Problems and Methods of Board Level Reliability: Mechanical Shock Testing

Abstract Board level semiconductor reliability testing (BLTT) is a crucial step in the product development life cycle of modern electronics. While the primary focus of semiconductor reliability historically has been to understand the robustness of the solder joint, there are other aspects of the semiconductor package which are also susceptible to failure after the product has been assembled. Despite its overwhelming importance, there is no one centralized resource outlining best practices for conducting BLRT across industries. Fortunately, industry standards do exist. Among them are outlines for conducting tests including temperature cycling, mechanical shock, humidity dwell among others. In this work we present a case study exploring some of the unique challenges and methods associated with conducting BLRT using mechanical shock testing. Namely, we discuss the practical challenges of conducting these tests in the presence of a constant noise source and performing die level failure analysis on components suffering from warpage while back side films (BSFs) are applied as a protective coating on the package.