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The purpose of this paper is to clarify the method of using RF impedance changes as an early indicator of degradation of solder joint. It proposes the mode of crack propagation in solder joint and outlines why RF impedance analysis can be capable of detecting small cracks. The study aims to show the potential of RF impedance analysis as a prognostic tool that can provide advanced warning of impending failures of solder joint.

In this paper, the mode of crack propagation in solder joint was studied to show why RF impedance analysis could be capable of detecting small cracks. A real simple impedance‐controlled test vehicle was developed to allow RF impedance and DC resistance measurements to monitor solder joint degradation. The influence of crack length on RF impedance was evaluated by high frequency structure simulator (HFSS) simulation for the first time.

The paper demonstrates that RF resistance can respond to an open state of a solder joint as well as DC resistance. Furthermore, RF impedance can monitor partial degradation of solder joints, while the DC resistance cannot do it. In addition, time‐domain reflection coefficient is found to be more useful than RF impedance in detecting solder joint degradation. The HFSS simulation results show that even very slight physical degradation of solder joints can be detected using RF impedance analysis.

In this paper, HFSS simulation is used for the first time to evaluate the influence of crack length on RF impedance.

The wearout characteristics were investigated for soldered interconnections of surface mount technology (SMT) chip resistors, chip capacitors and a 44 I/O ceramic leaded chip carrier (CLCC) package. Four double‐sided test vehicles were subjected to accelerated thermal cycling in the — 10°C to + 110°C range; 30°C/min ramp rate; and 1 minute dwell time at each temperature extreme. The test was interrupted at initially 500 cycle and later at 1000 cycle intervals to perform visual inspection of all soldered interconnections, functional performance verification for the test vehicles, and resistance measurement on leaded SMT joints. Metallographic examinations and fractographic studies were also performed after 0, 4500 and 13000 cycles to characterise the micromechanisms of soldered joint strength degradation and failure. The wearout thresholds for soldered joints of chip resistors and capacitors on side 1 were respectively 2500 and 4500 cycles. The greater thermal fatigue resistance of the latter joints was attributed to a lower device‐substrate coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch and a more favourable device geometry compared with chip resistors. These passive components on side 2, however, showed a virtually identical soldered joint wearout threshold of 6500 cycles. The constraints imposed by the applied mounting adhesive were primarily responsible for this behaviour. No correlation appeared to exist among various failure criteria used to determine the onset of failure for leaded SMT soldered connections. The concurrent monitoring of electrical resistance and the applied tensile load showed a modest relationship between the load drop and resistance increase, however. The test vehicles continued to pass the functional performance verification, even after 13000 thermal cycles. Nonetheless, the joint wearout thresholds were considered to be 2500, 4500 and 4500 cycles for chip resistor, chip capacitor and CLCC components, respectively. A 50% soldered joint strength drop was considered as the wearout threshold for the CLCC device. Metallographic examination showed limited barrel wall cracking of the vias and no evidence of cracks with the through‐hole soldered joints, even after 13000 thermal cycles.

To investigate the degradation of lead free solder heat‐sink attachment by thermal shock. Samples with high voiding percentages were selected for the investigation in order to get information on the significance of voids on the reliability of Sn‐Ag‐Cu heat‐sink attachment.

Through the use of X‐ray, C‐mode scanning acoustic microscopy, dye penetration, cross section and scanning electron microscopy/energy‐dispersive X‐ray tests, the degradation of Sn‐Ag‐Cu heat‐sink attachment during thermal shock cycling was evaluated.

The results showed that the Sn‐Ag‐Cu heat‐sink attachment where the area of voiding was 33‐48 per cent survived 3,000 thermal shock cycles, although degraded. The main degradation mechanism for the solder attachment was not solder fatigue but interface delamination due to Kirkendall voids at the Cu/Cu₃Sn interface. It was found that the large voids in the Sn‐Ag‐Cu heat‐sink attachment were not significantly affecting the solder joint lifetime. Big differences of intermetallic compound growth behaviour and Kirkendall voids at device/solder and solder/Cu pad interfaces are found and the reasons for this are discussed.

This work has clarified the general perception that large voids affect the thermo‐mechanical lifetime of solder joint substantially and also provides further understanding of the Sn‐Ag‐Cu heat‐sink attachment degradation mechanism.

As in real applications several alternating current (AC) currents may be injected to the electronic devices, this study aims to analyze their effects on the lifetime of the solder joints and, consequently, shed the light on these effects at the design phase for other researchers to consider.

In this paper, the authors investigated on current waveform shapes on the performance and reliability of the solder joints in electronic package. Three common and extensively used current shapes in several simulations and experiments were selected to study their effects on the solder joint performance.

The results demonstrate a sever thermal swing and stress fluctuation in the solder joint induced in the case of triangle current type because the critical states lack any relaxation time. In fact, the stress intensification in the solder under application of the triangle current type has been shown to contribute to increasing brittle intermetallic compounds. An accelerated increase of on-state voltage of power semiconductor was also observed in under application of the triangle current type.

The originality of this paper is confirmed.

Damage to components during soldering and degradation of soldered joints is determined to a large extent by the mechanical properties and the metallurgy of solder alloys and soldered joints. Knowledge of these properties is required for understanding of the mechanisms of damage and degradation. A compilation of this background knowledge is presented in this first article. It comprises the elastic, strength, creep and fatigue characteristics of tin/lead solders. Further, the metallurgy of tin/lead solders and soldered joints is discussed in terms of solidification structures, formation of intermetallic compounds, ageing of structures and effects of different solderable metallisations and soldering technology.

This study aims to investigate simultaneous power and thermal loading.

Finite element method simulations coupled with experiments.

The effects of power cycling have been determined.

This paper aims to testify the combined effects of thermal and power cycling loads on the reliability of solder ball joints with barrel- and hourglass-type geometries in an electronic system. The finite element simulation outcomes showed that the maximum strain energy was accumulated at the edges of barrel-type solder, whereas the hourglass-type was vulnerable at the necking side. It was also found that the hourglass-type solder showed a reliable behavior when the sole thermal cycling was exerted to the electronic system, whereas the barrel-type solder was a better choice under simultaneous application of thermal and power loadings. The experimental results also confirmed the finite element simulation and indicated that the solder joint reliability strongly depends on the geometry of interconnection in different operating conditions. An extensive discussion was presented to shed light on the paramount importance of combined thermal/power cycling on the reliability of solder joints.

The purpose of this paper is to find the optimum inverter type as the solder joint reliability point of view.

In this paper, finite element model(ing) simulations supported with power cycling aging experiments were used to demonstrate the best inverter type as the solder joint reliability point of view.

It was found that inverter types highly affect the solder joint health during its nominal operating.

The authors confirm the originality of this paper.

The purpose of this work is to undertake a comparison of accelerated test regimes for assessing the reliability of solder joints, in particular those made using lead‐free solders.

Identical samples of 1206, 0805 and 0603 resistors were subjected to six different cycling regimes to investigate the effect of thermal excursions, ramp rates and temperature dwells.

The most damage to joints was found to be caused by thermal cycling between −55 and 125°C, with a 10°C/min ramp rate and 5 min dwells. Large thermal excursions were shown to give faster results without compromising the failure mode.

Similar degrees of damage in the lead‐free solder joints were experienced from thermal shock regimes with ramp rates in excess of 50°C/min. However, these regimes, although faster to undertake, appeared to cause different crack propagation modes than observed with the thermal cycling regimes. However, these differences may be small and thermal shock testing may still be used to differentiate between, or enable ranking of, the effects of changes to materials or processes on the reliability of the solder joints. Hence, it is envisaged that if a wide range of conditions are to be tested a first sift can be completed using thermal shock, with the final work using typical thermal cycling conditions.

The difference between the SAC (95.5Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu) and SnAg (96.5Sn3.5Ag) solder alloy results across all types of cycles showed very little difference in the rates of joint degradation.

This paper compares relative reliability (remaining shear strength) of three chip components soldered with two lead‐free alloys based on various thermal cycling conditions.

Flip chip solder joint reliability under thermal shock stress was investigated both experimentally and by 2D finite element simulation. The results indicate that solder fatigue is the dominant failure mode and that delamination has obvious adverse effects on the solder joint lifetime. Different material/process combinations (underfill, flux, reflow atmospheres) were designed in order to understand the role of material/process factors on the solder joint lifetime and the results are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the influence of solder powders sizes applied in soldering materials used for Package-on-Package (PoP) system manufacture as well as other factors on reliability and mechanical strength of created solder joints in three-dimensional (3D) PoP structures.

The design of experiments based on the Genichi Taguchi method were used in the investigation. The main factors covered different printed circuit board (PCB) coatings, soldering materials with solder powders sizes from Types 3 to 7 and soldering profiles. The reliability of 3D PoP structures was determined by measurements of resistance of daisy-chain solder joints systems during thermal shocks (TS) cycles. The mechanical strength of solder joints in 3D PoP structures was determined by measurements of a shear force of “Top” layer of 3D structures at T0 and after 1,500 TS. The ANOVA was used for results assessment.

The size of solder powders applied in soldering materials had small (10 per cent) influence on mechanical strength of solder joints in 3D PoP structures. Small size of solder powder had positive effect on solder joints reliability in 3D PoP structures. Especially important was the selection of solder paste for “Bottom” layer of 3D PoP system (influence 17 per cent). Incorrect soldering profile (influence 46 per cent) or wrong selected PCB coating (influence 35 per cent) can very easily reduce the positive impact of soldering materials on solder joints reliability. It was stated that as low as possible soldering profile and organic solderability preservative (OSP) coating in the case of single-sided PCB are the best for 3D PoP structures due to their reliability.

This paper explains how different sizes of solder powders used nowadays in solder pastes influence on reliability and mechanical strength of the solder joints in 3D PoP structures. The contribution, in numerical values, of soldering materials, soldering profile and PCB coating on 3D PoP structures solder joints reliability as well as recommendations improving reliability of 3D PoP structures solder joints were presented.