Technical Library | 2020-09-23 21:37:25.0
The need to minimise thermal damage to components and laminates, to reduce warpage-induced defects to BGA packages, and to save energy, is driving the electronics industry towards lower process temperatures. For soldering processes the only way that temperatures can be substantially reduced is by using solders with lower melting points. Because of constraints of toxicity, cost and performance, the number of alloys that can be used for electronics assembly is limited and the best prospects appear to be those based around the eutectic in the Bi-Sn system, which has a melting point of about 139°C. Experience so far indicates that such Bi-Sn alloys do not have the mechanical properties and microstructural stability necessary to deliver the reliability required for the mounting of BGA packages. Options for improving mechanical properties with alloying additions that do not also push the process temperature back over 200°C are limited. An alternative approach that maintains a low process temperature is to form a hybrid joint with a conventional solder ball reflowed with a Bi-Sn alloy paste. During reflow there is mixing of the ball and paste alloys but it has been found that to achieve the best reliability a proportion of the ball alloy has to be retained in the joint, particular in the part of the joint that is subjected to maximum shear stress in service, which is usually the area near the component side. The challenge is then to find a reproducible method for controlling the fraction of the joint thickness that remains as the original solder ball alloy. Empirical evidence indicates that for a particular combination of ball and paste alloys and reflow temperature the extent to which the ball alloy is consumed by mixing with the paste alloy is dependent on the volume of paste deposited on the pad. If this promising method of achieving lower process temperatures is to be implemented in mass production without compromising reliability it would be necessary to have a method of ensuring the optimum proportion of ball alloy left in the joint after reflow can be consistently maintained. In this paper the author explains how the volume of low melting point alloy paste that delivers the optimum proportion of retained ball alloy for a particular reflow temperature can be determined by reference to the phase diagrams of the ball and paste alloys. The example presented is based on the equilibrium phase diagram of the binary Bi-Sn system but the method could be applied to any combination of ball and paste alloys for which at least a partial phase diagram is available or could be easily determined.
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 | 2024-01-08 18:36:01.0
The following aims lie behind the investigations described: The circuit board is an integrated structure made of metal and plastic. Like most integrated components enclosed in plastic, it absorbs water. When it is rapidly heated as, for example, in soldering technology temperature processes, it is a well known fact that the water will evaporate abruptly, leading to destruction. It is therefore essential that the circuit board be dried before these soldering processes. Circuit board manufacturers are extremely hesitant at providing instructions on drying their circuit boards. Information from the ZVEI [1] should also be regarded critically. The cardinal problem is the high temperature which is recommended for baking. If this is applied, the result is often de-lamination and distortion of the circuit boards. Corrosion and the formation of intermetallic phases of the metallic surfaces are also to be expected. The following investigates whether gentle drying at 45°C or 60°C and at low relative humidity achieves the same result as baking at high temperatures. The industry provides novel dry cabinets which are suitable for rapid drying at relative humidities below one percent.
Technical Library | 2015-07-01 16:51:43.0
Aerospace and military companies continue to exercise RoHS exemptions and to intensively research the long term attachment reliability of RoHS compliant solders. Their products require higher vibration, drop/shock performance, and combined-environment reliability than the conventional SAC305 alloy provides. The NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project confirmed that pad cratering is one of the dominant failure modes that occur in various board level reliability tests, especially under dynamic loading. One possible route to improvement of the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of solder joints is the use of Pb-free solders with lower process temperatures. Lower temperatures help reduce the possibility of damaging the boards and components, and also may allow for the use of lower Tg board materials which are less prone to pad cratering defects. There are several Sn-Ag-Bi and Sn-Ag-Cu-Bi alloys which melt about 10°C lower than SAC305. The bismuth in these solder compositions not only reduces the melting temperature, but also improves thermo-mechanical behavior. An additional benefit of using Bi-containing solder alloys is the possibility to reduce the propensity to whisker growth
Technical Library | 2015-11-19 18:15:07.0
The move to lead free (Pb-free) electronics by the commercial industry has resulted in an increasing number of ball grid array components (BGAs) which are only available with Pb-free solder balls. The reliability of these devices is not well established when assembled using a standard tin-lead (SnPb) solder paste and reflow profile, known as a backward compatible process. Previous studies in processing mixed alloy solder joints have demonstrated the importance of using a reflow temperature high enough to achieve complete mixing of the SnPb solder paste with the Pb-free solder ball. Research has indicated that complete mixing can occur below the melting point of the Pb-free alloy and is dependent on a number of factors including solder ball composition, solder ball to solder paste ratio, and peak reflow times and temperatures. Increasing the lead content in the system enables full mixing of the solder joint with a reduced peak reflow temperature, however, previous research is conflicting regarding the effect that lead percentage has on solder joint reliability in this mixed alloy solder joint.
Technical Library | 2011-11-10 18:06:17.0
With the advent of larger packages and higher densities/pitch the Industry has been concerned with the coplanarity of both the substrate package and the PCB motherboard. The iNEMI PCB Coplanarity WG generated a snapshot in time of the dynamic coplanarity
Technical Library | 2014-06-12 16:40:19.0
Occurrence of popcorn in IC packages while assembling them onto the PCB is a well known moisture sensitive reliability issues, especially for surface mount packages. Commonly reflow soldering simulation process is conducted to assess the impact of assembling IC package onto PCB. A strain gauge-based instrumentation is developed to investigate the popcorn effect in surface mount packages during reflow soldering process. The instrument is capable of providing real-time quantitative information of the occurrence popcorn phenomenon in IC packages. It is found that the popcorn occur temperatures between 218 to 241°C depending on moisture soak condition, but not at the peak temperature of the reflow process. The presence of popcorn and delamination are further confirmed by scanning acoustic tomography as a failure analysis.
WASET - World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
Technical Library | 2016-01-08 11:56:03.0
Solder joint encapsulant adhesives have been successfully used to enhance the strength of solder joints and improve thermal cycling as well as drop performance in finished products. The use of solder joint encapsulant adhesives can eliminate the need for underfill materials and the underfill process altogether, thus simplifying rework, which results in a lower cost of ownership.Solder joint encapsulant adhesives include: low temperature and high temperature solder joint encapsulant adhesives, and their derivatives. Each solder joint encapsulant adhesive has: unfilled and filled solder joint encapsulant adhesives, and solder joint encapsulant paste. Each solder joint encapsulant product has been designed for different applications. In this paper, we are going to discuss the details and future of solder joint encapsulant adhesives.
Technical Library | 2017-04-20 19:16:17.0
IST AG thin film mass flow sensors offer solutions for a wide variety of flow applications. The thin film and membrane technologies incorporate highly accurate temperature sensors and heaters as core elements of the sensors. IST AGs flow sensors are applicable in gas (liquids upon request), have an operating temperature range of -30 °C to +450 °C, and can measure low rate and direction from 0.0001 m/s (microflowSens) to 100 m/s (respectively from 1 mL/min to 10 L/min). In addition to measuring flow rates, our sensors can detect the presence of a liquid, biofilm or bubbles as well as indicate liquid level. Development channels guarantee the best possible adaptation of our sensors, whether in terms of dynamic range, response time, directional detection or ambient conditions.
Technical Library | 2017-04-27 17:10:16.0
Using modern laser systems for the depanelization of circuit boards can create some challenges for the production engineer when it is compared to traditional mechanical singulation methods. Understanding the effects of the laser energy to the substrate material properly is essential in order to take advantage of the technology without creating unintended side effects. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the various laser system operating parameters that were performed to determine the resulting substrate material temperature changes. A theoretical model was developed and compared to actual measurements. The investigation includes how the temperature increase resulting from laser energy during depaneling affects the properties of the PCB substrate, which varies from no measurable change to a lowering of the surface resistance of the cut wall depending on the cutting parameters.
.png)
