Bend Test of Electronic Packages

Understanding the mechanical reliability of microelectronic components and packages is a critical step towards design validation.  With high density packaging, components are getting smaller and thinner so they can be used on the printed circuit boards (PCBs) of hand-held devices. Furthermore, new materials are being introduced, such as the addition of layers on electronic packages, which requires validation of the material’s strength. During new product development, OEMs are required to know the mechanical stress induced on various electronic packages, as they are subjected to warping from the assembly process of PCBs on the top and bottom of the substrate. New innovations in electronic packages, such as chip-on-film, stacked multi-layered packages, etc. require a thorough understanding of mechanical failure.

The Instron^® micro bend fixtures are designed to perform bend testing on small scaled electronic packages, and other microelectronic components. The micro 3-point and 4-point bend fixtures are used to apply stress at local regions, or throughout the package. Using these fixtures, users can determine the load at which the packages undergo failure, such as cracking, delamination of layers, fatigue, etc. Bend fixtures are available with various anvil radii based on package dimensions. Variable span adjustments on the lower anvil are available using a micrometer screw gauge to precisely set the span length. Bluehill^® Universal software can be used to easily set up test methods and to perform the bend tests on different sized components. In cases where flexure displacement is a required measurement, a compliance correction routine can be performed to eliminate any system compliance that can affect the results.