Fatigue life prediction of Package-on-Package stacking assembly under random vibration loading

This paper presents a general methodology to predict the fatigue life of the Package-on-Package (PoP) under random vibration loading by means of vibration tests and finite element (FE) simulation. The behavior of the critical solder joints of the PoP under vibration loading was accurately described by FE model using ANSYS software and confirmed by modal analysis and linear sweep tests. The stress-life (S-N) curve of the PoP solder joints was obtained by the sinusoidal fatigue vibration tests and FE simulations to characterize the fatigue properties of the PoP under vibration. The comparison of the S-N curves of the SAC305 solder joints in different structures indicates the S-N curve of the SAC305 solder joints depends on the package structure. With the same fatigue cycles, the stress levels for the current 3D package is the smallest compared with the other 2D package due to the stacked structure of the PoP. Spectrum analysis for the random vibration tests was performed by the FE simulations to acquire the stress response power spectral density (PSD) of the critical solder joint. A specific frequency domain approach based on the Palmgren-Miner's rule was established to predict the fatigue life of the PoP under random vibration. Results show that simulated fatigue life matches well with the random vibration test results, which implies that this approach could be a potential method for the predication of fatigue life of the 3D packaging under random vibration.