Abnormal Shear Performance of Microscale Ball Grid Array Structure Cu/Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu/Cu Solder Joints with Increasing Current Density

The shear performance and fracture behavior of microscale ball grid array structure Cu/Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu/Cu solder joints with increasing electric current density (from 1.0 × 103 to 6.0 × 103 A/cm2) at various test temperatures (25 °C, 55 °C, 85 °C, 115 °C, 145 °C, and 175 °C) were investigated systematically. Shear strength increases initially, then decreases with increasing current density at a test temperature of no more than 85 °C; the enhancement effect of current stressing on shear strength decreases and finally diminishes with increasing test temperatures. These changes are mainly due to the counteraction of the athermal effect of current stressing and Joule heating. After decoupling and quantifying the contribution of the athermal effect to the shear strength of solder joints, the results show that the influence of the athermal effect presents a transition from an enhancement state to a deterioration state with increasing current density, and the critical current density for the transition decreases with increasing test temperatures. Joule heating is always in a deterioration state on the shear strength of solder joints, which gradually becomes the dominant factor with increasing test temperatures and current density. In addition, the fracture location changes from the solder matrix to the interface between the solder matrix and the intermetallic compound (IMC) layer (the solder/IMC layer interface) with increasing current density, showing a ductile-to-brittle transition. The interfacial fracture is triggered by current crowding at the groove of the IMC layer and driven by mismatch strain at the solder/IMC layer interface, and the critical current density for the occurrence of interfacial fracture decreases with increasing test temperatures.

Measurement Capability of Laser Ultrasonic Inspection System for Evaluation of Ball-Grid Array Package Solder Balls

Laser ultrasonic inspection is a novel, noncontact, and nondestructive technique to evaluate the quality of solder interconnections in microelectronic packages. In this technique, identification of defects or failures in solder interconnections is performed by comparing the out-of-plane displacement signals, which are produced from the propagation of ultrasonic waves, from a known good reference sample and sample under test. The laboratory-scale dual-fiber array laser ultrasonic inspection system has successfully demonstrated identifying the defects and failures in the solder interconnections in advanced microelectronic packages such as chip-scale packages, plastic ball grid array packages, and flip-chip ball grid array packages. However, the success of any metrology system depends upon precise and accurate data to be useful in the microelectronic industry. This paper has demonstrated the measurement capability of the dual-fiber array laser ultrasonic inspection system using gage repeatability and reproducibility analysis. Industrial flip-chip ball grid array packages have been used for conducting experiments using the laser ultrasonic inspection system and the inspection data are used to perform repeatability and reproducibility analysis. Gage repeatability and reproducibility studies have also been used to choose a known good reference sample for comparing the samples under test.