The Study of the Reliability of Complex Components during the Electromigration Process.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Reliability Engineering

Background:

• Increasing input/output density and decreasing interconnection spacing exacerbate electromigration (EM) failures.
• Understanding EM failure mechanisms in complex components is crucial for device reliability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the electromigration reliability and failure mechanisms of complex electronic components.
• To overcome limitations of micro-scale experimental measurements through simulation and experimentation.

Main Methods:

• Combined simulation and experimental approaches to study electromigration.
• Utilized atomic flux divergence method for void formation prediction.
• Conducted experiments following IPC-9701A guidelines.

Main Results:

• Simulation revealed significant current crowding at solder joint inlets, enhancing EM effects.
• Experimental results showed increased resistance due to void formation and lead corrosion.
• Observed promotion of intermetallic compound growth under current stress, with composition changes and crack formation in Cu3Sn layers.

Conclusions:

• Atomic flux divergence method enables accurate void prediction and life assessment, surpassing Black's equation.
• Electromigration significantly impacts solder joint integrity and intermetallic compound formation.
• Determined a mean time to failure of 1065 hours under specific test conditions (1.4 A, 125 °C).