Article: Underfills in Pb-free assemblies: increased stresses on assemblies--the result of lead-free soldering--raise the possibility of underfills as reliability enhancers.

Lead-free solder joints in grid arrays are vulnerable to failures resulting from CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) mismatches. The chief causes are the lower ductility of lead-free alloys, combined with a greater tendency for the assembly to warp as a result of the higher peak reflow temperature for lead-free. (1) Diminishing interconnect pitches and general migration to thinner substrates are exacerbating the situation. As a result, underfills may now be necessary in assemblies using CSPs, [mu]BGAs or even BGAs, which have his torically not required the use of CTE countermeasures.

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When mandatory use of lead-free solders for ...

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