Publications Details
A test system for thermomechanical fatigue of solder joints
The thermomechanical fatigue behavior of solder joints is a critical reliability issue in electronic packaging. A need exists for a thorough metallurgical understanding of solder joints in conditions of thermal fatigue. This paper presents a method to test solder joints under conditions of thermomechanical fatigue. This method involves simultaneous imposition of temperature and strain cycles on discrete solder joints in a shear orientation. The stress, microstructure, and number of cycles to failure are monitored. Cycles to failure are determined by a continuous electrical resistance detection method. 60Sn-40Pb and 40Sn-40In-20Pb solder joints were tested using this new method at 20% shear strain. 4 refs., 7 figs.