Simulation Investigations on Fluid/Structure Interaction in the Reflow Soldering Process of Board-Level BGA Packaging

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to develop a Fluid/Structure Interaction model of a board-level Ball Grid Array (BGA) assembly for an infrared-convection reflow oven. The infrared-convection reflow oven is modeled in Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software while the structural heating BGA package simulation is done using Finite Element Method (FEM) software. Both software applications are coupled bidirectional using the Multi-physics Code Coupling Interface (MpCCI). The simulation thermal profile is compared with the experiment thermal profile, and they were found to be in good conformity. The simulated flow fields show that the convection mode in an infrared-convection reflow oven played minor effect on heat transfer to the printed circuit board (PCB). The dominant heat transfer mode in an infrared-convection reflow oven is the radiation mode from a quartz heating tube. From the simulation results, the PCB near the edges or corners tended to heat up first at preheating, soaking and reflow stages. The PCB and component experience larges temperature difference in preheating stage. This situation runs the risk of an excessive board warpage. In addition, the maximum von-Mises stress is trapped in the interfaces between solder joint and die, which intend to form the nucleation of initial solder joint crack. This guideline is very useful for the accurate control of temperature and thermal stress distributions within components and PCB, which is one of major requirements to achieve high reliability of electronic assemblies.