Impact of isothermal aging on fine pitch BGA packages with Sn-Ag-Cu solder interconnects

摘要

The interaction between isothermal aging and long-term reliability of fine pitch ball grid array (BGA) packages with Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (wt%) solder ball interconnects are investigated. In this study, 0.4mm fine pitch packages with 0.3mm diameter Sn-Ag-Cu solder balls are used. Two different die sizes and two different package substrate surface finishes are selected to compare the internal strain impact and alloy effect, especially the Ni effect during thermal cycling. To see the thermal impact on the thermal performance and long-term reliability, the samples are isothermally aged and thermal cycled from 0 to 100°C with a 10 minute dwell time. Based on weibull plots for each aging condition, the lifetime of the package reduced approximately 44% with 150°C aging precondition. The microstructure evolution is observed during thermal aging and thermal cycling with different phase microstructure transformations between electrolytic Ni/Au and OSP surface finishes, focusing on the microstructure evolution near the package side interface. Different mechanisms after aging at various conditions are observed, and their impacts on the fatigue life of solder joints are discussed.