Technical Articles From Rockwell Collins

The Last Will And Testament of the BGA Void

Jan 05, 2015 | Dave Hillman, Dave Adams, Tim Pearson, Brad Williams, Brittany Petrick, Ross Wilcoxon - Rockwell Collins, Dr. David Bernard, John Travis, Dr. Evstatin Krastev, Vineeth Bastin - Nordson Dage.

The impact of voiding on the solder joint integrity of ball grid arrays (BGAs)/chip scale packages (CSPs) can be a topic of lengthy and energetic discussion. Detailed industry investigations have shown that voids have little effect on solder joint integrity unless they fall into specific location/geometry configurations. These investigations have focused on thermal cycle testing at 0°C-100°C, which is typically used to evaluate commercial electronic products.

This paper documents an investigation to determine the impact of voids in BGA and CSP components using thermal cycle testing (-55°C to +125°C) in accordance with the IPC-9701 specification for tin/lead solder alloys. This temperature range is more typical of military and other high performance product use environments. A proposed BGA void requirement revision for the IPC-JSTD-001 specification will be extracted from the results analysis....

An Investigation of Whisker Growth on Tin Coated Wire and Braid

Aug 02, 2012 | Dave Hillman, Tim Pearson, Thomas Lesniewski

First published in the 2012 IPC APEX EXPO technical conference proceedings. Pure tin is a common finish for copper hook up wire, coaxial cable, ground braid and harness assemblies used on electronic assemblies. Historically there have been fewer reports o...

The Impact of Reflowing A Pb-free Solder Alloy Using A Tin/Lead Solder Alloy Reflow Profile On Solder Joint Integrity.

Apr 29, 2008 | David Hillman, Matt Wells, Kim Cho

The electronics industry is undergoing a materials evolution due to the pending Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) European Directive. Printed wiring board laminate suppliers, component fabricators, and printed wiring assembly operations are engaged in a multitude of investigations to determine what leadfree (Pbfree) material choices best fit their needs. The size and complexity of Pbfree implementation insures a transition period in which Pbfree and tin/lead solder finishes will be present on printed wiring assemblies...