Accelerated fatigue test methods of lead-free solder joints in surface mounting technology

The adoption of lead-free solders in mass production of electronic equipment needs important changes in process parameters (temperature, tolerances), auxiliary materials (fluxes, pastes) and manufacturing equipment. One of the most important problems of these changes is the warranty of good quality and reliability of electrical joints realized in this new, environment-friendly technology. Especially for small electronic enterprises, it will be difficult to prove that the product reliability is not lower than before the change. One of the solutions is the application of appropriate accelerated test methods. The actual situation in applied methodology of quality evaluation and accelerated tests is discussed in the paper. The idea of appropriate test stands is presented. Some conclusions concerning practical application of the proposed methods for reliability investigations of certain groups of electronic products are given.