Analytical and Experimental Hybrid Study on Thermal Fatigue Strength of Electronic Solder Joints. 1st Report. Rationalization of Accelerated Thermal Cyclic Test and Evaluation of Thermal Fatigue.

Abstract

Stress-strain analyses for Sn-Pb cutectic solder joints in a thin single outline package (STOP), a ball grid array (BGA) assembly, and a leadless ceramic chip carrier (LCCC) were carried out for investigation of plastic-creep behavior, and of stress relaxation behavior due to accelerated thermal cycling tests or the operating conditions. the temperature dependence of plastic behavior (yield stress) and creep behavior (creep properties) were taken into account in all numerical analyses. The results of finite element analysis (FEA) show that in an accelerated terperature cycling test, long high-temperature and low-temperature dweel times do not contribute to an increase in the cyclic inelastic equivalent strain range in solder joints, although the creep behavior occurring during the dwell times under operating conditions is very important in estimation of the fatigue life of solder joints. Based upon the results of the strain analyses, an efficient temperature cycling test process for microelectronic solder joints was proposed, and cycling tests were carried out. The experimental results show that the thermal fatigue life of microelectronic Sn-Pb eutectic solder joints can be predicted by an associated fracture parameter of total equivalent inelastic strain range, and the fatigue life of solder joints follows Coffin-Manson's law.