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Article: Assessing solder joint reliability in Pb-free assemblies: research finds bulk alloy properties are not a meaningful predictor of reliability.(Cover Story)
- Article from:
- Circuits Assembly
- Article date:
- December 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 UP Media Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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There has been much discussion about the merits of lead-free alloys, with their physical and electrical properties being examined--and sometimes disputed--in great detail. Whatever the end-user's preference, one truth remains: the reliability of a lead-free soldered joint should be at least as good as that achieved with tin-lead solders.
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How does a soldered joint fail? To establish how reliable a lead-free solder is likely to be in service, first examine the factors that affect reliability. Consider the mechanism by which a soldered joint fails. The typical failure mode for a sound solder joint is low cycle fatigue ...