Reliability Of Ball Grid Array Solder Joints Research Articles

IMC Growth Mechanisms of SAC305 Lead-Free Solder on Different Surface Finishes and Their Effects on Solder Joint Reliability of FCBGA Packages

Intermetallic compound (IMC) growth behavior of lead-free solder plays an important role in ball grid array (BGA) solder joint reliability for flip chip BGA (FCBGA) packaging applications. The growth mechanism of IMC is reported based on a diffusion model. Thermal treatment such as accelerated thermal cycling (ATC) and isothermal aging exposure also contribute to the growth rate and morphology of lead-free solder IMC. Among the lead-free solder alloys, Sn-3.0wt.%Ag-0.5wt.%Cu (SAC305) solder is a promising substitute for Sn-Pb because of its good mechanical properties and wettability with current surface finishes. After thermal exposure, BGA solder joint reliability is degraded due to IMC formation and growth. In this study, two different thermal treatments, ATC and isothermal aging, and two different pad surface finishes, solder on pad (SOP) and electroless Ni immersion gold (ENIG), are considered in terms of IMC growth rate and mechanical solder joint reliability. An SOP finished interface forms a thin ε-phase Cu3Sn layer and a scallop-like η-phase Cu6Sn5 layer. In contrast, the ENIG finished interface forms a thick (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 IMC layer and prevents overall IMC growth. Different surface finished test vehicles are evaluated in an ATC test in a 0°C to 100°C temperature range and the Ni diffusion layer shows a longer solder joint fatigue lifetime than the nondiffusion barrier interface based on the micro cross-section and dye penetration analysis results. In an isothermal aging test at 100°C and 150°C, the aging temperature and time are valid factors to decide mechanical shock reliability. Interfacial fractures are found in the 100°C aged test vehicle due to easier crack propagation at the interface between the thin Cu3Sn layer and the scallop-like Cu6Sn5 layer based on SEM microstructure analysis results. Finally, this investigation proposes how to improve solder joint reliability and prevent interfacial fracture for SAC305 lead-free application.

RELIABILITY EVALUATION OF BGA SOLDER JOINTS DURING ACCELERATED LIFE TEST

The use of BGA (Ball Grid Array) interconnects utilizing the lead-free solder joint has grown rapidly because of its small volume and diversity of application. Thus, it requires the continuous quantification and refinement of lead-free solder joint reliability. The lead-free solder creep and cyclically applied mechanical loads cause metal fatigue on the lead-free solder joint which inevitably leads to an electrical discontinuity. In the field application, BGA solder joints experience mechanical loads during temperature changes caused by power up/down events as the result of the CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion) mismatch between the substrate and the Si die. In this paper, extremely small resistance changes at joint area corresponding to through-cracks generated by thermal fatigue were measured. In this way, the failure was defined in terms of anomalous changes in electrical resistance of the joint. Furthermore the reliability of BGA solder joints in thermal cycling is evaluated by using the modified coffin-Manson criterion which may define and distinguish failure. Any change in circuit resistance according to the accumulated damage induced by the thermal cycling in the joint was recorded and evaluated in order to quantitate reliability of solder joint.

Reliability of BGA Solder Joints on the Au/Ni/Cu Bond Pad-Effect of Thicknesses of Au and Ni Layer

A systematic experimental work has been carried out to investigate the effect of thicknesses of the Au and Ni layers in the bond pad metallization on the reliability of ball grid array (BGA) solder joints as well as to understand the mechanism of Au diffusion to the solder interface. BGA solder balls of Sn-37 wt.% Pb have been bonded on BGA solder bond pads of Au/electrolytic Ni/Cu by reflowing at 225 degC for 0.5 min. The thickness of the Ni layer was varied from 0.35 to 2.8 mum, while the thickness of Au layer was varied from 0.1 to 1.3 mum. Solid state aging at 150 degC up to 1000 h has been carried out to simulate the ultimate interfacial reactions during the operational life of electronic devices. Cross-sectional studies of the solder-to-bond pad interfaces have been conducted by scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer to investigate the interfacial reaction phenomena. Ball shear tests have been carried out to obtain the mechanical strength of the solder joints and to correlate shear behavior with the interfacial reaction products. After the shear tests, fracture surfaces have also been investigated to understand the fracture modes. It has been found that Au embrittlement in the BGA Sn-Pb solder joints on Au/Ni/Cu BGA bond pads can be reduced by using either a thin Au layer or a thin Ni layer in the trilayer metallization of Au/Ni/Cu. It is easy to understand why Au embrittlement is reduced when a thin Au layer in the BGA bond pad is used; however, contrary to the usual expectation, it has been realized in this paper that a very thin Ni metallization is an effective means to maintain the mechanical integrity of the BGA SnPb solder joint. It is revealed that the out-diffusion of the Cu atoms during the aging period changes the chemistry and morphology of the intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at the solder interface, contributing to a significant reduction in brittleness. During aging at 150 degC, the thin Ni layer facilitates Cu diffusion from the bond pad toward IMCs. As a result, the brittle continuous layers of (Au,Ni)Sn <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4</sub> and Ni <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> Sn <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4</sub> are transformed into a nodular-shaped discontinuous layer of AuSn <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4</sub> and a layer of (Au,Cu,Ni) <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">6 </sub> Sn <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">5</sub> , respectively. New interfacial reaction products with the modified morphology change the typical scenario of Au embrittlement at the BGA solder interface and thus improve the interfacial joint strength significantly

Reliability and RF performance of BGA solder joints with plastic-core solder balls in LTCC/PWB assemblies

In this paper board-level reliability of low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) modules with thermo-mechanically enhanced ball-grid-array (BGA) solder joint structure mounted on a printed wiring board (PWB) was experimentally investigated by thermal cycling tests in the 0–100 °C and −40 to 125 °C temperature ranges. The enhanced joint structure comprised solder mask defined (SMD) AgPt pad metallization, eutectic solder and plastic-core solder balls (PCSB). Similar daisy-chained LTCC modules with non-collapsible 90Pb10Sn solder spheres were used for a reference test set. The reliability of the joint structures was analyzed by resistance measurements, X-ray microscopy, scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) and SEM/EDS investigation. In addition, a full-wave electromagnetic analysis was performed to study effects of the plastic-core material on the RF performance of the LTCC/BGA package transition up to millimeter-wave frequencies. Thermal cycling results of the modules with PCSBs demonstrated excellent fatigue performance over that of the reference. In the harsher cycling test, Weibull’s shape factor β values of 7.9 and 4.8, and characteristic lifetime θ values of 1378 and 783 were attained for the modules with PCSBs and 90Pb10Sn solder spheres, respectively. The primary failure mode in all test assemblies was fatigue cracking in eutectic solder on the ceramic side.

The Assessment of Influence of the Design Factors on the Reliability of BGA Solder Joints

In recent years, package downsizing has become one of biggest trends in packaging technologies because of miniaturization and the high integration of electronic devices. As a result, the reliability of fatigue life has been prioritized as an important concern, since the thermal expansion difference between a package and printed circuit board causes thermal fatigue. But, the reliability of thermal fatigue life may be lowered by the dispersion of design factors such as the dimensions, shapes, and material properties of package systems. Also, the fracture modes (fatigue fracture, brittle destruction in the interface, and compound destruction, and so on) will be affected by these dispersion factors. Although this dispersion should be reduced in order to improve the reliability, reducing all dispersion is inefficient and time-consuming. So, the factors that greatly contribute to thermal fatigue life have to be reduced. In this study, evaluations of the influence of various design factors on the reliability of soldered joints of a BGA (Ball Grid Array) were carried out, and got each influence. With the results, design engineers can rate each factor’s effect on reliability and assess the reliability of their design beginning at the concept design stage. Consequently, it will be possible to avoid almost all reliability problems from the beginning. Also, by rating the factors, the design period can be shortened

Nonlinear Analysis of Full-Matrix and Perimeter Plastic Ball Grid Array Solder Joints

The application of Ball Grid Array (BGA) technology in electronic packaging on high I/O plastic and ceramic packages has grown significantly during the past few years. Although PBGA (plastic BGA) has several advantages over fine-pitch Quad Flat Pack (QFP) in terms of smaller package area, higher I/Os, lower switching noise, large pitch, higher assembly yield, and improved robustness in manufacturing process, potential package reliability problems can still occur, e.g., excessive solder joint deformation induced by substrate warpage, moisture ingression (popcorn effect), large variation in solder ball size, voiding as a result of flux entrapment and improper pad/solder mask design (Marrs and Olachea, 1994; Solberg, 1994; Freyman and Petrucci, 1995; Lau, 1995; Donlin, 1996; Lasky et al., 1996; Munroe et al., 1996). Regardless of its improved thermal fatigue performance over the past few years through an extensive amount of research, the BGA solder joint may still pose a reliability issue under harsh environment, e.g., automotive underhood, larger package size, or higher temperature and temperature gradient due to increase in power dissipation of the package. Numerous studies in BGA solder joint deformation and reliability under thermal and mechanical loadings can be found in the literature, e.g., Borgesen et al. (1993), Choi et al. (1993), Guo et al. (1993), Ju et al. (1994), Lau et al. (1994) Lau (1995), and Heinrich et al. (1995). Also, reliability prediction models have been developed by, e.g., Darveaux et al. (1995) and Darveaux (1996). The present study focuses on the application of a detailed nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) to studying the thermal cyclic response of solder joints in two particular BGA packages, full-matrix and perimeter. Both time-independent plasticity and time-dependent effect, i.e., creep and relaxation, are considered in the constitutive equations of solder joint to evaluate the discrepancy in the results of life prediction. The critical solder joint is identified, and the locations that are most susceptible to fatigue failure in the critical joint are discussed. Some limitations in computation and reliability prediction are also discussed.