Life-time of lead-free soldered SMT joints

The work concern the life-time of electronic products according to ROHS Directive of European Community. Methods and results of accelerated mechanical and thermal cycling fatigue tests of SnPb and lead-free solder joints, realized in GreenRoSE EC Project are described. The aim of the work is development of cheap test methods, applicable by small producers of electronic equipment. Thermal shock cycling method and mechanical method of cycling bending of PCB samples with soldered SMT and BGA components were applied. The investigations showed the possibility of simplified reliability assessment of lead-free electronic products by mechanical fatigue testing. Advantage of this method is lower cost and shorter test time as by thermal cycling. The planes of further research for obtaining more detailed data are discussed.