Analysis of Solder Joint Failure Criteria and Measurement Techniques in the Qualification of Electronic Products

The specification of a failure criterion for solder joints is an important element in the qualification of an electronic product. A common approach to reliability testing is to monitor electrical resistance during the testing. The techniques employed for resistance monitoring and data acquisition will determine whether information regarding transients or long-term drift is captured by the measurement. This paper reviews and assesses the failure criteria used in industry and academia, focusing on three key attributes: resistance threshold, duration of resistance change, and frequency of changes. An experimental study on thermomechanical fatigue of ball grid array package solder joints was performed to compare measurement techniques and failure criteria.