Technical Library | 2021-01-03 19:24:52.0
Reflow soldering is the primary method for interconnecting surface mount technology (SMT) applications. Successful implementation of this process depends on whether a low defect rate can be achieved. In general, defects often can be attributed to causes rooted in all three aspects, including materials, processes, and designs. Troubleshooting of reflow soldering requires identification and elimination of root causes. Where correcting these causes may be beyond the reach of manufacturers, further optimizing the other relevant factors becomes the next best option in order to minimize the defect rate.
Technical Library | 2019-06-07 14:49:54.0
ACI Technologies was contacted in regards to poor solder joint reliability. The customer submitted an assembly that was exhibiting intermittent opens at multiple locations on a ball grid array (BGA) component. The assembly’s functionality did not survive international shipping, essentially shock and vibration failures, immediately making the quality of the solder joints suspect. The customer was asked about the contract manufacturer and the reflow oven profile as well as the solder paste and surface finish used. The ACI engineering staff evaluated the contract manufacturer’s technique and determined that they were competent in the methods they used for placing thermocouples in the proper locations and developing the reflow oven profile. The surface finish was unusual, but not unheard of, in that it was hard gold over hard nickel, rather than electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG). The customer was able to supply boundary scan testing data which showed a diagonal row of troublesome BGA pins.
Technical Library | 2017-06-22 17:11:53.0
C-mode scanning acoustic microscopy (C-SAM) is a non-destructive inspection technique showing the internal features of a specimen by ultrasound. The C-SAM is the preferred method for finding “air gaps” such as delamination, cracks, voids, and porosity. This paper presents evaluations performed on various advanced packages/assemblies especially flip-chip die version of ball grid array/column grid array (BGA/CGA) using C-SAM equipment. For comparison, representative x-ray images of the assemblies were also gathered to show key defect detection features of the two non-destructive techniques.
Technical Library | 2021-08-11 01:00:37.0
Conformal coatings and potting materials continue to create issues for the electronics industry. This webinar will dig deeper into the failure modes of these materials, specifically issues with Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE), delamination, cracking, de-wetting, pinholes/bubbles and orange peel issues with conformal coatings and what mitigation techniques are available. Similarly, this webinar will look at the failure modes of potting materials, (e.g Glass Transition Temperature (Tg), PCB warpage, the effects of improper curing and potential methods for correcting these situations.
Technical Library | 2009-04-30 18:06:24.0
This presentation surveys the most significant via and via-related laminate failure mechanisms from past to present using data from current induced thermal cycling (CITC) testing, failure analysis, and other sources. The relative life and failure modes of thru vias, buried vias, and microvias (stacked vs. non-stacked) are compared, along with the affect of structure, materials, and peak temperatures on the above. The origin of via-induced laminate failures such as "eyebrow cracks" and Pb free related internal delamination is also explored.
Technical Library | 2018-11-07 03:31:04.0
Generally speaking, there are not many cases of insufficient solder and solder short in BGA soldering, but it is not impossible. Here we discuss some elements may cause it
Technical Library | 2015-05-21 18:46:31.0
In this work the reliability of an embedded planar capacitor laminate under temperature and voltage stress is investigated. The capacitor laminate consisted of an epoxy-BaTiO3 composite sandwiched between two layers of copper. The test vehicle with the embedded capacitors was subjected to a temperature of 125oC and a voltage bias of 200 V for 1000 hours. Capacitance, dissipation factor, and insulation resistance were monitored in-situ. Failed capacitors exhibited a sharp drop in insulation resistance, indicating avalanche breakdown. The decrease in the capacitance after 1000 hours was no more than 8% for any of the devices monitored. The decrease in the capacitance was attributed to delamination in the embedded capacitor laminate and an increase in the spacing between the copper layers.
Technical Library | 2013-03-14 17:19:28.0
Commercial-off-the-shelf ball/column grid array packaging (COTS BGA/CGA) technologies in high reliability versions are now being considered for use in a number of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) electronic systems. Understanding the process and quality assurance (QA) indicators for reliability are important for low-risk insertion of these advanced electronic packages. This talk briefly discusses an overview of packaging trends for area array packages from wire bond to flip-chip ball grid array (FCBGA) as well as column grid array (CGA). It then presents test data including manufacturing and assembly board-level reliability for FCBGA packages with 1704 I/Os and 1-mm pitch, fine pitch BGA (FPBGA) with 432 I/Os and 0.4-mm pitch, and PBGA with 676 I/Os and 1.0-mm pitch packages. First published in the 2012 IPC APEX EXPO technical conference proceedings.
Technical Library | 2013-07-11 15:22:40.0
This research paper will focus on the effect of various parameters that are used to reball a BGA and their effect on the overall shear strength. Factors that will be looked at include the type of BGA (SAC305 or 63Sn/37Pb), the alloy used to reball (SAC405 or 63Sn/37Pb), the type of flux used (Water Soluble or No Clean), and the environment in which reballing takes place (Nitrogen or Ambient).
Technical Library | 2014-03-06 19:04:07.0
Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the rate of Head-in-Pillow component soldering defects which interrupts the merger of the BGA/CSP component solder spheres with the molten solder paste during reflow. The issue has occurred across a broad segment of industries including consumer, telecom and military. There are many reasons for this issue such as warpage issues of the component or board, ball co-planarity issues for BGA/CSP components and non-wetting of the component based on contamination or excessive oxidation of the component coating. The issue has been found to occur not only on lead-free soldered assemblies where the increased soldering temperatures may give rise to increase component/board warpage but also on tin-lead soldered assemblies.
