Solder joint reliability in alternator power diode assemblies

Abstract

Power diodes in an alternator convert alternating current, generated by the spinning magnetic field, to direct current to be used by the battery and all the automotive electrical/electronic components. The diodes are press-fit into aluminum heatsinks to quickly and efficiently dissipate the heat from the silicon dies in the diode body. The diodes are soldered to a rectifier circuit board through the diode leads by a wave soldering process using a Pb-free, eutectic Sn-3.5Ag solder. A set of positive diodes reside on a different substrate than the set of negative diodes, resulting in differences in the lengths of the diode leads. The distance from the diode body to the solder joint on the leads of the positive diodes is 7 mm less than those of the negative diodes. Solderability, cross-section micrographs, and thermal-cycling fatigue reliability studies were compared between the positive and negative diodes and between diode designs from different suppliers. Wetting balance testing showed significant differences in solderability between positive and negative diodes and between the two different diode designs. Combining the diode body and lead together had a more drastic effect on the solderability than the lead alone. It was discovered that, although the nature of the diode design is to dissipate the heat away from the diode quickly and efficiently, there is a large temperature gradient along the lead immediately above the solder bath which can be as much as 100°C just 2 mm from the bath. This large temperature gradient caused some leads to be too “cold” to form good solder fillets. The solder fillets obtained in the laboratory wetting tests matched those observed in the actual alternators. The inadequate solder fillets resulted in a 250% difference in the thermal cycling fatigue reliability between the two diode designs.