Proceedings, SMI ‘97, San Jose, CA, September 7-11, Best Paper award, second prize
Strength and Lifetime Analysis of SMT Solder Joints:
An Exemplary Study of the MiniMELF Component
J. Jendrny, W.H. Müller, Universität-Gesamthochschule Paderborn, and
H.-J. Albrecht, Siemens AG, ZT ME 7, Berlin
ABSTRACT
The reliability and lifetime of SMT solder joints obtained
by reflow or wave soldering are investigated for the case
of an electronic miniature resistor. Life-limiting issues
addressed in this paper include irreversible deformation
due to plasticity and creep, faulty positioning of the mi-
cro-electronic component, and a discussion of the influ-
ence of processing techniques (reflow vs. wave solder-
ing). The study decisively relies on a three-dimensional,
non-linear finite element (FE) analysis, the results of
which are used as input to various damage models. The
analytical prediction of lifetime is finally compared with
experiments in order to prepare its transfer to real in-field
situations.
1. INTRODUCTION
Since the appearance of surface mount technology (SMT)
the reliability and lifetime of solder joints has been one of
the paramount topics in this field. The main objectives in
this paper are, first, to identify crucial factors that influ-
ence and limit the lifetime of such joints; second, to dem-
onstrate today’s analytical capabilities for a reliable life-
time prediction as well as to point out potential obstacles
and imponderabilities during the analysis and, third, to
compare the lifetime predictions obtained from various
damage models with experimental data.
The most important of the aforementioned life-limiting
factors in SMT solder joints is irreversible deformation
and the damage associated with it. Its origin are thermo-
mechanical phenomena, such as plasticity and creep,
which inevitably occur in the solder of any micro-
electronic component during thermo-mechanical loading.
Another important issue is the formation of binary and
ternary phases, in particular of intermetallics, in the vicin-
ity of the interfaces between the solder and adjacent mate-
rials, and strengthening or hardening during reflow and/or
operating conditions. Moreover, faulty positioning of the
micro-electronic component, as it may occur during the
mounting process for various reasons, will also influence
and limit the lifetime. Finally, the processing techniques
used during soldering have a crucial impact on the reli-
ability of SMT solder joints. In particular, the thermo-
mechanical behavior of reflow as well as wave soldered
joints will be studied with a wet paste thickness of 100
µm and a solder height of 30µm, respectively.
In order to perform a reliability analysis of micro-
electronic solder joints a three-step procedure is sug-
626
gested and will be demonstrated for a real SMT-structure,
the “MiniMelf” (metal-elektrode-facing) resistor:
The first step consists of a non-linear three-dimensional
finite element (FE) analysis of the thermally loaded struc-
ture. In the present case the thermal loading follows the
requirements of military specification Mil-Std-883,
method 1011, condition B [1] and consists of thermal
cycling between +125°C and -55°C, as shown in Figure 1.
A detailed discretization of a wave as well as a reflow
soldered structure is performed in a semi-automated fash-
ion by using the CAD software I-DEAS [2]. To allow for
a swift and reliable stress / strain analysis including plas-
ticity as well as creep the FE-code ABAQUS [3] is used.
The influence of positioning on the lifetime is studied by
modeling MiniMelf structures with an axial ( x − ) as well
as with a sideward ( y − ) displacement, as demonstrated
in Figure 2.
In a second step the development of irreversible, i.e.,
plastic as well as creep strains in the solder material are
carefully monitored and evaluated. In particular, the
highest strains and energies in the structure are located
and recorded as a function of loading cycles or time.
Third, the strain data are used as input to suitable dam-
age models in order to obtain an estimate for the number
of cycles to failure. Several models are used during this
step of the lifetime analysis. In particular, laws of the
Manson-Coffin type [4,5], various crack growth models
according to Darveaux [6], the energy partition concept of
Dasgupta et al. [8], the damage law of Huang et al. [9],
the Case (critical accumulated strain energy) criterion
according to Pan [10] and the energy-based damage law
of Vaynman and McKeown [11] are evaluated. All pre-
dictions are compared with experimental results provided
by Siemens which allows to critically assess the validity
of the assumptions on which a particular model is based.
Consequently, it becomes possible to specify certain rec-
ommendations of when and how to use a specific damage
model. Moreover, an attempt is made to postulate trans-
formation laws between the FEM-simulations and lab
tests or in-field conditions.
2. FE-MODELING OF THE MINIMELF Figure 2 schematically defines the geometry of axial and
STRUCTURE sideward displacement between the MiniMelf and the
2.1 Discretization of the Structure and its copper pad as used by Siemens and for the FE-
Components calculations.
The finite element model of the MiniMelf consists of the
following structural components (see Figure 3): an elec- surface covering
tric resistor made of an Alumina ceramic, two caps made
of SnPb-Ni plated iron, two solder joints, two copper 100% 50%
pads, and an FR-4 laminate. The solder material can no displacement axial (x-) displ. sideward (y-) displ.
deform elastic-plastically and is also susceptible to creep.
Linear-elastic stress-strain relations are assumed for all y y y
other materials.
cap
In order to study the influence of different processing
technologies on reliability and lifetime the solder joints
are modeled from real micrographs. Figure 1 provides pad x x x
some information regarding the test method (Mil-Std-883,
method 1011, condition B) which was used for acceler- resistor
ated aging of the actual structure as well as for loading
input during the FE-calculations.
Fig. 2: Definition of Axial and Sideward Displacement
T(°C)
In Figure 4 real micrographs together with the FE-meshes
180
of reflow- as well as wave-soldered joints of a MiniMelf
125 structure are presented, before and after several thousand
thermal cycles, with and without axial and sideward dis-
placement. Note that due to symmetry only a quarter or
16
half of the structure needs to be analyzed. Table 1 pro-
time t vides information regarding the degrees of freedom
-55
(DOF) of the various FE-meshes and the type of elements
used for discretization.
30min 10sec
Fig. 1: Loading History According to Mil-Std-883,
Method 1011, Condition B

SnPb-Ni plated iron

electric resistor made
of Alumina ceramic
left solder
joint
FR-4 laminate

right solder
joint
copper pad

Fig. 3: The Components of the MiniMelf Resistor

627
reflow, no displacement:

reflow, x-displacement:

reflow, y-displacement:

wave, no displacement:

wave, x-displacement:

wave, y-displacement:

Fig. 4: MiniMelf Structure, Solder Joints Before and After Thermal Cycling, and FE-Mesh

628
Table 1: Finite Element Mesh Data 1
Sij = σ ij + pδ ij , p = − σ ii , (2.3)
3
processing configuration element types DOF
reflow no C3D20R 9189 ε epl is the current equivalent plastic strain:
soldered displacement C3D15
x-displ., 50% 27852
2 pl pl
y-displ., 50% 18525 ε epl = ∫ 3
d ε ij d ε ij , (2.4)
wave no C3D20R 12927
soldered displacement C3D15 and σ Y denotes the current yield stress which is deter-
C3D10
mined as a function of equivalent plastic strain from uni-
x-displ., 50% C3D10 14451
axial loading experiments. In what follows the von Mises
y-displ., 50 % C3D20R 17481
yield criterion will be used together with an elastic-linear
C3D15
isotropic strain hardening law (for material data see Ta-
C3D10
bles 2-4).
Note that with the exception of the wave soldered Mini- In order to mathematically describe the change in strain
Melf with axial displacement all FE-models were built by due to thermal loading isotropic material behavior is as-
using quadratic brick elements with reduced integration. sumed:
Tetrahedra and triangular prisms were used for improved
shaping as well as for filling. Due to time-constraints the dε ijth = αdT δ ij . (2.5)
mesh of the wave-soldered configuration with axial dis-
placement was created automatically by means of the In this equation α represents the coefficient of linear
appropriate routines provided by the CAE software thermal expansion, dT is the change in temperature, and
IDEAS. It is based on quadratic tetrahedra with ten δ ij denotes the Kronecker tensor.
nodes.
For isotropic materials the creep strain rate is described by
2.2 Theoretical Background and Material Parameters a hyperbolic flow rule which was used before in the litera-
In this paper the accumulation of irreversible strains and ture (see Darveaux et al. [7], Pan [12] and Osmat [13]):
energies during thermal cycling of the MiniMelf structure
is used as a measure of the development of damage in the ⎛ ∆H ⎞
[ ]
ε& ecr = A sinh( Bσ e ) exp ⎜ −
n
solder material. These strains may result from plastic ⎟ (2.6)
⎝ Rθ ⎠
deformation as well as from creep. In order to describe
the material behavior of the solder 62Sn36Pb2Ag it is where A, B, n are material constants, ∆H is the activation
assumed that the increment of the total strain, dε ij , can enthalpy, R is the gas constant, and θ denotes the abso-
additively be decomposed into four parts: elastic, dε ijel , lute temperature. Moreover, the equivalent stress, σ e , is
(reversible), plastic, dε ijpl , (irreversible but independent of defined as follows:
the loading rate), creep, dε ijcr , (irreversible and dependent 3
σe = Sij Sij . (2.7)
on the loading rate), and thermal, dε ijth , as follows: 2

dε ij = dε ijel + dε ijpl + dε ijcr + dε ijth . (2.1)
In order to compute the contribution of irreversible plastic
deformation to the strain the Prandtl-Reuss equations of
time-independent J 2 -plasticity are solved:
Once the stresses and irreversible strain rates are known
they can be used to obtain the corresponding dissipated
energy densities:
∫ ∫
W pl = σ ij d ε ijpl , W cr = σ ij d ε ijcr . (2.8)

1 3dε epl Different data were used by the aforementioned authors

dε ′ij = dSij + Sij (2.2) for the numerical implementation of Eqn. (2.6). They are
2G 2σ Y
compiled in Table 2. In order to assess the influence of
the different numerical values on the resulting stresses
where the dash refers to the deviatoric part of the infini-
and strains various FE-runs were performed the outcome
tesimal strain tensor, ε ij , G is the shear modulus, Sij de-
of which will be reported in the next section.
notes the deviatoric part of the stress tensor, i.e.:

629
Table 2: Material Data for Hyperbolic Creep Law creased. Note that the locations of maximum strain do not
always correspond to the location of experimentally ob-
∆H [J mol ]
-1 -1 -1
A [sec ] B [Pa ] n
served first failure. This may be attributed to local imper-
Darveaux et 9.62*104 8.7022*10-8 3.3 67426
al. [7]
fections in the real situations as well as to insufficiently
Osmat [13] 1.17*1025 5.8015*10-11 5 84200 detailed FE modeling (in particular intermetallic layers at
Pan [10,12] 1.746*10 6
1.2594*10-7 1.88882 61417
the interface between the solder joint and adjacent com-
ponents were not implemented). Figure 5 displays the
maximum of the equivalent plastic and of the equivalent
As it was mentioned before all components of the Mini- creep strain as a function of time.
Melf with the exception of the solder were treated as 0.012

linear-elastic materials. The relevant thermo-mechanical

constants are compiled in Tables 3 and 4 (where θ de- 0.010

notes the absolute temperature).

0.008

equivalent plastic strain

Table 3: Material Data for MiniMelf Components
0.006

FR 4 laminate pad (Cu) cap (Fe) cera-

mic 0.004 reflow, no displ.
Young’s E x = E y = 19.3 , 128.9 210.0 255.1 reflow, y- displ.
wave, no displ.
modulus
E z = 8.3 0.002 wave, y- displ.
(GPa) wave, x- displ.

Poisson’s ν xz = ν zy = 0.4, 0.344 0.3 0.3

0.000
ratio
ν xy = 0.15
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000

t [sec]
0.70
shear G xz = G zy = 3.0, N/A N/A N/A
moduli reflow, no displ.
G xy = 8.4 0.60
(GPa) reflow, y- displ.
wave, no displ.
CTE α x = α y = 15.9 , 16.6 12.0 5.4 0.50 wave, y- displ.
(10-6·1/K) wave, x- displ.
equivalent creep strain

α z = 80.0
0.40

Table 4: Material Data for Near Eutectic Solder 0.30

Solder (Sn60Pb40 or Sn62Pb36Ag2) 0.20

Young’s modulus (GPa) (61.6 -0.04508·θ)

0.10

Poisson’s ratio 0.4

CTE (10-6·1/K) 25.0 0.00
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000

Yield stress (MPa) . − 0.227 ⋅θ)

(1016 t [sec]

Tangent modulus 0.05 ⋅ E (θ)

3. SOME RESULTS OF THE FE-SIMULATIONS
3.1 Development of Irreversible Strains
Because of the time-independent nature of the Prandtl-
Reuss equations only changes in temperature will affect
the irreversible strains of the elastic-plastic analysis. In
contrast to that the thirty minute hold times (see Figure 1)
will mainly contribute to the irreversible strains caused by
creep. As indicated before the point of maximum irre-
versible plastic and creep strain in the solder joint will be
located and recorded as a function of cycles or time. The
locations of maximal plastic deformation coincide with
those of maximal creep strain. They can be identified
from the plots shown in Figure 6 which present density
plots of the equivalent plastic and creep strain after four
cycles for the thermally cycled solder joints. It should be
emphasized that these locations do not change for a par-
ticular joint when the number of loading cycles is in-
Fig. 5: Maximum of Equivalent Plastic and Creep
Strain as a Function of Time
It is important to note that the plastic strain saturates and
reaches a maximum value after several cycles due to the
finite amount of load imposed by the thermal cycling. In
contrast to that creep strains continue to increase with
ongoing time. The amount of creep strain accumulated
per cycle reaches a constant value after a few load steps.
Therefore it must be concluded that the irreversible de-
formation due to creep will finally lead to (local) damage
within the solder. From a numerical point of view it suf-
fices to compute only the first few cycles and then ex-
trapolate the results until a failure condition is satisfied.
Note that in addition to irreversible strains dissipated
energy densities are also used to describe damage in sol-
der materials. This will be described in more detail in
Section 4.

630
 plastic strain distribution creep strain distribution

∫ ∫
2 pl pl 2 cr cr
ε epl = dε ij dε ij ε cr
e = dε ij dε ij
3 3

reflow,
no displacement

view from the top

reflow,
y-displacement

view from the bottom

wave,
no displacement

view from the top

wave,
x-displacement

highly deformed joint;

view from the bottom

wave,
y-displacement

view from the bottom

Fig. 6: Plastic vs. Creep Deformation in Solder Joints of a MiniMelf Structure after Several Cycles (Arrows
Point to the Location of Maximum Deformation)

3.2 On the Importance of the Creep Parameters
In order to quantitatively assess the influence of the dif-
ferent sets of creep constants (Darveaux et al. [7], Ozmat
[13], and Pan [10,12], see Table 2) on the development of
irreversible strains various FE-runs were performed. It
turns out that the location of the maximum of equivalent
plastic as well as creep strain is independent of the choice
of constants. However, the absolute value of the resulting
strain varies considerably (cf., Figure 7): If the creep
parameters of Pan [10,12] are used, 11.3% of equivalent
creep strain results after one cycle, whereas the data by

631
Darveaux et al. [7] and Ozmat [13] lead to 8.2% and 5.8% −γ
⎛ ∆ε cr ⎞
of maximum strain, respectively. Nf = ⎜ e ⎟ (4.1)
⎝ C ⎠
0,009
the increment of creep strain per cycle, ∆ε cre , can be used,
0,008
in combination with two material parameters, C = 0.497
0,007 and γ = 2.457, to predict the number of thermal cycles,
equivalent plastic strain

0,006 N f , necessary to initiate first local failure. Table 5 pre-

0,005 sents these numbers for the various geometries consid-
0,004 ered.
Osmat [13]
0,003
Pan [10,12] Table 5: Cycles to Local Failure Predicted on the
0,002 Darveaux et al. [7] Basis of a Manson-Coffin Law
0,001
reflow wave
0,000
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 no displacement 150 362
t [sec] x-displacement N/A 330
y-displacement 6 31
0,12

These results can be compared with experimental investi-

0,10 gations performed at Siemens. Figure 8 shows the typical
equivalent creep strain

fatigue behavior of MiniMelf solder joints when their

0,08
mechanical shear resistance is plotted against the number
of thermal cycles. The shear force necessary for separa-
0,06
tion does not change considerably before the component
0,04
has been subjected to several thousand changes of tem-
perature. From then on the shear force decreases rapidly
Osmat [13]
0,02 which indicates insufficient mechanical reliability of the
Pan [10,12]
Darveaux et al. [7]
structure as a whole. A similar behavior can be observed
0,00 in the case of electrical resistivity: Figure 9.
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000

t [sec]
Fig. 7: Maximum of Equivalent Plastic and Creep
Strain as a Function of Time for Different
Creep Constants

Since the accumulation of irreversible strain / energy

density per cycle is directly related to the amount of in-
duced damage (see Section 4) it must be concluded that
the proper choice of creep parameters is crucial for the
quantitative assessment of the time to failure.
Fig. 8: Shear Resistance of a MiniMelf as a Function
4. DAMAGE ANALYSIS of Number of Cycles
The FE-results are now used in combination with differ-
ent damage laws in order to predict failure of the solder Both types of experiments, i.e., electrical as well as me-
material. The predictions obtained from the various laws chanical measurements, were used separately to establish
will be discussed in great detail. In particular, it will be the “lifetime” of a micro-electronic component. For ex-
shown how criteria that address the global damage behav- ample, Vaynman and McKeown [11], Solomon [15], as
ior of the joint may lead to a more realistic reliability well as Shine and Fox [16] consider a decrease of the
analysis. shear resistance by fifty percent as a failure criterion
whereas according to Wild [14] lifetime is defined by a
4.1 Manson-Coffin Approach change of ten percent of electrical resistivity.
According to the Manson-Coffin equation (see [4,5]):

632
 ( )
−0.626
N 0 = 13579
. ⋅ 105 ∆W cr . (4.3)

Moreover, for 2D-situations, the crack growth velocity

can be determined from:
da
( )
0.890
= 2.79 ⋅ 10 − 3 ∆ε cr
e , (4.4)
dN
da
( )
0.915
= 4.1563 ⋅ 10 −10 ∆W cr . (4.5)
dN
If this approach is used to compute the number of cy-
Fig.9: Electrical Resistivity of a MiniMelf as a Func- cles, N R , necessary for complete separation of the solder
tion of Number of Cycles joint from the pad Table 7 can be generated.
However, as indicated by the experiments performed at Table 7: Cycles to failure; predicted with a strain am-
Siemens both criteria should jointly be used to character- plitude/energy density based crack growth
ize failure since a purely mechanically based evaluation
may lead to predictions which are too conservative. For reflow, no displ. wave, no displ.
example, a solder joint that shows a fifty percent decrease maximum crack 0.76 1.055
in mechanical shear resistance can still be electrically length a [mm]
reliable. For that reason both criteria were suitably com- N0 21/14 24/20
bined and, in addition, detailed metallographic investiga-
tions of crack growth behavior were performed to obtain NR 312/263 595/636
the critical number of cycles shown in Table 6. N f = N0 + N R 333/277 619/656

Table 6: Cycles to Failure, Experimental Data

reflow wave
no displacement 2500 5500
x-displacement 2000 5000
y-displacement 2000 5000
Note that the experimentally observed cycles to failure are
considerably higher (several thousand cycles) than the
number of cycles predicted by the Manson-Coffin ap-
proach. The difference to the computed results must be
attributed to the fact that the computation addresses local
failure whereas the experiment refers to electrical and
mechanical inoperativeness of the structure as a whole.
4.2 Crack Initiation Criteria
According to Darveaux et al. [6] two phases of damage
can be distinguished which, together, determine the life-
time of solder joints: During the first phase a crack is
initiated in the solder material. Then, during the second
phase, the crack propagates and, eventually, complete
separation of the joint from the adjacent structure results.
The number of cycles to crack initiation, N 0 , can be
computed from the strain amplitude, ∆ε cr
e , or from the
increment of irreversible strain energy density, ∆W (incr
Nm-2), as follows:
These results come closer to the experimental observation
(cf., Table 6) . However, the prediction is still too conser-
vative which one might want to attribute to the uncer-
tainty of the material parameters used in the various laws
(4.2) -(4.5).
4.3 Energy Partitioning Approach
According to Dasgupta et al. [8] and under the assump-
tion that that the energy densities due to elastic as well as
plastic deformation can be neglected in comparison to the
contribution to energy density by creep processes,† the
number of cycles to (local) failure, N f , can be obtained
from the following equation:
1/ d
⎛ ∆W cr ⎞
N f = ⎜ cr ⎟ (4.6)
⎝ W0 ⎠
where d = −116
. and W0cr = 6.37 ⋅ 107 Nm are material
constants.
Table 8 shows the numerical results from this approach.
The values for N f are clearly too small in comparison
with the experiments which, as outlined in Subsection 4.1,
must be attributed to the fact that this criterion is con-
cerned with local failure.

( )
−0.469
N 0 = 5.68 ∆ε cr
e , (4.2)
†
An assumption that seems justified in view of Figure 5.

633
Table 8: Cycles to Failure Predicted with the Energy
Partitioning Approach.
reflow, no displ. wave, no displ.
Nf ≈17 ≈28
4.4 Oxidation Damage Law
According to Huang et al. [9] the number of cycles to
failure in solder subjected to atmospheric oxidization can
be computed from:
1
Nf = (4.7)
⎛ Qa ⎞
KW ∆W cr + K0 exp⎜ − ⎟ tD
⎝ 2 RTmax ⎠
where various parameters have been used (see [9]): Tmax
= 398 K (maximum temperature), t D = 1800 sec (hold
time), Qa = 26300 J mol (activation energy for atmos-
pheric oxidation), KW = 6.2 ⋅ 10 −2 mm3 J , and
12.2 ⋅ 10 sec . The resulting critical number of cycles
−3 -0.5
are summarized in Table 9. Note that the second expo-
nential factor in the denominator of Eqn. (4.7) is domi-
nant and, therefore, no difference between the critical
loading cycles can be observed in Table 9. This is consis-
tent with the results presented by Huang et al. [9]. In
comparison with the experimentally obtained lifetimes
shown in Table 6 it must be concluded that Eqn. (4.7) in
combination with the materials parameters used overesti-
mates the influence of atmospheric oxidation, at least for
the testing procedure used in the case of the MiniMelf
(Mil-Std-883, method 1011, condition B with an upper
hold temperature of 125 °C).
Table 9: Cycles to Failure Predicted with an
Oxidation Damage Law
reflow, no displ. wave, no displ.
Nf 104 104
4.5 Preliminary Summary of Results and Discussion
By comparison of the numerically obtained lifetimes
shown in Tables 5, 7-9 with the experimental results of
Table 6 it must be concluded that none of the damage
laws presented so far leads to a realistic description unless
the material parameters in these laws are “adjusted.” Note
that in all relationships either the maximum of dissipated
strain or dissipated strain energy density was used to
predict the critical number of cycles. For all the variants
of the MiniMelf structure that were studied these maxi-
mum values occurred at the interface between the solder
joint and the metal cap or the copper pad, respectively.
It is well known that within the framework of the continu-
um mechanics theory presented in Subsection 2.2 stresses
and strains at thermo-mechanically loaded interfaces
become infinitely large. Consequently, the FE-results
which were obtained depend upon the mesh size and the
principle use of such quantities as strain and energy densi-
ties for damage law evaluation becomes quite problem-
atic.
In fact this issue was addressed before in the paper by
Paydar et al. [17] who showed that for the test conditions
considered there exists a strong dependence of the com-
puted irreversible strains from the size of the used mesh.
For the solution of this problem Paydar et al. [17,18]
suggest to study the variables of interest at a certain radial
distance, R, from the singular interface. This radius is
chosen such that it leads into regions of the solder remote
from the singularity but characteristic for the actually
observed critical strains. The procedure is illustrated in
Figure 10. However, it should be noted that, in general,
this approach does not allow to easily switch from one
K0 = geometry to another and that the proper radial distance
can reliably only be identified in combination with metal-
lograhic observations. Therefore this method will not be
considered further in this paper.
Fig. 10: Dimensions and Characteristic Radius for a
Solder Joint According to Paydar et al. [18]
4.6 Case-Criterion
A more feasible method in order to arrive at a lifetime
prediction that avoids the singularity problem is to suita-
bly average the parameters of interest with respect to the
total volume of the solder joint. For example: Compute
the total energy dissipated in the solder joint (which is
non-singular) and divide by the total volume of the solder
to obtain an expression for the current dissipated energy
density. This value can now suitably be compared with
the critical energy density, Wf , which, according to Pan
[10], is a material constant: Wf = 4.55 ⋅ 10 8 J m 3 .
A detailed FE-analysis of a reflow soldered MiniMelf
without displacement shows (cp., Figure 11) that the in-
crease of energy per cycle due to creep is a constant and
equal to ∆W = 2.84 ⋅ 10 5 J ( m 3 cycle ) if divided by the
cr
volume of the solder. In contrast to that the averaged
energy dissipated due to time-independent plasticity,
pl
∆W , decreases with increasing number of cycles.
634
Moreover, it is by an order of magnitude smaller than
cr
∆W .
Increase of Dissipated Energy [Nm]
1,2E-05
1,0E-05
8,0E-06
6,0E-06
4,0E-06
2,0E-06
0,0E+00
1 1,5
Fig. 11: Increase of Dissipated Energy due to Creep
and Time-Independent Plasticity In a Solder
Joint
Following Pan [10] the following empirical formula
(based on experiments performed by Hall and Sherry
[19]) is used to arrive at critical number of cycles, which
are summarized in Table 10:
Wf
Nf = . (4.8)
∆W + 0.13∆W cr
pl
Table 10: Cycles to Failure Predicted with the Case
Criterion
reflow, no displ.
Nf
In comparison with the experimentally observed lifetimes
the number of cycles to failure obtained from this averag-
ing concept is too large. This is, in part, due to the fact
that regions of low as well as high irreversible deforma-
tion in the joint are treated equally with respect to their
contribution to damage. In order to arrive at a smaller
number of cycles it would be possible to introduce a
weight factor in order to emphasize the importance of
highly deformed hot spots within the solder. Moreover,
the different rating of time-independent plasticity and
creep (see factor 0.13 in Eqn. (4.8)) is the other dubious
point which leads to the high numbers presented in Table
10. This will be discussed in more detail in the next sub-
section.
4.7 Damage Law by Vaynman and McKeown
According to Vaynman and Keown [11] the number of
cycles to failure can simply be obtained from the ratio of
the dissipated energy density necessary to initiate failure
(cf., Pan [10]), Wf , and the total mean increment of en-
ergy dissipated per cycle, ∆W + ∆W , computed from
the average of the total energy dissipated per cycle with
respect to the solder volume:
Wf
Nf = . (4.9)
∆W + ∆W cr
pl
Numerical results are compiled in Table 11.† They clearly
show that in order to arrive at a lifetime prediction which
is not too conservative the irreversibly dissipated energy
averaged with respect to the total solder volume can sim-
ply be used without additional parameters.
Table 11: Cycles to Failure Predicted with Damage
time-independent plasticity Law According to Vaynman and McKeown
time-dependent plasticity
reflow, no displ. wave, no displ.
Nf 1600 3140
2 2,5 3 3,5 4
Number of Cycles N 5 CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of this work was to identify the key parame-
ters involved in theoretical lifetime predictions for ther-
mally stressed SMT solder joints. For the predictions it is
essential to reliably determine the irreversible strains
and / or strain energy densities within the joints which,
due to the complicated geometry and the non-linearities
involved in the material laws, is usually achieved by
means of a finite element analysis.
It is important to note that the mesh size and the choice of
elements crucially influences the numerical value and size
of the strains and of the energy densities. Moreover, due
to the singular behavior of the mechanical fields in the
wave, no displ. vicinity of material interfaces which are common to SMT
structures their determination is prone to numerical error
12315 10156
and their further use for damage assessment remains, a
priori, questionable. This was demonstrated by direct
evaluation of various state-of-the-art damage laws for the
case of the solder joints in a MiniMelf resistor.
To avoid the locality and, hence, singularity of strains and
energy densities during the computation of the critical
number of thermal loading cycles the damage approach
suggested by Vaynman and McKeown [11] may prefera-
bly be used. This approach makes use of the total dissi-
pated energy within the solder joint, which is finite quan-
tity. Failure occurs when this energy reaches a critical
material specific energy level. Consequently, this damage
criterion is mesh independent and leads to a realistic
number of cycles as was shown by direct comparison with
experimental data.
pl cr
pl cr
†
See Subsection 4.6 for numerical values of W and W .
635
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