Experimental and numerical fatigue life assessment of SAC305 solders subjected to combined temperature and harmonic vibration loadings

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the fatigue life performance of SAC305 ball grid array solders under combined temperature and harmonic vibration loading conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

Fatigue tests were performed using a sine dwell with resonance tracking vibration and temperature loading experiment. Finite element stress analysis was also performed to help in understanding the observed failure trends.

Findings

Fatigue test results showed that the lead-free solders tend to fail quickly in higher temperatures and higher vibration loading test conditions. The failure analysis results revealed that in low temperatures, the solder cracks are initiated and propagated at the package side. However, in high temperatures, the cracks are observed at the board side of the interconnect. In all conditions, the cracks are propagated throughout the intermetallic compound layer.

Originality/value

In the published literature, there is a lack of data in the area of fatigue assessment of lead-free solders under combined temperature and vibration loadings. This paper provides useful insights into combined thermal/vibration fatigue, i.e. reliability behavior of lead-free solder joint types.

Citation

Gharaibeh, M. (2020), "Experimental and numerical fatigue life assessment of SAC305 solders subjected to combined temperature and harmonic vibration loadings", Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 181-187. https://doi.org/10.1108/SSMT-10-2019-0030