PD03

Defect Analysis and Process Troubleshooting - Part 1

S.Manian Ramkumar
Rochester Institute of Technology

Sunday, February 12
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Room: 2

www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org
SMT and THT Defect Analysis
and Process Troubleshooting
Part 1 – Defect Root Cause Analysis

Dr. S. Manian Ramkumar Ph.D.

Professor and Dean
Rochester Institute of Technology
Phone: 585-475-6081
[email protected]; http://smt.rit.edu

Disclaimer
 Dr. Ramkumar and the Center for
Electronics Manufacturing and Assembly at
the Rochester Institute of Technology
◦ Makes no warranties to the general scientific
validity of the information and viewpoints
contained in this material, for any particular
application by potential users.
◦ Takes no responsibility for any use or misuse of
the information contained in this material and
cautions readers that an independent evaluation
of the viewpoints expressed is entirely the
responsibility of the reader.

2
 Future of Packaging

Source: Texas Instruments

3

Future Applications

Source: http://www.necel.com/pkg/en/pk_02.html

4
Factors Influencing the Evolution
 Requirements for Issues
◦ Higher power Thermal Management
◦ Higher speed Moisture Sensitivity
◦ Higher I/O
Material Selection
◦ Higher density
packaging Package Assembly
◦ Product Testing
miniaturization
 Lighter, thinner and Electrostatic Discharge
smaller
Reworkability
◦ Cost/Performance
◦ Increased functionality Handling

FACTORS INFLUENCING
DEFECTS

6
 Factors
 PCB Related
 Component Related
 Process Related
 Equipment Related
 Supplier Related
 Employee/Knowledge Related
 Environment Related

PCB Component
1. PCB Length,Width and 1. Component Type (Plastic or
Thickness Ceramic)
2. Number of Layers 2. Interconnection Type (Leaded,
3. Material of PCB (Organic, Leadless, Area Array)
Inorganic, etc.) 3. Interconnection Finish (Lead
4. Inner Layer Cores or lead-free)
5. Material Properties (Tg, CTE, 4. Interconnection Pitch and
Modulus, etc.) Copalanrity
6. Via Interconnections (Type, 5. Packaging and Storage
Aspect Ratio, Plating, etc.) 6. Moisture Sensitivity
7. Trace Width, Spacing and 7. Thermal Performance
Thickness 8. Component Preparation and
8. Surface Finish of the Pads Lead Tinning
9. Pad Geometry and Footprint
10. Solder Mask (Type, Alignment,
Height, etc.)
11. Packaging and Storage

8
 Substrate Types
 Organic Substrates (PCB)
◦ Rigid
◦ Flexible
◦ Rigid-Flex
◦ Molded
 Inorganic Substrates
 Silicon

Basic Building Unit of a PCB

(Organic Substrate)
Heat & Pressure

Fiber Cloth
Copper
reinforced with Laminate Foil
organic resin
(Dielectric)

Organic Resins Reinforcement Heat & Pressure

Epoxy Paper
Polyimide E-Glass
Flame-retardant Quartz, aramid
Phenolic & S2
Organic Substrates
 Single or multiple layers of metal circuitry
bonded onto insulating organic materials
 Organic substrates are made up of 3 basic
materials
◦ Fabricated laminate material
◦ Resin impregnated glass fiber cloth – B stage
(prepreg)
◦ Treated copper foil
 The weave structure of the prepreg adds
strength to the laminate
11

Organic Substrates (cont.)

 Advantages:
◦ Low dielectric constant and hence higher signal speed
◦ Low cost
◦ Allows for volume production
◦ Good thermal expansion match with plastic IC
packages
◦ Easily reworkable
 Disadvantages:
◦ Poor thermal expansion match with silicon die
◦ High thermal resistance when compared to ceramic
◦ Moisture Absorption & substrate warpage

12
Flexible Substrates
 Random arrangement of printed circuits utilizing flexible dielectric
material like polyester or polyimide
 Used in applications requiring continuous or periodic movement of the
circuit as a part of end product function
 Flexible wiring looks similar to rigid printed wiring.The main difference
in the products is the base or dielectric material
 Manufactured in
◦ Single sided
◦ Double sided
◦ Multi layered
 Flexible, insulating substrate material
◦ Polyimide (0.5 to 5 mils)
◦ Polyester (2 to 5mils)
◦ Epoxy
◦ Teflon
 Conductive line spacing and width ranges from 2 to 4 mils
13

Inorganic Substrates - Ceramic

 Made of inorganic non-metallic material
◦ 99% pure alumina (ceramic)
◦ 96% alumina and beryllia
 Advantages:
◦ Hermetic (does not allow moisture ingress)
◦ Good thermal expansion match with silicon die
◦ High thermal conductivity (30 W/m-K)
◦ Superior mechanical and electrical characteristics
◦ Large number of metal layers (20 or more)
 Disadvantages:
◦ Cost
◦ High dielectric constant and hence slower signal speed
◦ Brittle material and hence susceptible to breakage

14
 Material Properties

 Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE)

 Glass Transition Temperature (Tg)
 Decomposition Temperature (Td)
◦ Temperature leading to physical or chemical
degradation (loss of 5% or more % by wt)
 Time to Delamination T260, T288 (TMA)
◦ Time a material can survive at the temperatures
without delamination failure
 Modulus of Elasticity
◦ Stress to strain ratio remaining within allowable limits
based on the applications and component limitations
and requirements

15

CTE Mismatch

Source: http://emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/2170290104.html

16
Global CTE Mismatch
 The uneven expansion and contraction
produces a global bending of the assembly
 (2-1). DNP max . T

Source: Electronic Packaging Material Science

17

Local CTE Mismatch

 Relative horizontal displacements are
produced between the top and bottom of
solder balls

Source: Electronic Packaging Material Science

18
Influence of Z Axis CTE – Via
Aspect Ratio
Aspect Ratio = Board Thickness
Drilled Hole Dia.
=T/D
Must be < 3 in order to
avoid via hole cracking

Prepreg

Double Sided Boards

(Copper Clad Laminates)

Via Hole Technology Evolution

20
 Via Hole & CTE Mismatch Issues

21

CTE & Fatigue Life

Source: Swapan K. Bhattacharya, et al., IEEE

22
 CTE vs. Tg Relationship
120
Copper
Epoxy Glass
Laminate
Expansion PPM

Tg
60

0
25 150 275
Temperature (oC)

Thermal Management

Source: “Thermal Management of PCBs”, Pg -80, Future Circuits International, Issue 5.

24
 Moisture Sensitivity
 Delamination, Pop corning or internal
stress in PCB and packages
 Surface peeling between the die pad and
the resin - caused by water vapor
pressure during reflow
 Surface delamination leading to
◦ Strained bond wires
◦ Wire necking
 Microcracking at package level
25

Moisture Sensitivity Levels (MSL)

MSL Conditions Floor Life
1 ≤30°C and 85% RH Unlimited
2 ≤30°C and 60% RH 1 Year
2a ≤30°C and 60% RH 4 Weeks
3 ≤30°C and 60% RH 168 Hours
4 ≤30°C and 60% RH 72 Hours
5 ≤30°C and 60% RH 48 Hours
5a ≤30°C and 60% RH 24 Hours
6 ≤30°C and 60% RH 6 Hours 1
MSL 6 packages must be baked before use, after which they have a 6-hour floor life.
Packages that are not sensitive to moisture do not require DRYPACK.
Source: http://www.standardics.nxp.com/packaging/msl/

26
 Hermetic and Non-Hermetic
Materials

27

PCB Finish Comparison

Immersion Immersion
Characteristic OSP ENIG HASL
Tin Silver
Compatibility
with SMT, FC,
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
BGA & THT
components
Coplanarity Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Solderability Good Excellent Good Good Good
Wire bonding No Yes (only Al) No Possible No
Visible and
Finish is Easy to Easily Visible and
Inspection better than
invisible inspect determined better than OSP
OSP
Needs safe
Needs safe Minimum handling
Handling Easy to handle Easy to handle
handling handling

Difficult to Might damage

Testing Easy Easy Easy
probe the probe
Inconvenient Post rework it
Easy and it
but possible is difficult to
Rework is identical Reworkable Easy
if applied detect
to HASL
again problems
28
PCB Finish Comparison (cont.)
Immersion Immersion
Characteristic OSP ENIG HASL
Tin Silver
Silver has
Environment
Yes Yes Yes environmental No
friendly
issues
6 months 1/2 to 1 year 1 year (better
(decrease (White tin has use
Shelf life 2 years and more
with humidity longer shelf polyethylene
and heat) life) bags)
20 to 30% 20 to 30% 20 to 30%
reduction in reduction in reduction in Cheaper
Cost Costly
final finishing final finishing final finishing than ENIG
cost cost cost
Compatibility Not compatible
to all types of Yes with high acrylic Yes Yes Yes
solder masks content solder mask
Properties
change (need Can withstand Can withstand Can
Multiple reflow Can withstand 6 or
aggressive upto 3 reflow upto 5 reflow withstand 3
cycles more reflow cycles
flux and cycles cycles reflow cycles
paste)

29

PCB Incoming Quality Assurance

 Visual Examination  Dimensional
◦ Bridges Measurements
◦ Opens ◦ Length
◦ Nicked traces & pads ◦ Width and thickness of
PCB
◦ Hole-to-pad mis- ◦ PTH size and position
registration tolerance
◦ Solder mask covering ◦ Warpage
pads or fiducials ◦ Circuit pattern position
◦ Contamination of board and orientation
surface
◦ Foreign particle
entrapment
◦ Wrong or missing
legends
 PCB Warpage
1 warpage
1 touching on a line
2 touching on a point

concavity

torsion

Reasons for deviation from flat surface: 2

- asymmetric layer (metal, resist)
- asymmetrically woven texture 2

31

Process - Print
1. Paste (Solder Alloy and Flux 11. Stencil Aperture Shape and
Type) Wall Finish
2. Solder Particle Size, Shape and 12. Squeege Type and Length
Distribution 13. PCB Support
3. % Metal Content by Weight 14. Vacuum Hold Down
4. Flux Properties (Gelling agents, 15. Accuracy, Repeatability and
Activators, Solvents, etc.) Reproducibility
5. Paste Viscosity and Thixotropic 16. Process Parameters
Rheology • Squeegee Angle
6. Ambient Temperature and • Snapoff
Humidity • Pressure
7. Paste Storage and Handling • Speed
8. Stencil Type (Flex Mask, • Separation
Stepped, etc.) • Stroke Length
9. Stencil (Thickness and • Kneading
Aperture Area Ratio)
10. Stencil Material and
Manufacturing Method
32
Solder Paste Constituents
 Solder Particles 100% 100%
◦ Source of solder required
to form the solder joint ~10%
 Flux
◦ Carries the solder particles ~50%
◦ Provides the flow
characteristics to the paste
◦ Provides tackiness to hold ~90%
components prior to Solder
soldering ~50% by
◦ Cleans the surface of the Solder Weight
pads and leads by
◦ Protects pads and leads volume
from further oxidation
during soldering

33

Solder Powder - Shape

 Formed by atomizing
molten solder alloy
 This technique produces
spherical solder
particles, which have
low surface area and
also offer very little
resistance to flow
 Minimizes particle
oxidation
 Good quality solder
paste utilizes uniformly
sized, spherical solder
particles

34
 Solder Powder - Size
Particle Size
Particle
Mesh Size Application
Type Mils Millimeters Microns
Standard
Type 1 3.0-6.0 0.075-0.150 75-150 -100/+200
Pitch
Standard
Type 2 1.8-3.0 0.045-0.075 45-75 -200/+325
Pitch
Type 3 1.0-1.8 0.025-0.045 25-45 -325/+500 Fine Pitch

Type 4 0.8-1.52 0.020-0.038 20-38 -400/+500 Fine Pitch

Ultrafine
Type 5 0.6-1.0 0.015-0.025 15-25 -500/+635
Pitch
Solder
Type 6 0.2-0.6 0.005-0.015 5-15 -635
Bumping

Type 2 Powder Type 3 Powder

53 - 38 μm 45 - 20 μm

Solder Powder - Size

 Higher surface area per unit volume will
provide more chances for oxidation
 Fine/small particle solder will have a
greater surface area per unit volume as
compared to coarse/big particle solder
Surface / volume ratio

0,6 Double Quadruple

0,5 PS 4 surface surface
0,4
PS 3
0,3

0,2
Particle size 2
Solder particle (large) Lots of small 0,1
A
solder particles A/4 A/16
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Solder particle diameter in µm

Source: Siemens
 Solder Powder - Size
 How to select solder paste based on
particle size, for a given application?
◦ Rule of thumb is that 5-6 solder balls of the
biggest size should fit into the smallest
opening in the stencil
L  P*R  5*D
e  max.(L/  f)
P = pad width
R = 5 aperture reduction
L = aperture width
D = diameter of largest particle
e = Stencil thickness
f = Design factor

Aperture Dimensional Parameters

 Empirical relationships
between aperture size and
thickness
◦ Aspect Ratio (for
components with L>5W)
 Width / Thickness (W/T)
 should be > 1.5
◦ Area Aspect Ratio (for
components with L=W)
 (LW) / (2T(L+W))
 should be >0.67

38
 Aspect Ratio and Area Ratio Rules
 Aspect ratio ensures that the aperture will
allow the printed material to release onto
the substrate

 Area ratio ensures that the forces pulling a

material onto the pad are greater than the
forces holding it in the aperture
39

Aspect/Area Ratios for Various SMT

Devices
Aperture Design Aspect Area Paste
Example
(All dimensions in Mils) Ratio ratio Release

1 QFP 20 pitch 10x50x5 (thick) 2.0 0.83 +

2 QFP 16 pitch 7x50x5 (thick) 1.4 0.61 +++
3 BGA 50 pitch 25 circle 6 (thick) 4.2 1.04 +
4 BGA 40 pitch 15 circle 5 (thick) 3.0 0.75 ++

5 µBGA 30 pitch 11 square 5 (thick) 2.2 0.55 +++

6 µBGA 30 pitch 13 square 5 (thick) 2.6 0.65 ++

+ Indicates Degree of Difficulty

40
 Stencil Manufacturing
 Chemical Etching Process  Hybrid Process
◦ Chemical Etching
 Electroform Process
◦ Chemical Etching with
Electropolish
◦ Chemical Etching with
Electropolish & Nickel
Flash
 Laser Cut Process Electropolish and Nickel Flash
◦ Laser Cut are considered secondary
◦ Laser Cut with operations
Electropolish
◦ Laser Cut with
Electropolish & Nickel
Flash

41

Stencil Manufacturing - Aperture

Comparison

Process: Etching Process: Laser Cut Process: Electroformed

Material: CrNi-steel Material: CrNi-steel Material: Nickel
Cost factor: 1.0 Cost factor: 1.2 Cost factor: 1.7

Stencil thickness 150µm

Process - Place Process - Reflow
1. Equipment Capability (Cpk) 1. Length of the Oven
2. Accuracy, Repeatability and 2. Number of Zones
Reproducibility 3. Conveyor Types (Edge or
3. Feeder Systems (Types, Mesh)
Maintenance, etc.) 4. PCB Support
4. Nozzles and Changeovers 5. Zone Setpoints (Temperature)
5. Feeder and Nozzle 6. Air/N2 Flow Rate
Maintenance 7. Assembly Complexity
6. Vacuum Capability 8. Exhaust
7. Vision System Capability 9. Top and Bottom Process
8. Vision Lighting 10. Flux Handling
9. Component Placement 11. Thermocouple Attach
Pressure (Location)
10. Air Kiss 12. Reflow Profile
11. Machine Programming • Preheat
12. PCB Hold Down • Soak
13. PCB Support • Reflow
• Cool Down
43

Surface Mount and Through Hole

Solder Joints

Surface Mount Solder Through Hole Solder

Joint Joint
Terminology
 Surface Tension
◦ Surface tension is a molecular force existing in
the surface film of all liquids
◦ As surface tension decreases, wetting to that
surface increases
◦ Purpose of flux is to reduce the surface tension
of the molten solder and increase its ability to
wet
◦ As solder temperature decreases surface tension
increases
◦ Contaminants in the solder can increase surface
tension

45

Terminology
 Wetting
◦ The ability of the molten solder alloy to adhere to the
surfaces being soldered
◦ The alloy metallurgy and the surface metallurgy form a
molecular bond
◦ For proper wetting, metal surfaces must be free of oxides
 Capillary Action
◦ Interaction between a liquid (solder or flux) and a small
opening or surface in a solid ( Pad, barrel or component
Lead )
◦ When a liquid wets to a solid, surface tension will draw
the liquid into the opening or on the surface
◦ The capillary action causes solder to wet vertically up the
component lead during through hole soldering

46
 Wetting Angle

Acceptable wetting implies that the

surfaces of the metal have good
solderability

Metals and Solderability

Metal Solderability Chart

Solderability Metals

Platinum, Gold, Copper, Tin

Easy
Solder, Palladium, Silver
Nickel, Cadmium, Brass, Lead,
Difficult to Solder
Bronze, Rhodium, Beryllium

Very Difficult to Solder Nickel-Iron, Kovar

Zinc, Mild Steel, Chromium,

Cannot Solder with normal Flux
Inconel, Monel, Stainless Steel

48
Terminology
 Intermetallic
◦ When the molten solder alloy makes contact with the PCB finish
or component lead finish, a small amount of Sn in the solder
combines with the finish metal or the base copper to form a
metallurgical compound
 Example Sn + Ag gives Ag3Sn; Sn + Cu gives Cu6Sn5 or Cu3Sn
◦ Peak temperature during soldering and the time the solder alloy
is maintained in a molten state are critical parameters in the
formation of intermetallic
◦ Intermetallic formation occurs during the soldering process and
continues to grow at room temperature, but at a slower rate
◦ The compound is generally harder than the solder alloy and is
also more brittle
◦ If the intermetallic becomes too thick it can lead to joint
cracking

49

Intermetallic Formation
Phase Diagram – Sn/Pb (63/37) Alloy

51

Phase Diagram – Pb-Free Alloys

52
Typical Reflow Profile
 A reflow profile is defined as the
Sn/Pb Solder
temperature-time relationship
for a PCB assembly as it travels
through the oven
 The reflow profile typically
consists of four sections
◦ Preheat
◦ Dryout (Soak)
◦ Reflow
◦ Cooling
 Sections are created “Grouping”
zones defined by relative
setpoint temperatures
 Other profile shapes are also
used for lead-free soldering

53

Reflow Oven (8 heat-2 cool):

Grouping of Sections

54
Ramp-Soak-Spike Reflow Profile

55

Straight Ramp Reflow Profile

(Ramp-to-Spike)

56
 “Shoulder” Reflow Profile

57

Defining the Reflow Profile Band

 By attaching
thermocouples (TC) to
critical locations on the
PCB and components
 Measuring and plotting
the thermocouple
readings using a data
acquisition system
(DAS)
 Trial and Error
Procedure
 Simplified by DAS
“Prediction” Algorithms
◦ Still Requires Initial &
Confirmation Runs
58
Process - Dispense Process - Wave
1. Equipment Capability (Cpk) 1. Conveyor Type, Angle and
2. Accuracy, Repeatability and Speed Control
Reproducibility 2. Flux Station Type, Height and
3. Dispense Method Level
• Needle 3. Flux Type and Specific Gravity
• Air Pressure 4. Preheat Stations and
• Positive Displacement Temperature
• Jetting 5. Wave Height and Level
• Print 6. Types of Wave (Turbulent and
4. Adhesive Type and Handling Laminar)
5. Adhesive Viscosity 7. Solder Alloy and Temperature
6. Temperature 8. Air Knife Settings
7. Dispense Head Maintenance 9. Cool Down
8. Nozzle Diameter 10. PCB Immersion Depth
9. Dwell Time 11. Dross Formation and Cleaning
10. PCB Support 12. Solder Pot Contamination
13. Solder Pot Maintenance

59

Wave Soldering Process

60
 Wave Solder Machine Layout
Chip Air Knife
Wave

Spray/
Foam Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3
Cooling Output
Input Fluxer Zone

Heater zones - Typically

forced convection on
bottom and radiant on top Laminar Wave w/
Oscillation
Air Knife

61

ASSEMBLY DEFECTS,
DEFINITIONS AND ROOT
CAUSES

62
Top Defects Identified - 28 EMS
Companies and >250 Lines

63

Defects for Discussions

 Voiding  Poor wetting
 BGA opens  Wicking
 Head in pillow  Oxidation
 Solder shorts in wave solder  Black pad
 Fine pitch shorts  HASL defects
 Solder balls  Fiducials
 Tombstone  Solder beading
 Insufficient TH fill  Bead probe not making contact
 PTH barrel cracking  Solder splash (wave)
 White residue  Dendritic growth
 Cold solder  Solder bridge under QFN
 Icicles  BS SMT falling off in wave
 Flux under SMDs  Gold Embrittlement
 Graping  Pad lifting
 Quality of OSP  Pinholes (SMT process)
 Lifted Leads

64
Bridging Solder Balling
An electrical short caused by Small spheres of solder that
molten solder attaching to two remain on the board after wave or
adjacent leads, pads, traces, end reflow soldering, adhering to
terminations or solder balls of a laminate, mask, or conductors
component.

65

Bridging
 Misaligned component/placement
 Excess solder deposition
 Component/board contamination
 Preheat ramp up rate high
 Solder paste viscosity too low or slumping of paste
 No solder mask separation between leads
 Bad/Misaligned print
 Flux separation
 Excess solder paste
 Excess placement pressure
 Hot slumping

66
Solder Balling – Possible Root
Causes
 Excessive heating rate/flux  Dirty stencils
evaporation  Dirty supports
 Solder particle oxidation  Small particles
 Solder paste viscosity too  Excess pressure pushing
low/slumping onto mask paste onto mask
 Paste print on the solder  Air kiss blowing particles
mask (misalignment) onto the mask
 Preheat ramp up rate high  Solder splattering due to
 Preheat temperature high entrapped volatiles
 Paste contamination or  Outgassing from
oxidized particles neighboring components
 Misprint
 Poor board cleaning
 Excess flux content

67

Bridging
 Board Rerun
 Conveyor Angle Low
 Excessive and uneven Fluxing
 Flux Specific Gravity Low
 Solder Contamination
 Uneven Soldering
 Component Lead Contamination
 Board Contamination

68
Solder Beading Open Joint
Solder beads are solder balls that The absence of any solder joint
remain attached to the passive between component lead, end
component terminations. termination or solder ball and the
corresponding PCB pad.
Prevalent in small passives and
components with very low stand-
off.

69

Open Joints
 Stencil aperture clogged (insufficient or
no paste)
 Misaligned component
 Component coplanarity error
 Localized board warpage or delamination
 Excessive paste wicking onto the leads
 Contaminated parts/improper wetting
 Contaminated pads

70
Tombstoning Skewing
Lifting of one end of a leadless Phenomenon where the
component, such as the end components are not fully aligned
termination of a capacitor or with the pads and are twisted or
resistor, away from the pads of the slanted at an angle to the pads.
PCB. Typically seen with smaller
passive components (0201, 01005).

Other forms include draw bridging

and billboarding .

71

Tombstoning
 Excessive heating rate
 Pad size mismatch
 Coplanarity error
 Component placement offset
 Paste volume mismatch between pads
 Improper thermal distribution
 Variations in component termination quality
(oxidation levels)
 Paste type (pasty region)
 Insufficient flux activity (variations between
pads)
72
 Skewing
 Board Warpage
 Pad size mismatch
 Differential contamination on pads or
terminations
 Improper pad design and layout
 Paste volume variations on pads
 Improper placement

73

Non-Wetting De-Wetting
A condition whereby the molten A condition whereby the molten
solder has contacted a surface but solder wets a surface and then
has not adhered to it (not wetted recedes to leave irregularly-shaped
it). mounds of solder separated by
areas covered with a thin film of
The base metal or surface finish solder.
remains exposed.
The base metal or surface finish is
not exposed

74
Non-wetting
 Solder paste oxidation
 Preheat temperature and time not sufficient
 Soak temperature high (flux drying out
soon)
 Contaminated surfaces of PCB and
component (oxidized)
 Improper or long term storage of PCB and
components
 Insufficient flux quantity and activation
 Reflow temperature too low

75

Dewetting
 Excessive reflow temperature
 Excessive heating rate
 Board contamination

76
 Dewetting and Nonwetting
 Board Rerun
 Conveyor speed high
 Uneven fluxing
 Inactive flux
 Flux Specific Gravity low
 Preheat Temperature – Low
 Solder Contamination
 Solder Wave Height – Low
 Solder Temperature – Low
 Component Lead Contamination
 Board Contamination

77

Cracked Solder Cracked/Damaged

Joint Component

78
Solder Joint Cracking
 Rapid cooling
 Poor handling
 Thermal Shock
 Localized warpage
 Excessive intermetallic formation (high
TAL and high peak temperature)
 CTE mismatch

79

Component Cracking
 Thermal shock
 Preheat ramp rate too high
 Bad components
 Placement pressure too high
 Improper board supports
 Bad feeders/shutter jam

80
Voiding Blow Holes and
One or more pockets of entrapped Pin Holes
volatiles caused by solvents
outgassing from the flux or gaseous Caused by escaping outgassed
evolutions that are formed during volatiles from the flux or gaseous
cleaning of the surfaces of the pads evolutions through the molten
or leads, during soldering. solder.

81

Voiding
 Solder powder oxidation
 Contamination of PCB and component
surfaces
 Excessive preheat rate
 Excessive fluxing action
 Excess volatile content in flux
 Excessive solder paste quantity
 Insufficient soak time and temperature
 Outgassing of volatiles

82
Blow Holes / Pin holes
 Excessive reflow temperature
 Preheat ramp up rate high
 Excess volatile content in the flux
 Excess contamination

83

Outgassing (Voiding, Blow holes and

Pin holes)
 Conveyor Speed High
 Flux Blow-off Insufficient
 Flux Specific Gravity High
 Preheat Temperature Low
 Component Lead Contamination
 Board Contamination
 Moisture in Laminate

84
Open Joint Solder Wicking
Phenomenon in which insufficient Phenomenon in which the molten
solder starves the joint forming an solder wets the component lead
open. and flows up the lead away from the
joint area, starving the joint, forming
an open joint.

85

Solder Wicking
 Leads hotter than PCB pad
 Coplanarity error
 High peak temperatures
 Contaminated Pads

86
Cold Solder Joint Popcorn
A solder connection exhibiting poor Delamination
wetting and a grayish, porous
appearance due to insufficient heat, A separation between plies within a
inadequate cleaning prior to base material, or any planar
soldering, excessive impurities in separation within a multilayer PWB
the solder, and/or poor flux or component.
activation.
The moisture held within a plastic
part vaporizes and its pressure
causes cracks in the part.

87

Cold Solder Joints

 Rapid cooling
 Insufficient peak temperature
 Insufficient TAL
 PCB disturbed during cooling
 Excessive heat sinking due to thick
copper plane
 Improper oven temperatures
 Conveyor too fast

88
Cold Solder Joint
 Short Cycle Time
 Conveyor Vibration
 Preheat Temperature Low
 Solder Contamination
 Solder Temperature Low
 Component Lead Contamination
 Board Contamination

89

Popcorn Delamination
 Preheat ramp up rate high
 Component storage (moisture
absorption)
 Thermal shock
 Excessive reflow temperature

90
Excess Solder Insufficient Solder
Excessive solder forms a joint that Inadequate amount of solder at the
is characterized by the complete joint
obscuring of the surfaces of the
connected metals by the presence
of solder beyond the connection
area.

91

Excessive Solder
 Board Rerun
 Conveyor Angle Low
 Conveyor Speed Low
 Uneven Fluxing
 Solder Contamination
 Uneven Soldering
 Solder Wave Height High
 Large Plane on Solder Side

92
Head-In-Pillow Solder Graping
The incomplete wetting and Phenomenon, wherein the solder
coalescing of the solder ball of a paste has partially melted, but has
BGA, CSP or PoP component and not coalesced or flowed completely.
the solder paste particles.

(Source: http://stevezeva.homestead.com/Type_4.JPG)

93

Leaching of Solder Skips

Terminations Unsoldered terminations of the
bottom side surface mount chip
The complete dissolution of the end components when subjected to
terminations of surface mount chip wave soldering process.
components when soldered using
the wave soldering process. Skips could also be observed with
through hole components .

94
 Skipped or Omitted Solder
 Board Not Seated Right
 Conveyor Speed – High
 Uneven Fluxing
 Inactive Flux
 Uneven Soldering
 Solder Wave Height – Low
 Board Contamination
 Component Lead Contamination
 Board Warped
 Improper Pallet Design

95

Insufficient Barrel Icicles

Fill A sharp point of solder that
protrudes out of a solder joint, but
Partially filled through hole barrel does not make contact with another
due to insufficient solder climb. conductor.

96
Insufficient Barrel Fill
 Board Not Seated Right
 Conveyor Angle High
 Conveyor Speed High
 Uneven Fluxing
 Inactive Flux
 Preheat Temperature Low
 Solder Contamination
 Uneven Soldering
 Solder Wave Height Low
 Component Lead Contamination
 Board Contamination

97

Icicles
 Short Cycle Time
 Conveyor Angle Low
 Conveyor Vibration
 Conveyor Speed High
 Uneven Fluxing
 Inactive Flux
 Flux Specific Gravity Low
 Solder Contamination
 Solder Wave Height Low
 Solder Temperature Low
 Component Leads Too Long
 Uneven Soldering

98
 Solder Voids
 Conveyor Speed High
 Flux Blow-off Insufficient
 Flux Specific Gravity High
 Preheat Temperature Low
 Component Lead Contamination
 Board Contamination
 Moisture in Laminate

99

Solder Flooding Solder Webbing

Flow of the molten solder over the and Splatter
top of the PCB.
Webbing:A continuous film of solder
that is parallel to, but not necessarily
adhering to, a surface that should be
free of solder.

Splatter: The remains of flux or

solder splashed onto areas of the
PCB.

100
Flooding
 Board Not Seated Right
 Uneven Solder Level
 Solder Wave Height High
 Board Warped
 Improper Weight/Copper Distribution
 Improper Pallet Design

101

Webbing
 Board Rerun
 Excessive Solder Dross
 Solder contamination

102
Solder Balls and Splatter
 Conveyor Speed High
 Flux Blow-off Insufficient
 Flux Specific Gravity High
 Preheat Ramp Rate High
 Uneven Soldering
 Solder Temperature High
 Board/Component Contamination

103

THANK YOU

10
4
 Course Evaluations

Thank you for registering for an IPC APEX EXPO Professional

Development Course(s).

If you attended PD03: Defect Analysis and Process

Troubleshooting - Part 1, please take a few minutes to let us know
what you thought about the instructor and course. Your opinion will
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Course(s).

To access the course evaluation from, login to the Agenda Planner

and click on the attended course to find the correct evaluation form.
An email will also be sent with the evaluation form link after the
completion of the course.
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