StewartMckraken Varios SEM and IMC Analysis

Lead-Free Failure Analysis
“The Real Story So Far”
Lead-Free Failure Analysis “The Real Story So Far”
• Pb-f ree requires major changes in process and materials.

Inev itably these changes bring new challenges and problems
• The underly ing problem is the same as ever, loss of production

time and customer satisf action
• Materials f ailure analysis can quickly identify root cause and an

appropriate solution, consider 3 recent examples…
1. Loss of Solderabilit y 2. Sold er Joint Failur e 3. Sold er Contamination
www.themcsgroup.co.uk 2
Downloaded from the SMART Group website www.smartgroup.org

presentations from Process Technology Seminars held at Nepcon Electronics
E lectronics 2006
Case Study 1. Loss of solderability
• Product: High v olume IT application, prev iously built using Sn-Pb
• Materials: Immersion Sn PCB f inish, SAC305 solder alloy
• Problem: Normal 1st side solderability but very poor 2nd side
solderability - production stopped pending solution
Poor solder wetting over QFP pads
SEM
• Confirm problem: Normal 1st side solder wetting, unacceptable 2nd side
solder wetting and spreading – poor joint condition.
Side 1 reflow Side 2 reflow
Normal Normal solder

(low) wetting and Abnormal
contact spreading (high)
angle
contact
angle
• Analysis route: Use surface analysis (SEM and EDX) to establish

surface condition and check f or contamination.
Use micro-section analysis to check immersion Sn lay er

thickness and conf irm joint condition.

E lectronics 2006
High contact angle, very poor

solder wetting and spreading
• High res. SEM

Solder
(right) allows us (SAC305)
to see exposed
Cu-Sn IMC layer
Pad surface consists mainly of
• Condition unsolderable Cu-Sn IMC’s
confirmed using Mag. 15,000 x
EDX analysis
Normal condition
• Use SEM to
compare normal
and non-solderable
condition
Plated Sn structure
Mag. 15,000 x
• Establish pad
surface condition
Defect – poor solderability before 2nd side
ref low
• Discover exposed
Cu-Sn IMC’s
Exposed
Sn-Cu IMC • Too much heat or
Mag. 15,000 x not enough Sn ?

E lectronics 2006
Immersion Sn layer - Unused PCB

Immersion Sn layer • Bef ore
ref low ~ 0.5
to 1.0
micron Sn
coverage
Mag. 40,000 x Cu pad
PCB pad surface following reflow

Remnants of immersion Sn layer • Following
ref low Sn
lay er
Cu-Sn IMC la yers completely
converted
to Cu-Sn
Mag. 40,000 x Cu pad IMC layers
• Following side 1 r eflow, side 2 pads found to converted al mos t entirel y to

Cu-Sn IMC
• Without protecti ve Sn l ayer covering, the Cu-Sn IMC’s are basicall y

unsol derable and prevent nor mal s older joi nt formation
• Cleary s ee l ac k of solder wetting over Cu-Sn IMC layer when joints

examined following micro-section (below)
solder
Cu-Sn IMC
poor solderability caused by

exposed Cu-Sn IMC after 1st
side reflow

E lectronics 2006
• Caution - Even where solder

appears to contact pad surface,
little or no joint has ac tually formed
• Again, root-cau se of probl em is

PCB pad formation of unsolderabl e Cu-Sn
IMC layer on pad s urface after 1st
side reflow
Solder
Cu-Sn IMC la yers No solder wettin g = no j oint

PCB pad
SAC solder structure
No solder wettin g or j oining • Micro-

ov er most of pad surface section
shows that
no real
solder joint
has formed
under the
Unsolderable Cu-Sn IMC’s foot of the
leads
Cu PCB pad

E lectronics 2006
Summary
• Problem: Normal 1st side solderability but very poor 2nd side
solderability
• Root Cause: Excessiv e heat input during 1st side reflow combined with
insuff icient Sn thickness caused exposure of Cu-Sn IMC’s
Root cause identified using SEM, EDX and micro-

section analysis
• Solution: Increase immersion Sn thickness (target 1 micron

minimum) and reduce peak reflow temp and duration
• Timescale: Root cause identified - three working days
Solution implemented immediately, production re-started
Case Study 2. Solder Joint Failure
• Product: Medical imaging equipment, high reliability
• Materials: ENIG PCB finish, SAC305 solder alloy, PBGA 27mm
• Problem: Product passes production testing but immediately f ails

f unctional test at customer, suspect BGA identified
No external evidence of joint failure !

Functional test BGA Body
highlights suspect joints
PCB

E lectronics 2006
• Since no external ev idence of damage, carry out micro-section

analysis
• “Screen” target rows of joints using high power light microscopy
• Analysis confirms presence of cracked joints at corners of dev ice.
BGA
Body
Fracture clearly visible between
PCB pad and solder ball
Fine crack along the

interface between solder
ball and PCB pad
PCB pad
PCB
Corner joint location

• Assessment of
device s hows that
Ni
damage is limited
to sol der joints
Cu around c orners of
the BGA
PCB pad
• All four c orners of
the device similarl y
Middle row joint location affec ted
IMC’s
• Middle row joi nts
same structure but
Ni no crac king
Cu
PCB pad

E lectronics 2006
Extent of fracture
Sn-Ni-Cu I MC layer IMC’s Solder
• Brittle frac ture between PCB

pad and IMC layer Ni plated layer
• Fracture through 75% of

joint interfac e
• IMC shows s older joint has PCB pad (Cu)

formed and then failed
• Micro-section shows that joint failure occurs by fracture

through the IMC lay er
• Joints around corners of the dev ice worst affected
• What caused the f ractures to form ?
• Thermo-mechanical strain caused by mismatch in CTE ?
• Mechanical strain applied to board through handling or

test f ixture ?
• Pattern of damage supports thermo-mechanical strain.
• Analysis of sample immediately after reflow shows that

f ractures develop during cool-down from reflow

E lectronics 2006
• Hav ing identif ied f ractures in one batch, analysis extended to

include 2 further builds
• Interestingly, micro-section analysis shows that builds 1, 2 and

3 all use PCB’s with different stack-up!
• Repeated micro-section analysis also shows that different

PCB’s consistently produce more/less cracking according to
stack-up.
• Joints with least cracking indicates PCB with best CTE match
f or BGA
• Clear correlation between PCB lay er stack-up and joint damage
Severe cracking Slight cracking No cracking
PCB pad PCB pad PCB pad
Severe cracking Slight cracking No cracking
Filled resin Unfilled resin

E lectronics 2006
Summary
• Problem : Product passes production testing but immediately f ails

f unctional test at customer, suspect BGA identified
• Root Cause : Thermo-mechanical strain caused by CTE mismatch

between PCB and BGA device
Root cause identified by micro-section, SEM and EDX

analysis
• Solution : Specify PCB construction which provides best match for

BGA dev ice
• Option : Use alternative PCB finish (create different, more robust

IMC interface at pad interf ace)
• Timescale : 5 working days
Case Study 3. Solder Contamination
• Product: High reliability telemetry equipment
• Materials: Pb-f ree HASL PCB, Sn-Ag solder alloy, wav e solder
process
• Problem: Solder pot runs normally f or 3-4 weeks before sev ere
particulate contamination stops production

E lectronics 2006
• Analysis: Surf ace SEM + EDX f ollowed by micro-section analysis

EDX Results show that particulates are Iron-Sn (Fe-Sn) IMC’s
T-hole
componen t
lead
Large
particulate
contaminant(s)
are Fe-Sn IMC’s
PCB Surface
• Particulates identified as Fe-Sn IMC’s, raises further questions…
Q1. Where did the Fe originate ?
A1. Solder pot drained and inspected, f ind iron-oxide

coating breached and corrosion of walls adv anced.
Q2. How will the IMC’s affect joint and product

perf ormance?
A2. Risk of short-circuit between components,

possible embrittlement of joints
• Carry out micro-section analysis to assess Fe-Sn IMC number,

size and location within joints…

E lectronics 2006
• Fe-Sn IMC’s
found at s urface of
t-hole joi nts
• Little i nfluence
on joi nt strength
• Risk of short-
circuit and in
some cas es, ris k
of br eakage and
movement later in
produc t life
Fe-Sn IMC’s
Fe-Sn IMC’s • During SEM
anal ysis - find Pb
contamination
from t-hole
leads…
• SEM and EDX analy sis of t-hole joints shows significant Pb

contamination
• T-hole joints “mapped” for composition and Pb-distribution,

results below…
T-hole
Source image lead Element “map”
Key: Blue - Pb, Green - Sn and Red - Fe

E lectronics 2006
• Large Fe-Sn particulates f ound on surf ace on surface-mount

solder joints
• Smaller pieces of Fe-Sn IMC dispersed through joints
• Some risk of joint embrittlement and short-circuit f ormation
S.M.
Resistor
Fe-Sn IMC
Sn-Ag solder
microstructure
PCB
Summary
• Problem : Solder pot runs normally f or 3-4 weeks before sev ere
particulate contamination stops production
• Root Cause : Leaching of Fe f rom solder pot leads to formation of large

quantities of “massive” Fe-Sn IMC particles
Root cause identified by surf ace SEM and EDX analysis

along with micro-section analysis
• Solution : Repair or replace solder pot (in this case the machine
was relativ ely old and was completely replaced)
• Timescale : Particulate identification same day, micro-section analysis

and f ormal report in 3 working days

E lectronics 2006
Lead-Free Failure Analysis “The Real Story So Far”
Conclusion
• Introduction of RoHS compliant manufacturing inevitably brings

with it new (and old!) problems
• Standard process control tools such as low power light

microscopy, fibre-optic microscopy and x-ray are not alway s
sensitive enough to detect the problems and are often unable to
identify root-cause
• Materials analysis tools and techniques allow us to rapidly and

efficiently identify the true root cause of the problem
• Only by determining the true root cause can we identify the correct
solution
• Use materials analysis to support y our Pb-f ree products

E lectronics 2006

StewartMckraken Varios SEM and IMC Analysis

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Lead-Free Failure Analysis

“The Real Story So Far”

Lead-Free Failure Analysis “The Real Story So Far”

• Pb-f ree requires major changes in process and materials.

• The underly ing problem is the same as ever, loss of production

• Materials f ailure analysis can quickly identify root cause and an

1. Loss of Solderabilit y 2. Sold er Joint Failur e 3. Sold er Contamination

Downloaded from the SMART Group website www.smartgroup.org

• Product: High v olume IT application, prev iously built using Sn-Pb

• Materials: Immersion Sn PCB f inish, SAC305 solder alloy

Poor solder wetting over QFP pads

Case Study 1. Loss of solderability

Side 1 reflow Side 2 reflow

Normal Normal solder

• Analysis route: Use surface analysis (SEM and EDX) to establish

Use micro-section analysis to check immersion Sn lay er

Downloaded from the SMART Group website www.smartgroup.org

High contact angle, very poor

• High res. SEM

Case Study 1. Loss of solderability

Downloaded from the SMART Group website www.smartgroup.org

Immersion Sn layer - Unused PCB

PCB pad surface following reflow

Case Study 1. Loss of solderability

• Following side 1 r eflow, side 2 pads found to converted al mos t entirel y to

• Without protecti ve Sn l ayer covering, the Cu-Sn IMC’s are basicall y

• Cleary s ee l ac k of solder wetting over Cu-Sn IMC layer when joints

poor solderability caused by

Downloaded from the SMART Group website www.smartgroup.org

• Caution - Even where solder

• Again, root-cau se of probl em is

Cu-Sn IMC la yers No solder wettin g = no j oint

Case Study 1. Loss of solderability

SAC solder structure

No solder wettin g or j oining • Micro-

Downloaded from the SMART Group website www.smartgroup.org

Root cause identified using SEM, EDX and micro-

• Solution: Increase immersion Sn thickness (target 1 micron

• Timescale: Root cause identified - three working days

Solution implemented immediately, production re-started

Case Study 2. Solder Joint Failure

• Product: Medical imaging equipment, high reliability

• Materials: ENIG PCB finish, SAC305 solder alloy, PBGA 27mm

• Problem: Product passes production testing but immediately f ails

No external evidence of joint failure !

Downloaded from the SMART Group website www.smartgroup.org

• Since no external ev idence of damage, carry out micro-section

• “Screen” target rows of joints using high power light microscopy

• Analysis confirms presence of cracked joints at corners of dev ice.

Fine crack along the

Case Study 2. Solder Joint Failure

Corner joint location

Downloaded from the SMART Group website www.smartgroup.org

Sn-Ni-Cu I MC layer IMC’s Solder

• Brittle frac ture between PCB

• Fracture through 75% of

• IMC shows s older joint has PCB pad (Cu)

Case Study 2. Solder Joint Failure

• Micro-section shows that joint failure occurs by fracture

• Joints around corners of the dev ice worst affected

• What caused the f ractures to form ?

• Thermo-mechanical strain caused by mismatch in CTE ?