Thermal stress modeling in electronics and photonics: Brief review

Major findings in the field of modeling of thermal stress in electronic and photonic systems are briefly discussed, with an emphasis on analytical modeling. The addressed areas include the role and significance of thermal stress modeling; bi-metal thermostats and bi-material assemblies models, employed in electronics and photonics engineering, and particularly die-substrate assemblies; attributes of and challenges in analytical and finite-element modeling; thermal stress in solder material and joints; global and local thermal expansion mismatch; assemblies bonded at the ends and assemblies with low modulus adhesive at the ends; design recommendations based on modeling; thermal stress in thin films fabricated on thick substrates; plastic packages of IC devices subjected to thermal loading; thermal stress induced bow and bow-free assemblies; application of the probabilistic approach; thermal stress in coated optical fibers; and thermal stress in some nano-systems. It is concluded that predictive modeling, both analytical and numerical (finite element) should be widely used in the stress-strain analyses and physical design-for-reliability of electronic and photonic systems subjected to thermal loading.