Correlation Between Thermal Cycling Ramp Rates and its Respective Solder Joint Reliability

In this study, the correlation between thermal cycling ramp rate and characteristic life are presented for 2 types of packages, namely Ball Grid Array (BGA) and Wafer-Level Chip Scale Package (WLCSP). Both fast and slow ramp rate thermal cycling were executed, following the JEDEC and AEC standards respectively. The results show that characteristic life of these packages increased significantly in the slower ramp rate test. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was also performed to locate fatigue crack sites and predict characteristic life based on material properties and design. Cross-section and SEM imaging were employed to confirm the package failure mode. This paper serves to provide reliable results that support previous literature while providing insights into future standards and design guidelines.