The effect of palladium addition to the 63Sn37Pb solder on the process of the CCGA package

Ceramic Column Grid Array (CCGA) packages are becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to Ceramic Ball Grid Array (CBGA) packages for applications requiring very high-density interconnections with higher board-level reliability. CCGA packages use high-temperature solder columns instead of balls which create a greater standoff, providing a flexible interconnection with improved thermal fatigue life of the package solder joint. This paper introduced a technology featured a palladium addition to the 63Sn37Pb solder on the column-to-component pads which formed palladium-tin intermetallics that did not melt during initial the printed circuit board (PCB) assembly and added additional strength to the solder joint.