Characterization and analysis on the solder ball shear testing conditions

This paper presents both experimental investigation and computational analysis on the solder ball shear testing conditions for ball grid array (BGA) packages. The experimental data of solder ball shear tests indicate that the ram height and the shear speed have substantial effects on the solder ball shear strength. The general trend shows that lower ram height and faster shear speed can result in higher ball shear strength. A two-dimensional finite element model is established to simulate the solder ball shear tests. The results in terms of load-displacement curve from computational analysis are in good agreement with the experimental data. Based on the computational stress analysis, an effort is made to interpret the failure mode of solder balls subject to the ball shear test.