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Abstract— The fatigue life of an underfilled flip-chip package stress along the surfaces between the underfill and substrate
has been evaluated using the Coffin–Manson relation and finite as well as the underfill and chip.
element modeling (FEM)-computed solder shear strain for typ-
ical flip-chip structures. In the course of this effort, numerical
simulations were performed for underfill materials of varying II. ANALYTICAL BACKGROUND
thermo-structural properties, two chip sizes, and two solder
bump heights. The results were used to examine the parametric A. Coffin–Manson Relation
sensitivity of the thermal strain in the solder joints and the axial,
as well as shear, stress in the underfill material. The predicted The fatigue life of conventional solder joints has long
improvement in the number of cycles-to-failure of the underfilled been related to the induced cyclic shear strain via the Cof-
flip-chip was found to agree with empirical observation. However, fin–Manson relation (see, for example, [6]–[9])
the maximum improvement achievable by underfilling was found
to be limited by the adhesion strength of the underfill material. (1)
Index Terms— Coffin–Manson, fatigue, flip-chip, solder, ther-
mal strain, underfill. where is the number of cycles to failure, is a material
constant, is the cyclic plastic shear strain of a solder joint,
is the cyclic frequency, is the maximum temperature
I. INTRODUCTION
during the cycle, is the Boltzmann’s constant, is an
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318 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPONENTS, PACKAGING, AND MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY—PART A, VOL. 20, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 1997
(7)
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GEKTIN et al.: COFFIN–MANSON FATIGUE MODEL OF UNDERFILLED FLIP-CHIPS 319
TABLE I
FINITE-ELEMENT MODEL DESCRIPTION
Equations (7) and (11) are plotted in Fig. 2 for typical flip- Fig. 3. Axisymmetric structure used in FEM for 1A and 1B models. Di-
chip dimensions and properties for a post-underfill cool-down mensions in mm.
of 125 C. Examining the form of this analytical solution, it
may be seen that the shear stress increases monotonically from [17]–[19], nonlinear models are not yet available for the
the center of the structure attaining its most severe value at polymeric underfill materials. In consideration of this situation,
the edge, while the axial stress is tensile for approximately as well as the fact that the temperature range studied is far from
three fourths of the distance to the edge and then reverses the melting point of the solder, the present study is limited to
sign, reaching a peak compressive value near the edge. linear-elastic models. A subsequent paper will discuss a more
It should be noted that the sign of the axial stress, , is complete analytical approach to this problem.
dependent on the value of the differential rigidity, , as can
be seen from (10) and (11). In practice, this is an important III. FINITE-ELEMENT MODELING
result, since the combination of the peel (positive axial) and
To evaluate the effect of the underfill material on the fatigue
shear stress is more dangerous than combined compressive
life of the solder joints, a number of finite-element models
and shear stress [15].
was created for a 4.25 mm (170 mil) or 12.76 mm (510 mil)
These analytical results (for an idealized tri-layer structure)
square silicon die of 0.635 mm (25 mil) thickness converted
capture the essential thermo-structural behavior of the die-
to 2.4 and 7.5 mm radius disks of the same thickness. The die
attach layer. However, to more accurately capture the three-
is attached to a ceramic substrate, approximately 5 mm (200
dimensional thermally induced stress/strain in actual flip-chip
mil) or 15 mm (600 mil) square and 1.524 mm (60 mil) thick.
configurations, it is preferable to obtain similar relations for an
Two Pb/Sn solder bump heights were evaluated—0.127 mm
axisymmetric geometry. Based on the work of Mirman [16],
(5 mil) and 0.0635 mm (2.5 mil). The displacement boundary
(7) and (11) can be extended to the desired axisymmetric
condition used in the analysis is a point constraint at the center
configuration by use of a modified Young’s Modulus and
of symmetry along the bottom surface, allowing substrate
coefficient of thermal expansion, as below
flexing. To simplify reference to various chip sizes and solder
bump heights each specific configuration has been assigned an
alpha-numerical label, as shown in Table I.
Numerical analysis was performed using the structural finite
element program NIKEDP [20]. Calculations were performed
Due to the relatively small area fraction occupied by the on a Sun Sparc 20 Workstation with a typical running time
solder bumps ( 3%), the presence of the solder bumps can of three minutes. The geometry of the plastic package was
be expected to weakly affect, and not fundamentally alter, the transformed into an equivalent axisymmetric structure (Figs. 3
thermo-structural behavior of the underfill material. However, and 4), with the cross-sectional areas in the horizontal plane
a far more complex model would be needed to calculate the remaining the same as in the original geometry. All the solder
strain and stress in the solder joints. Yet, it is the solder bumps were combined to form a simple continuous ring (1A
that is most vulnerable to failure. Consequently, an alternative and 1B models) or three continuous rings (2A and 2B models)
methodology must be sought for determining solder joint stress of solder, with a 0.127 by 0.2 mm or 0.0635 by 0.2 mm cross-
and strain in an underfilled die-attach layer. section, whose volume equals the volume of the solder joints.
In the present study, a linear analysis FEM modeling The height of the ring is the same as that of a bump.
approach is used to determine the ratio of solder strain, with Meshing of the structure was done in such a way that
and without an underfill material, and to thus determine the there were at least four elements in any modeled part of
improvement in fatigue life via (2). While in recent years the structure in any direction, generating a total of 3243
the nonlinear behavior of solder has been studied extensively elements (Fig. 5). The mesh was significantly densified near
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320 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPONENTS, PACKAGING, AND MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY—PART A, VOL. 20, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 1997
TABLE III
MAXIMUM STRESSES AND STRAINS IN SOLDER WITH NO UNDERFILL PRESENT
Fig. 5. FEM discretization of flip-chip structure for 2A and 2B models. lies between 10–16 GPa and coefficient of thermal expansion
(CTE) lies between 18–38 ppm/K, spanning the CTE value of
TABLE II the solder material. The numerical analysis was performed in
MATERIAL PROPERTIES USED IN FEM this range, with values of the strain and stress evaluated for
specific pairs of and within this range and then used to
create contours plots by the SURFER public-domain software
package.
the solder ring (Fig. 5) to improve the accuracy of the results. A. Qualitative Results
It should be noted at the outset that the use of linear-
elastic models and an axisymmetric geometric representation The larger, deformed flip-chip structure, at steady state after
places some limitations on the precision of the computed a cool-down of 125 C with 13 GPa and 28 ppm/K,
strains and stresses. This approach can, however, be expected is shown in Fig. 6 with a 100 times magnification of the
to yield the correct trends and relative magnitudes of the deformations in the structure. The deformed structure, in this
thermally-induced deformation and stress, and, in particular, case, as well as for the smaller chip, is convex—reflecting
the relative benefits associated with the use of underfill flip- the higher CTE and hence larger contraction of the substrate
chip configurations. Previous results [21] have shown that relative to the die.
the use of an axisymmetric model minimizes the use of
computer resources without compromising the essential three- B. Quantitative Results
dimensional character of the results. As a baseline for later comparison it is useful to consider
To avoid possible singularities near the edge of the structure first the unconstrained case where no underfill was applied in
and, hence, unreliable FEM results near the edge, the reported the die-bond. For the 125 C temperature excursion and no
values of the axial and shear stress were taken one element underfill, the stress and strain encountered by the solder joints
away from the edge. Due to the lack of a detailed viscoelastic can be expected to be at their highest values. In Table III,
model for the underfill materials, a linear elastic model was the shear strain is seen to vary from 0.7 to 2.3%, rising with
used for all the flip-chip materials. The material properties used diameter and decreasing with height, and the axial strain to
in this analysis are shown in Table II and were taken from equal approximately 0.6%, for the geometries shown.
[3], [18], and [22]. Computed stresses for a double-density Similarly, it may be expected that the upper limit for the
mesh showed smoother transitions between the elements, but stresses in the underfill will be encountered when no solder
the same average result as obtained with the current element joints are present. The computed and analytically-determined
count. near-edge (maximum) shear stresses in the underfill for the
Following the underfilling procedure, the flip-chip can expe- models under consideration are presented in Table IV.
rience a 125 C cool-down to 25 C average room temperature It may be seen that there is only a modest change in the
and develop considerable residual stress. For purposes of shear stress between the small and large chip, with the same
determining the ratio of solder shear strain with and without layer thickness, but a more substantial decrease (approximately
underfill material, 125 C step was assumed to be the driving 30%) in the maximum shear stress from a thin to a thick layer.
force for fatigue. It may also be observed that the analytical value obtained
To cover a practical range of materials, it is assumed for via (7) is consistently higher, but only by 1–4 MPa, than the
this analysis that Young’s Modulus of the underfill material computed shear stresses in the underfill layer.
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GEKTIN et al.: COFFIN–MANSON FATIGUE MODEL OF UNDERFILLED FLIP-CHIPS 321
TABLE IV
MAXIMUM SHEAR STRESSES IN UNDERFILL WITH NO
SOLDER PRESENT ( 28 PPM/K, E 10 GPA) = =
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322 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPONENTS, PACKAGING, AND MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY—PART A, VOL. 20, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 1997
Fig. 10. Contours of maximum shear strain in solder for various underfill Fig. 11. Contours of increase in flip-chip fatigue life for various underfill
materials, m/m. Chip radius 7.5 mm, solder joint height 63.5 m. in ppm/K. materials. Chip radius 2.4 mm, solder joint height 127 m. in ppm/K.
TABLE V
FATIGUE LIFE PREDICTION FOR NO UNDERFILL CASES
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GEKTIN et al.: COFFIN–MANSON FATIGUE MODEL OF UNDERFILLED FLIP-CHIPS 323
=
Fig. 15. Axial stress in underfill material with E 10 GPa, = 28 ppm/K.
Chip radius 7.5 mm, solder joint height 63.5 m.
Fig. 13. Contours of increase in flip-chip fatigue life for various underfill
materials. Chip radius 7.5 mm, solder joint height 127 m. in ppm/K.
=
Fig. 16. Shear stress in underfill material with E 10 GPa, = 28 ppm/K.
Chip radius 2.4 mm, solder joint height 63.5 m.
three-ring and one ring cases show that the two stress profiles
are nearly indistinguishable from each other and agree closely
in the peak positive as well as negative values of the computed
Fig. 14. Contours of increase in flip-chip fatigue life for various underfill axial stress.
materials. Chip radius 7.5 mm, solder joint height 63.5 m. in ppm/K.
Variation of the shear stress along the silicon/underfill
interface for the 2.5 mm radius flip-chip and the low solder
height of 63.5 m is shown in Fig. 16. The overall distribution
63.5 m high, using an underfill material of 10 GPa and
of the shear stress follows the classical pattern, as given by
28 ppm/K, are plotted as a function of distance from
(7), except in the vicinity of the simulated solder bump. As
the centerline in Fig. 15. The axial stress variation is seen previously noted for the axial stress, there is little difference
to follow the form of (11), reaching a rather large negative between the shear stress values for a no-ring and one solder
value of over 30 MPa and a fairly modest positive value of ring configuration.
less than 10 MPa. Generally similar results were obtained Contours of computed maximum shear stress, as a function
for the smaller flip-chip. Since it is the tensile axial stress of CTE and Young’s Modulus are shown in Figs. 17–20 and
that is most often thought to cause delamination or rupture, seen to range from 18–38 MPa for the configurations of
the large compressive value may not pose a severe danger interest. Analysis of the maximum shear stress in the underfill
to the integrity of the underfill. Alternately, the relatively material shows that in order to achieve the lowest shear stress
high underfill stresses adjacent to the outermost solder ring in the underfill, within the range of the material properties
may deserve closer scrutiny. Also shown in Fig. 15 is the given, it is necessary to select the lowest possible value
axial stress distribution for a model in which only one solder and the lowest possible CTE’s, except when dealing with small
ring—the outermost—is present. Comparison between the chips and higher solder bumps.
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324 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPONENTS, PACKAGING, AND MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY—PART A, VOL. 20, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 1997
Fig. 17. Contours of the maximum shear stress in underfill material, MPa. Fig. 19. Contours of the maximum shear stress in underfill material, MPa.
Chip radius 2.4 mm, solder joint height 127 m. in ppm/K. Chip radius 7.5 mm, solder joint height 127 m. in ppm/K.
Fig. 20. Contours of the maximum shear stress in underfill material, MPa.
Chip radius 7.5 mm, solder joint height 63.5 m. in ppm/K.
Fig. 18. Contours of the maximum shear stress in underfill material, MPa.
Chip radius 2.4 mm, solder joint height 63.5 m. in ppm/K.
While no fatigue model for polymeric adhesive is yet around CTE of 32 ppm/K for the range of Young’s Moduli
available, it is expected that a peak shear stress value below evaluated, with compressive values resulting from higher
the reported adhesion strength will minimize the probability of CTE’s and tensile stresses from lower CTE’s.
adhesive and cohesive failure of the underfill material. Results Due to its low resistance to deformation, the solder joint
in the literature suggest that the adhesion strength of typical could tolerate only a modest axial stress of typically up to 40
polymeric adhesives is on the order of 10–15 MPa [21], [26], gm/bump or approximately 0.5 MPa [28]. Alternately, large
and [27]. If underfill adhesion strengths are assumed to fall in negative values of the axial stress are also not desirable and
this range, it may prove difficult to maintain the integrity of may lead to solder creep or rupture. Consequently, CTE of
the underfill layer for high Young’s Modulus materials. the underfill material should be in range close to CTE of the
solder material.
F. Normal Stress in Solder
As may be seen in Fig. 21, in the underfilled die-attach V. CONCLUSION
layers, the axial stress is nearly independent of Young’s 1) Finite-Element thermo-structural simulation has re-
Modulus and depends only on the CTE of the underfill vealed the ability of underfill materials to significantly
material. Negligible stress values can be anticipated to occur reduce flip-chip solder joint shear strain.
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GEKTIN et al.: COFFIN–MANSON FATIGUE MODEL OF UNDERFILLED FLIP-CHIPS 325
REFERENCES
[1] G. O’Malley, J. Giesler, and S. Machuga, “The importance of material
selection for flip chip on board assembly,” in Proc. 44th Electron. Comp.,
Technol. Conf., 1994, pp. 387–394.
[2] R. Marrs, “Trends in IC packaging,” Electron. Packag. Prod., vol. 36,
pp. 24–30, 1996.
[3] J. Clementi, J. McCreary, T. M. Niu, J. Palomaki, and J. Varcoe,
“Flip-chip encapsulation on ceramic substrates,” in Proc. 43rd Electron.
Comp., Technol. Conf., 1993, pp. 175–181. Vadim Gektin (M’96) received the M.S. and Ph.D.
[4] J. Kloeser, E. Zakel, F. Bechtold, and H. Reichl, “Reliability inves- degrees, both in mechanical engineering, from the
tigations of fluxless flip-chip interconnections on green tape ceramic University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, in 1993 and
substrates,” IEEE Trans. Comp., Packag., Manufact. Technol., vol. 19, 1997, respectively.
pp. 24–32, 1996. His research interests include thermal, thermo-
[5] V. Gektin, A. Bar-Cohen, and S. Witzman, “Thermo-structural behavior
structural, and fatigue behavior of microelectronics.
of underfilled flip-chips,” in Proc. 46th Electron. Comp., Technol. Conf.,
Dr. Gektin is a member of ASME International
1996, pp. 440–447.
and IMAPS.
[6] E. A. Johnson, W. T. Chen, and C. K. Lim, Principles of Electronic
Packaging, D. P. Seraphim, R. Lasky, and C.-Y. Li, Eds. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1989, ch. 6, pp. 159–195.
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326 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPONENTS, PACKAGING, AND MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY—PART A, VOL. 20, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 1997
Avram Bar-Cohen (M’85–SM’87–F’93) received the Ph.D. degree in me- Jeremy Ames received the B.S. degree from the
chanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cam- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and is cur-
bridge, MA, in 1971. rently pursuing the M.S. degree at the University of
He is currently Professor and Director of the Thermodynamics and Heat California, Berkeley.
Transfer Division in the Mechanical Engineering Department and Associate His research interests include thermal design,
Director of the Center for the Development of Technological Leadership at the numerical modeling, and fluid mechanics.
University of Minnesota. His interests include thermal design, ebullient heat
transfer, and thermal phenomena in electronic systems, as well as engineering
education, technology forecasting, and management of technology. He served
as Executive Consultant for packaging and physical modeling at Control
Data Corporation, from 1984 to 1989, and held a succession of academic
appointments, from Lecturer to Professor, in the Department of Mechanical
Engineering at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, from 1973
to 1988. He is co-author of Design and Analysis of Heat Sinks (1995) and
Thermal Analysis and Control of Electronic Equipment (1983). He also co-
edits the ASME Press Series Advances in Thermal Modeling of Electronic
Components and Systems, and the John Wiley series in Thermal Management
of Microelectronics and Electronic Systems. He has authored some 140
refereed Journal and Conference papers and 24 chapters in books.
Dr. Bar-Cohen was awarded the 1994 ASME Edwin F. Church Medal in
recognition of contributions to engineering education, continuing education,
and professional development on both national and international levels. He
was the General Chairman for the 1995 International Society Packaging
Conference, InterPack’95, and in 1988 was the Founding Chairman of the
ASM/IEEE Intersociety Conference on Thermal Phenomena in Electronic
Systems. For the past several years he has been an ASME Distinguished
Lecturer. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of these TRANSACTIONS. He is a
Fellow of the ASME.
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