Impact of JEDEC test conditions on new-generation package reliability

JEDEC Standard has been widely used in the electronic industry to qualify package performance under temperature and humidity conditions. Demands for high packaging density of low pin-count packages have driven the development of a new generation of packages to replace the Quad Flat Packages (QFP). Package size has been reduced drastically. Package reflow temperature has been considerably higher due to the application of lead-free solder. Consequently, the JEDEC standard testing on these packages needs to be re-evaluated. In this paper, moisture diffusion analysis, heat transfer analysis, as well as an interface fracture mechanics-based thermomechanical analysis have been conducted. The impact of different reflow profiles was investigated. Due to the smaller package size and higher reflow temperature, the new packages are more sensitive to the reflow parameters such as peak temperature and cooling rate. For the reliability testing of the new-generation packages, modification of the JEDEC standards may be necessary to ensure that these packages are not subjected to more stringent criteria than their previous counterparts.