Using finite element analysis for simulation of reliability tests on solder joints in microelectronic packaging

Abstract In the microelectronics industry tin/lead solder joints are an essential part of packaging. It is well established that heat generated by the circuits when the device is on leads to a thermal loading which is cycling in nature. Due to the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between the bonded layers, the solder joint experiences cycling shear strain, which leads to short cycle fatigue. When semiconductor devices are used in a vibrating environment, additional strains shorten the fatigue life of a solder joint. Reliability of these joints in new packages is determined by laboratory tests. In order to use the FEM to replace these expensive reliability tests, a unified constitutive model for Pb40/Sn60 solder joints has been developed and implemented in a thermo-viscoplastic-dynamic finite element procedure. The model incorporates thermal-elastic-viscoplastic and damage capabilities in a unified manner. The constitutive model has been verified extensively against laboratory test data. The finite element procedure was used for thermo-viscoplastic, dynamic and coupled thermo-viscoplastic-dynamic analyses for fatigue life predictions. The results indicate that using Miner’s rule to calculate accumulative damage by means of two separate analyses, namely dynamic and thermo-mechanical, significantly underestimates the accumulative total damage. It is also shown that a simultaneous application of thermal and dynamic loads significantly shortens the fatigue life of the solder joint. In the microelectronic packaging industry it is common practice to ignore the contribution of vibrations to short cycle fatigue life predictions. The results of this study indicate that damage induced in the solder joints by vibrations has to be included in fatigue life predictions to accurately estimate their reliability.

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