Acceptance testing of BGA ball alloys

The industry has seen the development of a wide range of new Pb-free BGA ball alloys. A significant element of uncertainty regarding these new alloys is the lack of defined data requirements for alloy acceptance. This paper describes recent efforts at Hewlett-Packard to develop Pb-free solder alloy testing requirements. To facilitate the standardization of alloy testing, the required tests are divided into three major areas. • Material properties • Solder joint reliability • Impact to manufacturing processes This paper presents the approach to assess the risk of using new Pb-free BGA ball alloys on printed circuit assemblies.