Rapid Temperature Cycling (RTC) Methodology for Reliability Assessment of Solder Interconnection in Tape Ball Grid Array (TBGA) Assembly

Abstract

In this study, a thermoelectric cooler-based rapid temperature cycling (RTC) testing method was established and applied to assess the long term reliability of solder joints in tape ball grid array (TBGA) assembly. This RTC testing methodology can significantly reduce the time required to determine the reliability of electronic packaging components. A three-parameter Weibull analysis characterized with a parameter of failure free time was used for assembly reliability assessment. It was found that the RTC not only speedily assesses the long-term reliability of solder joints within days, but also has the similar failure location and failure mode observed in accelerated temperature cycling (ATC) test. Based on the RTC and ATC reliability experiments and the modified Coffin-Manson equation, the solder joint fatigue predictive life can be obtained. The simulation results were found to be in good agreement with the test results from the RTC. As a result, a new reliability assessment methodology was established as an alternative to ATC for the evaluation of long-term reliability of electronic packages.