Universal fatigue life prediction equation for ceramic ball grid array (CBGA) packages

A traditional approach to predicting solder joint fatigue life involves finite-element simulations in combination with experimental data to develop a Coffin–Manson type predictive equation. The finite-element simulations often require good understanding of finite-element modeling, physics-based failure models, and time-, temperature-, and direction-dependent material constitutive behavior. Also, such simulations are computationally expensive and time-consuming. Microelectronic package designers often do not have the time and the expertise to perform such simulations. The traditional solder joint fatigue predictive equations fall short of ideal because: (1) they are not applicable to others due to numerical modeling issues, (2) they require a mature understanding of mechanics, numerical modeling, and reliability theory, and (3) they are difficult to implement into the design process. This includes both design of an individual electronic component and selecting which type of existing component to include in an application.Therefore, this work develops universal predictive equations that are: (1) simple, quick, and accurate, (2) require only a basic understanding of reliability and mechanics, (3) require no special software; easy to implement in a spreadsheet or current reliability tools, (4) information rich in regards to design parameters, and (5) maximize available information from experimental tests and numerical models. Using experimental data and finite-element simulations as a basis, this work has developed a predictive equation for solder joint fatigue life in lead-containing ceramic ball grid array (CBGA) package. The developed equation has been validated with other experimental data with good success. Efforts are underway to develop similar equations for other packages and Pb-free CBGAs.