Structural integrity in electronics

With continuing miniaturisation, increased performance demands and the requirement to remove lead from solder alloys, the challenges to structural integrity and reliability of electronic equipment are substantial and increasing. This paper outlines typical features in electronic equipment of which the structural integrity community may be generally unaware. Potential failure modes in service are described, and the problems of scale and material characteristics are considered. Progress in the application of fracture mechanics to the life prediction of interconnections is reviewed. The limited evidence available suggests that the crack growth resistance of silver‐containing lead‐free solders is superior to that of the traditional Sn‐37Pb under cycle‐controlled conditions but there is no difference when time‐dependent conditions prevail. In several respects, it is contended that the electronics sector is faced with challenges at least equivalent to those encountered in gas turbines and nuclear power generation.     

面向表面组装工艺技术的PCB焊盘设计

尽管电子设计类软件已相当先进和方便，而且更新速度也很快，但是仍然无法满足各个层次的设计人员的需求，特别是适合各种元素封装形式的焊盘设计库并不能让设计和制造者满意，为了在此方面对PCB设计有所帮助，从印制电路板焊盘的设计方法入手，针对表面组装工艺技术特点，分析了PCB焊盘对PCA可靠性的影响因素，并根据相关的质量要求提出了较为简便的设计方案。     

Resilient metal spring network silicone-matrix composite for separable interconnections

Resilient metal spring silicone-matrix conducting composites for separable interconnections in electronics were fabricated by the impregnation of silicone into a preform comprising randomly oriented C-shaped Cu-Be springs and a small proportion of Sn-Pb solder, which served to connect the springs at some of their intersections. Composites containing 6.1-9.8 vol.% total filler exhibited volume electrical resistivity 0.5-1.0 mΩ.cm and contact resistivity (with copper) 11-17 mΩ.cm². A compressive stress of about 30 kPa was needed for the low contact resistivity to be reached. The volume 17-26% and the contact resistivity increased by 5% after heating in air at 130-150°C for seven days. Composites containing <9 vol.% total filler showed no stress relaxation for seven days at 6.0% strain.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Pb-free solder alloys for low-cost electronic assembly: A review

Lead-free solders, including Sn-58Bi, Sn-52In, and Sn-3.5Ag, are potential replacements for Sn-37Pb solder in low-cost electronic assembly. This paper reviews the literature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of these alloys. Because of the processing and testing conditions, many of the data are not predictive for electronic assembly applications. However, eutectic Sn-Bi seems to have properties approaching those of eutectic Sn-Pb under most conditions, while eutectic Sn-In seems far inferior in most respects. Eutectic Sn-Ag has many promising characteristics, but its relatively high melting temperature may preclude its use for this type of application.     

Rare-earth-enabled universal solders for microelectromechanical systems and optical packaging

In packaging of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), optical, and electronic devices, there is a need to directly bond a wide variety of inorganic materials, such as oxides, nitrides, and semiconductors. Such applications involve hermetic-sealing components, three-dimensional MEMS assembly components as well as active semiconductor or optical components, dielectric layers, diffusion barriers, waveguides, and heat sinks. These materials are known to be very difficult to wet and bond with low melting-point solders. New Sn-Ag- or Au-Sn-based universal solders doped with a small amount of rare-earth (RE) elements have been developed, which now allow direct and powerful bonding onto the surfaces of various MEMS, optical, or electronic device materials. The microstructure, interface properties, and mechanical behavior of the bonds as well as the potential packaging applications of these new solder materials for MEMS and optical fiber devices are described. Various packaging-related structural, thermal, or electrical issues in MEMS are also discussed.     

Implicit integration and consistent tangent modulus of a time‐dependent non‐unified constitutive model

This paper describes the implicit integration and consistent tangent modulus of an inelastic constitutive model with transient and steady strain rates, both of which are time‐ and temperature‐dependent; the transient rate is influenced by the evolution of back stress decomposed into parts, while the steady rate depends only on applied stress and temperature. Such a non‐unified model is useful for high‐temperature structural analysis and is practical owing to the ease in determining material constants. The implicit integration is shown to result in two scalar‐valued coupled equations, and the consistent tangent modulus is derived in a quite versatile form by introducing a set of fourth‐rank constitutive parameters into the discretized evolution rule of back stress. The constitutive model is, then, implemented in a finite element program and applied to a lead‐free solder joint analysis. It is demonstrated that the implicit integration is very accurate if the multilinear kinematic hardening model of Ohno and Wang is employed, and that the consistent tangent modulus certainly affords quadratic convergence to the Newton–Raphson iteration in solving nodal force equilibrium equations. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microstructure and thermal behavior of Sn-Zn-Ag solders

The microstructure and thermal behavior of the Sn-Zn-Ag solder were investigated for 8.73–9% Zn and 0–3.0% Ag. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis shows the Ag-Zn compound when the solder contains 0.1% Ag. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis results indicate that Ag₅Zn₈ and AgZn₃ become prominent when the Ag content is 0.3% and above. Meanwhile, the Zn-rich phase is refined, and the Zn orientations gradually diminish upon increase in Ag content. The morphology of the Ag-Zn compound varies from nodular to dendrite structure when the Ag content increases. The growth of the Ag-Zn compounds is accompanied by the diminishing of the eutectic structure of the Sn-9Zn solder. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) investigation reveals that the solidus temperature of these solders exists at around 198°C. A single, sharp exothermic peak was found for the solders with Ag content less than 0.5%. Liquidus temperatures were identified with the DSC analysis to vary from 206°C to 215°C when the Ag content ranges from 1.0% to 3.0%     

铜铟铋硫对Sn-Ag基无铅焊料性能的影响

研究了Cu、In、Bi、S元素对Sn-Ag基无铅焊料熔点和铺展性的影响。结果表明:Sn-Ag-Cu三元合金成分为95.5%Sn3.5%Ag1%Cu时具有较低熔点(215℃)和好的铺展性;加入适量的In可降低Sn-Ag合金的熔点和改善铺展性能;随w(Bi)的增加Sn-Ag-Bi三元合金的熔点降低、铺展性变好;Sn-Ag合金的熔点随w(S)的增加而升高,加入少量S能改善Sn-Ag合金的铺展性。     

Suppression of void coalescence in thermal aging of tin-silver-copper-X solder joints

Addressing the potential for drop impact failure of Pb-free interconnects, the shear ductility after extensive aging of Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) solders has been improved radically by Co or Fe modifications. Several other SAC+X candidates (X=Mn, Ni, Ge, Ti, Si, Cr, and Zn) now have been tested. Solder joint microstructures and shear strength results show that new SAC+X alloys also suppress void formation and coalescence at the Cu (substrate)/Cu₃Sn interface (and embrittlement) after aging at 150°C for up to 1,000 h. Microprobe measurements of 1,000 h aged samples suggest that Cu substitution by X is usually accentuated in the intermetallic layers, consistent with X=Co and Fe results.     

Morphology of intermetallic compounds formed between lead-free Sn-Zn based solders and Cu substrates

The morphologies of intermetallic compounds formed between Sn-Zn based solders and Cu substrates were investigated in this study. The investigated solders were Sn-9Zn, Sn-8.55Zn-0.45Al, and Sn-8.55Zn-0.45Al-0.5Ag. The experimental results indicated that the Sn-9Zn solder formed Cu₅Zn₈ and CuZn₅ compounds on the Cu substrate, while the Al-containing solders formed the Al_4.2Cu_3.2Zn_0.7 compound. The addition of Ag to the Sn-8.55Zn-0.45Al solder resulted in the formation of the AgZn₃ compound at the interface between the Al_4.2Cu_3.2Zn_0.7 compound and the solder. Furthermore, it was found that the cooling rate of the specimen after soldering had an effect on the quantity of AgZn₃ compound formed at the interface. The AgZn₃ compound formed with an air-cooling condition exhibited a rougher surface and larger size than with a water-quenched condition. It was believed that the formation of the AgZn₃ compound at the interface occurs through heterogenous nucleation during solidification.