The durability of solder joints under thermo-mechanical loading; application to Sn-37Pb and Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu lead-free replacement alloy

Solder joints in electronic packages provide mechanical, electrical and thermal connections. Hence, their reliability is also a major concern to the electronic packaging industry. Ball Grid Arrays (BGAs) are a very common type of surface mount technology for electronic packaging. This work primarily addresses the thermo-mechanical durability of BGAs and is applied to the exemplar alloys; traditional leaded solder and a popular lead-free solder. Isothermal mechanical fatigue tests were carried out on 4-ball test specimens of the lead-free (Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu) and leaded (Sn-37Pb) solder under load control at room temperature, 35°C and 75°C. As well as this, a set of combined thermal and mechanical cycling tests were carried out, again under load control with the thermal cycles either at a different frequency from the mechanical cycles (not-in-phase) or at the same frequency (both in phase and out-of-phase). The microstructural evaluation of both alloys was investigated by carrying out a series of simulated ageing tests, coupled with detailed metallurgical analysis and hardness testing. The results were treated to produce stress-life, cyclic behaviour and creep curves for each of the test conditions. Careful calibration allowed the effects of substrate and grips to be accounted for and so a set of strain-life curves to be produced. These results were compared with other results from the literature taking into account the observations on microstructure made in the ageing tests. It is generally concluded that the TMF performance is better for the Sn-Ag-Cu alloy than for the Sn-Pb alloy, when expressed as stress-life curves. There is also a significant effect on temperature and phase for each of the alloys, the Sn-Ag-Cu being less susceptible to these effects. When expressed as strain life, the effects of temperature, phase and alloy type are much diminished. Many of these conclusions coincided with only parts of the literature and reasons for the remaining differences are advanced

Solder joint failures under thermo-mechanical loading conditions – a review

Solder joints play a critical role in electronic devices by providing electrical, mechanical and thermal interconnections. These miniature joints are also the weakest links in an electronic device. Under severe thermal and mechanical loadings, solder joints could fail in ‘tensile fracture’ due to stress overloading, ‘fatigue failure’ because of the application of cyclical stress and ‘creep failure’ due to a permanent long-term load. This paper reviews the literature on solder joint failures under thermo-mechanical loading conditions, with a particular emphasis on fatigue and creep failures. Literature reviews mainly focused on commonly used lead-free Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) solders. Based on the literature in experimental and simulation studies on solder joints, it was found that fatigue failures are widely induced by accelerated thermal cycling (ATC). During ATC, the mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between different elements of electronics assembly contributes significantly to induce thermal stresses on solder joints. The fatigue life of solder joints is predicted based on phenomenological fatigue models that utilise materials properties as inputs. A comparative study of 14 different fatigue life prediction models is presented with their relative advantages, scope and limitations. Creep failures in solder joints, on the other hand, are commonly induced through isothermal ageing. A critical review of various creep models is presented. Many of these strain rate-based creep models are routed to a very well-known Anand Model of inelastic strain rate. Finally, the paper outlined the combined effect of creep and fatigue on solder joint failure.N/

Microstructurally based finite element simulation of solder joint behavior

The most commonly used solder for electrical interconnects in electronic packages is the near eutectic 60Sn-40Pb alloy. This alloy has a number of processing advantages (suitable melting point of 183C and good wetting behavior). However, under conditions of cyclic strain and temperature (thermomechanical fatigue) the microstructure of this alloy undergoes a heterogeneous coarsening and failure process that makes the prediction of solder joint lifetime complex. A finite element simulation methodology to predict solder joint mechanical behavior, that includes microstructural evolution, has been developed. The mechanical constitutive behavior was incorporated into the time dependent internal state variable viscoplastic model through experimental creep tests. The microstructural evolution is incorporated through a series of mathematical relations that describe mass flow in a temperature/strain environment. The model has been found to simulate observed thermomechanical fatigue behavior in solder joints

Microstructural evolutions of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder joints during thermal cycling

Temperature-induced solder joint fatigue is a main reliability concern for aerospace and military industries whose electronic equipment used in the field is required to remain functional under harsh loadings. Due to the RoHS directive which eventually will prevent lead from being utilized in electronic systems, there is a need for a better understanding of lead-free thermomechanical behavior when subjected to temperature variations. As solder joints mechanical properties are dependent of their microstructural characteristics, developing accurate solder joint fatigue models means to correctly capture the microstructural changes that undergo the solder alloy during thermal cycling. This study reports the Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) solder joints microstructural evolution during damaging temperature cycles. Electron BackScatter Diffraction (EBSD) analysis was conducted to assess the SAC305 microstructure corresponding to a specific damage level. Investigated microstructural features included the β-Sn grain size and crystallographic orientation, as well as the grain boundary misorientation and Ag3Sn intermetallic compound (IMC) size. As-reflowed and damaged components were also mechanically characterized using nanoindentation technique. The microstructural analysis of SAC305 solder joints prior to thermal cycling showed a highly textured microstructure characteristic of hexa-cyclic twinning with two β-Sn morphologies consisting of preferentially orientated macrograins known as Kara's beach ball, along with smaller interlaced grains. The main observation is that recrystallization systematically occurred in SAC305 solder joints during thermal cycling, creating a high population of misoriented grain boundaries leading to intergranular crack initiation and propagation in the high strain regions. The recrystallization process is accompanied with a progressive loss of crystallographic texture and twinning structure. Ag3Sn IMCs coalescence is another strong indicator of SAC305 solder damage since the bigger and more spaced the IMCs are the less dislocation pinning can prevent recrystallization from occurring

Thermo-mechanical Durability Assessment and Microstructural Characterization of 95.5Pb2Sn2.5Ag High Temperature Solder

There is an increasing need in the avionics, military, oil exploration and automotive industries for high temperature solders that perform reliably in ever-higher temperature applications. In these applications, solders are often used as large area die attaches and due to the high power involved, they need to dissipate large amounts of heat that can further increase the thermal load on the devices. The mechanical, electrical and thermal behavior of the solder must be understood to ensure devices and package reliability. There is an especially urgent need for characterizing constitutive properties and thermo-mechanical durability of high temperature solders. A partitioned constitutive model consisting of elastic, plastic and creep models was obtained for the 95.5Pb2Sn2.5Ag solder by implementing the direct local measurement technique. The validity of the assumptions used to generate these models have been demonstrated using microstructural characterization. The thermo-mechanical durability of the 95.5Pb2Sn2.5Ag solder is investigated using thermal cycling tests and finite element modeling. A high reliability package manufacturing technique has been followed. The extensive detailed two-dimensional viscoplastic FE stress and damage analysis is conducted for five different thermal cycling tests of 95.5Pb2Sn2.5Ag solders. The energy-partitioning durability model of the solder is obtained. It is found that 95.5Pb2Sn2.5Ag solder is creep dominant at high temperatures. The microstructure characterization study on 95.5Pb2Sn2.5Ag solder reveals that it remains primarily a single phase in the range of temperature under study with very few Ag3Sn intermetallics. Fatigue cracks due to thermal cycling have been observed

Multiscale Modeling of the Anisotropic Creep Response of SnAgCu Single Crystal

The lack of statistical homogeneity in functional SnAgCu (SAC) solder joints due to their coarse grained microstructure, in conjunction with the severe anisotropy exhibited by single crystal Sn, renders each joint unique in terms of mechanical behavior. An anisotropic multiscale modeling framework is proposed in this dissertation to capture the influence of the inherent elastic anisotropy and grain orientation in single crystal Sn on the primary and secondary creep response of single crystal SnAgCu (SAC) solder. Modeling of microstructural deformation mechanisms in SnAgCu (SAC) solder interconnects requires a multiscale approach because of tiered microstructural heterogeneities. The smallest length scale (Tier 0) refers to the Body Centered Tetragonal (BCT) structure of the Sn matrix itself because it governs: (1) the associated dislocation slip systems, (2) dislocation line tension (3) dislocation mobility and (4) intrinsic orthotropy of mechanical properties in the crystal principal axis system. The next higher length scale, (Tier 1), consists of nanoscale Ag3Sn intermetallic compounds (IMCs) surrounded by Body Centered Tetragonal (BCT) Sn to form the eutectic Sn-Ag phase. The next higher length scale (Tier 2) consists of micron scale lobes of pro-eutectic Sn dendrites surrounded by eutectic Sn-Ag regions and reinforced with micron scale Cu6Sn5 IMCs. Unified modeling of above two length scales provides constitutive properties for SAC single crystal. Tier 3 in coarse-grained solder joints consists of multiple SAC crystals along with grain boundaries. Finally, Tier 4 consists of the structural length scale of the solder joint. Line tension and mobility of dislocations (Tier 0) in dominant slip systems of single crystal Sn are captured for the elastic crystal anisotropy of body centered tetragonal (BCT) Sn by using Stroh's matrix formalism. The anisotropic creep rate of the eutectic Sn-Ag phase of Tier I is then modeled using above inputs and the evolving dislocation density calculated for the dominant glide systems. The evolving dislocation density history is estimated by modeling the equilibrium between three competing processes: (1) dislocation generation; (2) dislocation impediment (due to backstress from forest dislocations in the Sn dendrites and from the Ag3Sn IMC particles in the eutectic phase); and (3) dislocation recovery (by climb/diffusion from forest dislocations in the Sn dendrites and by climb/detachment from the Ag3Sn IMC particles in the eutectic phase). The creep response of the eutectic phase (from Tier 1) is combined with creep of ellipsoidal Sn lobes at Tier 2 using the anisotropic Mori-Tanaka homogenization theory, to obtain the creep response of SAC305 single crystal along global specimen directions and is calibrated to experimentally obtained creep response of a SAC305 single crystal specimen. The Eshelby strain concentration tensors required for this homogenization process are calculated numerically for ellipsoidal Sn inclusions embedded in anisotropic eutectic Sn-Ag matrix. The orientations of SAC single crystal specimens with respect to loading direction are identified using orientation image mapping (OIM) using Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) and then utilized in the model to estimate the resolved shear stress along the dominant slip directions. The proposed model is then used for investigating the variability of the transient and secondary creep response of Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) solder, which forms the first objective of the dissertation. The transient creep strain rate along the [001] direction of SAC305 single crystal #1 is predicted to be 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than that along the [100]/[010] direction. Parametric studies have also been conducted to predict the effect of changing orientation, aspect ratio and volume fraction of Sn inclusions on the anisotropic creep response of SAC single crystals. The predicted creep shear strain along the global specimen direction is found to vary by a factor of (1-3) orders of magnitude due to change in one of the Euler angles (j1) in SAC305 single crystal #1, which is in agreement with the variability observed in experiments. The second objective of this dissertation focuses on using this proposed modeling framework to characterize and model the creep constitutive response of new low-silver, lead-free interconnects made of Sn1.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC105) doped with trace elements, viz., Manganese (Mn) and Antimony (Sb). The proposed multiscale model is used to mechanistically model the improvement in experimentally observed steady state creep resistance of above SAC105X solders due to the microalloying with the trace elements. The third and final objective of this dissertation is to use the above multiscale microstructural model to mechanistically predict the effect of extended isothermal aging on experimentally observed steady state creep response of SAC305 solders. In summary, the proposed mechanistic predictive model is demonstrated to successfully capture the dominant load paths and deformation mechanisms at each length scale and is also shown to be responsive to the microstructural tailoring done by microalloying and the continuous microstructural evolution because of thermomechanical life-cycle aging mechanisms in solders

Thermomechanical modelling of microstructure evolution in solder alloys

The reliability of soldered connections is a very important issue in electronics industry. This project aims to better understand the various factors influencing the lifetimeof solder joints through numerical modelling. Because of the high homologous temperatures at which they operate, the joints exhibit high temperature deformation mechanisms associated with creep and relaxation and are susceptible to lowcycle fatigue. Another issue is that due to the ongoingminiaturisation,microstructural sizes influence the material properties greatly. The project was initiated with the commercial eutectic tin–lead solder in mind. For this alloy the microstructure evolves, coarsens, significantly over time. To accurately capture the various, and sometimes very large, time scales that come into play, accelerated test methods are not suitable and real time testing is too time consuming. This is where numerical simulations can provide more insight and permit a significant reduction in cost and time of the design of highly reliable soldered connections in electronic packages and components. The first part of this thesis deals with the microstructure evolution of tin–lead due to diffusion. In the following two parts the proposed model is extended with respectively viscoplastic material behaviour and a nonlocal damage approach. In the final part attention is given to the tin–silver–copper system, which is one of the most likely replacement candidates of tin–lead in the strive towards a lead-free electronics industry. The evolving microstructure has been taken into account using a phase field model which is solved using the finite element method. The driving force for diffusion has been derived from a macroscopic free energy function, which describes phase segregation in microscopic model systems with long-range interactions evolving according to stochastic Kawasaki dynamics with nearest neighbour exchanges. Simulations of the static ageing process of eutectic tin–lead solder have been performed. The results predict break-up, coalescence, growth, and dissolution of phases, similar to experimental observations. It was also shown that external mechanical loading leads to faster coarsening rates. Quantitative comparison with experiments has been performed using the total interface length as the quantifying parameter and a good agreement was found. To capture the time dependent mechanical behaviour an elasto-viscoplastic material model law been used for the material model. The extensive information on the microstructure found with the phase field model was used to assign different parameter values to the individual phases and interfaces. Results from simulations of mechanical loading of eutectic tin–lead solder showed a strong dependency on the underlying microstructure. Aged microstructures exhibit more pronounced localisation of stresses and strains. To investigate the reliability of the solder, the model has been extended to include damage. The modelling of softening behaviour often leads to bad solutions using the finite element method. Although the viscous nature of the material model is known to regularise the solution, for practical purposes this effect is usually only sufficient for highly rate-sensitive materials or high loading rates and the numerical results still can show a mesh dependency. Therefore, a gradient enhanced nonlocal damage formulation has been implemented. The results of the phase field model are used to assign different damage parameter values to the phases and interfaces. For the tin–lead system the phase boundaries are known to be the crack initiation sites. The cracks next propagate preferably along tin–lead or tin–tin grain boundaries. The approach yields results that are qualitatively comparable with these experimental findings. Because, in the electronics industry, the tin–lead alloy needs to be replaced with a leadfree alternative in the near future, the final chapter deals with one of the most likely candidates, the near eutectic tin–silver–copper. Experiments performed on this ternary alloy revealed a disconcerting feature. Cyclic thermal ageing without any additional mechanical loading was already enough to lead to fracture along grain boundaries. In order to understand and explain this behaviour the experiments have been modelled using a three-dimensional finite element approach. The viscoplastic damage part of the model is extended to account for anisotropy of the material, both in the elastic as well as the thermal properties. Data obtained from Orientation ImageMicroscopy is used to take into account the microstructure at the grain level, which was found not to evolve over time. The results show a good qualitative agreement with the experiments, exhibiting stress concentrations leading to damage along the grain boundaries. The presented modelling approaches have been applied to simulate the complex behaviour of solder alloys. A multiphase alloy who’s mechanical behaviour is determined by its evolving microstructure is modelled and the results are compared with experimental data, showing satisfactory agreement. Furthermore, an industrially interesting material, near eutectic tin–silver–copper, has been successfully investigated, predicting damage in the same areas as seen experimentally, indicating that the elastic and thermal anisotropic properties play an important part in the fatigue life of this alloy

NANO-PARTICLE REINFORCED SOLDERS FOR MICROELECTRONIC INTERCONNECT APPLICATIONS

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

A Finite Element approach to understanding constitutive elasto-plastic, visco-plastic behaviour in lead free micro-electronic BGA structures

This work investigates the non-linear elasto-plastic and visco-plastic behaviour of lead free solder material and soldered joints. Specifically, Finite Element (FE) tools were used to better understand the deformations within Ball Grid Array solder joints (BGA), and numerical and analytical methods were developed to quantify the identified constituent deformations. FE material models were based on the same empirical constitutive models (elastic, plastic and creep) used in analytical calculations. The current work recognises the large number of factors influencing material behaviour which has led to a wide range of published material properties for near eutectic SnAgCu alloys. The work discovered that the deformation within the BGA was more complex than is generally assumed in the literature. It was shown that shear deformation of the solder ball could account for less than 5% of total measured displacement in BGA samples. Shear displacement and rotation of the solder balls relative to the substrate are sensitive to the substrate orthotropic properties and substrate geometry (relative to solder volume and array pattern). The FE modelling was used to derive orthotropic FR4 properties independently using published data. An elastic modulus for Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu was measured using homologous temperatures below 0.3. Suggested values of Abaqus-specific creep parameters m and f (not found in literature) for Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu have been validated with published data. Basic verification against simple analytical calculations has given a better understanding of the components of overall specimen displacement that is normally missing from empirical validation alone. A combined approach of numerical and analytical modelling of BGAs, and mechanical tests, is recommended to harmonise published work, exploit new material data and for more informed analysis of new configurationsEPSRC-funded PhD studentshi

Intermetallic Bonding for High-Temperature Microelectronics and Microsystems: Solid-Liquid Interdiffusion Bonding

Solid-liquid interdiffusion (SLID) bonding for microelectronics and microsystems is a bonding technique relying on intermetallics. The high-melting temperature of intermetallics allows for system operation at far higher temperatures than what solder-bonded systems can do, while still using similar process temperatures as in common solder processes. Additional benefits of SLID bonding are possibilities of fine-pitch bonding, as well as thin-layer metallurgical bonding. Our group has worked on a number of SLID metal systems. We have optimized wafer-level Cu-Sn SLID bonding to become an industrially feasible process, and we have verified the reliability of Au-Sn SLID bonding in a thermally mismatched system, as well as determined the actual phases present in an Au-Sn SLID bond. We have demonstrated SLID bonding for very high temperatures (Ni-Sn, having intermetallics with melting points up to 1280°C), as well as SLID with low process temperatures (Au-In, processed at 180°C, and Au-In-Bi, processed at 90–115°C). We have verified experimentally the high-temperature stability for our systems, with quantified strength at temperatures up to 300°C for three of the systems: Cu-Sn, Au-Sn and Au-In