A comparative study of thermal fatigue life of Eutectic Sn-Bi, Hybrid Sn-Bi/SAC and SAC solder alloy BGAs. (April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cai, Chongyang; Xu, Jiefeng; Wang, Huayan; Park, S.B.
• Is Part Of: Microelectronics and reliability. Volume 119(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-04
• Subjects: SnBi solder -- Thermal cycling -- Creep -- Fatigue life; Electronic apparatus and appliances -- Reliability -- Periodicals; Miniature electronic equipment -- Periodicals; Appareils électroniques -- Fiabilité -- Périodiques; Équipement électronique miniaturisé -- Périodiques; Electronic apparatus and appliances -- Reliability; Miniature electronic equipment; Periodicals; 621.3815
• DOI: 10.1016/j.microrel.2021.114065
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0026-2714

Abstract

Abstract: Low melting temperature solders are becoming a hot topic in Pb-free solder studies. Among these solders, SnBi has attracted more attention because it can not only reduce the energy for reflow, but more importantly, increase the reliability of joints by minimizing warpage. In this study, the board-level reliability of the assembly of BGA components was investigated. Three types of assemblies are compared: mixed (hybrid) Sn-Bi/SAC305 assembly, which is made by soldering BGAs with SAC305 solder balls using eutectic SnBi solder pastes so that the low reflow temperature avoids the SAC305 solder joints from being molten; homogeneous eutectic SnBi assembly, which is made with solder balls and pastes that are both eutectic Sn-Bi; and homogenous SAC305 assembly as a control group. An accelerated thermal cycling test shows that homogeneous eutectic SnBi assembly exhibits the best cycling reliability while the mixed assembly has the shortest fatigue life. The failure mechanism of the mixed assembly is also different from the other two types. Based on the experimental fatigue life results, the parameters of constitutive equation of eutectic SnBi are calculated to evaluate the fatigue life of the solder joints. The study shows the better thermal cycling reliability of eutectic SnBi assembly and help predict the fatigue life of different assemblies. Highlights: A direct comparison of thermal cycling reliability homogeneous SnBi joints, homogeneous SAC joints and mixed Sn-Bi/SAC joints. The constants of constitutive equation of eutectic SnBi solder are obtained. Prediction of fatigue life of homogeneous and mixed solder based on strain energy density distribution.