Thermo mechanical analysis of through-hole solder joint using strain partitioning method

Abstract

Currently in the electronics industry there is a desire to increase component reliability. Fatigue failure in solder joints is an important design consideration for electronic packaging. In through-hole components, fatigue failure of leads has been observed to antecede fatigue failure of solder joints. The main objective of the study for a solder joint in a plated-through-hole bearing the pin during the temperature cycle was to ascertain the thermo mechanical behavior and the dominant deformation mode. The Digital Speckle Correlation (DSC) technique, which is a computer vision technique, was applied for the measurement of solder joint deforamtion for a prescribed outlined temperature and time. The dimensions for the area of the solder joint under study were 21 by 21 um, located at the centre of the hole. And computation of averaged shear strains at 6 data points for this area was done. R Darveaux's constitutive model was applied for the data analysis such as the solder joint yields stress with respect to the time and temperature. On achieving the stress solution, the measured total strains were partitioned into elastic, plastic and creep terms separately and hence the creep strain was evaluated. From the analysis, it was found that the dominant deformation mode was shear deformation due to mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion between pin and copper plating material of through-hole under thermal loading. And the dominant deformation mechanism was creep strain while stress started to relax at the end of ramp up and continued throughout the test and creep strain rate decreased during high temperature dwell. In Addition, the elastic strain was dominating during the initial stage of thermal cycle but later it was neglibible when compared to creep strain.