of various mainstream lead-free Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) solders (SAC305, SAC387, SAC396 and SAC405) and benchmarked those with lead-based eutectic solder (Sn63Pb37). In the creep response study, the effects of thermal ageing and temperature cycling on these solder alloys' behaviours are explored. The results show superior creep properties for SAC405 and SAC396 lead-free solder alloys. The lead-free SAC405 solder joint is the most effective solder under thermal cycling condition, and the SAC396 solder joint is the most effective solder under isothermal ageing operation. The finding shows that SAC405 and SAC396 solders accumulated the minimum magnitudes of stress, strain rate, deformation rate and strain energy density than any other solder considered in this study. The hysteresis loops show that lead-free SAC405 has the lowest dissipated energy per cycle. Thus the highest fatigue life, followed by eutectic lead-based Sn63Pb37 solder. The solder with the highest dissipated energy per cycle was lead-free SAC305, SAC387 and SAC396 solder alloys. In the thermal fatigue life prediction research, four different lead-free (SAC305, SAC387, SAC396 and SAC405) and one eutectic lead-based (Sn63Pb37) solder alloys are defined against their thermal fatigue lives (TFLs) to predict their mean-time-to-failure for preventive maintenance advice. Five finite elements (FE) models of the assemblies of the BGAs with the different solder alloy compositions and properties are created with SolidWorks. The models are subjected to standard IEC 60749-25 temperature cycling in ANSYS 19.0 mechanical package environment. SAC405 joints have the highest predicted TFL of circa 13.2 years, while SAC387 joints have the least life of circa 1.4 years. The predicted lives are inversely proportional to the magnitude of the areas of stress-strain hysteresis loops of the solder joints. The prediction models are significantly consistent in predicted magnitudes across the solder joints irrespective of the damage parameters used. Several failure modes drive solder joints and damage mechanics from the research and understand an essential variation in the models' predicted values. This investigation presents a method of managing preventive maintenance time of BGA electronic components in mission-critical systems. It recommends developing a novel life prediction model based on a combination of the damage parameters for enhanced prediction. The FEA random vibration simulation test results showed that different solder alloys have a comparable performance during random vibration testing. The fatigue life result shows that SAC405 and SAC396 have the highest fatigue lives before being prone to failure. As a result of the FEA simulation outcomes with the application of Coffin-Manson's empirical formula, the author can predict the fatigue life of solder joint alloys to a higher degree of accuracy of average ~93% in an actual service environment such as the one experienced under-the-hood of an automobile and aerospace. Therefore, it is concluded that the combination of FEA simulation and empirical formulas employed in this study could be used in the computation and prediction of the fatigue life of solder joint alloys when subjected to random vibration. Based on the thermal and mechanical responses of lead-free SAC405 and SAC396 solder alloys, they are recommended as a suitable replacement of lead-based eutectic Sn63Pb37 solder alloy for improved device thermo-mechanical operations when subjected to random vibration (non-deterministic vibration). The FEA simulation studies' outcomes are validated using experimental and analytical-based reviews in published and peer-reviewed literature.N/

TEMPERATURE CYCLING RELIABILITY OF REBALLED AND REWORKED BALL GRID ARRAY PACKAGES IN SNPB AND SAC ASSEMBLY

In recent years, many countries banned the use of lead in select high volume electronic equipment. However, exemptions from lead-free legislation have been granted for certain products, especially those intended for high-reliability applications. Manufacturers with exemption are facing dwindling supply of lead-based components for their products. This change has left many high-reliability electronic equipment manufacturers with the choices of, mixing lead-free components in tin-lead assembly process, converting products to lead-free, or reprocessing lead-free components to comply with the tin-lead assembly process. Reballing has been used for component reclamation, but right now it offers a way to reprocess the ball grid array packages. The reliability of reballed BGA assembly needs to be determined before the implementation. Mixing lead-free ball grid array packages with eutectic tin-lead solder paste bring new challenges to the current electronic industry. The mixed assemblies with long-term reliability need to be investigated. Although rework has been implemented for decades, the impact of multiple rework process on the reliability of lead-free and mixed assemblies is still unknown. Lead-free ball grid array packages with Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu solder balls were subjected to the reballing process. Ball shear test and cold bump pull test were used to investigate the solder ball attachment strength of the reballed BGAs. Temperature cycling test was used to evaluate the temperature cycling reliability of reballed tin-lead, lead-free and mixed assemblies. The solder ball strength and the temperature cycling reliability of reballed components were independent of the reballing method. The temperature cycling reliability of mixed assemblies was equivalent to that of lead-free assemblies. Microstructure differences in lead-free, mixed and reballed tin-lead assemblies were investigated to explain the temperature cycling reliability results. Lead-free and mixed assemblies were subjected to the rework process. Temperature cycling test was used to evaluate the temperature cycling reliability of reworked assemblies. Cu over-consumption, Cu pad dissolution and thick interfacial intermetallic layer were found in the reworked assemblies. Microstructural investigation and geometry analysis were used to analyze the temperature cycling reliability degradation in the reworked assemblies after multiples rework processes