The Challenge
Solder paste manufacturers and electronics packaging experts are constantly formulating new compositions of solder alloys and flux materials to address assembly challenges. Type 6 solder powder, with a particle size of 10 µm and below, is preferred over type 4 and type 5 solder pastes for the assembly of 0201s chip components. Ball grid array packages (BGA) that are attached on the substrate using solder bumps on the bottom of the package are trending towards smaller size solder bumps. As a result, it is important to perform mechanical testing on the solder bumps, or solder balls, in order to understand the maximum load sustainable before failure. One effective way to test these solder balls is through compression. By applying a compressive load to a single solder ball, maximum force can be estimated before the ball cracks to failure. This helps in characterizing the bump strength of solder for package assemblies.
