In Silico Benchmarking of Fatigue Life Estimation Models for Passive SMD Solder Joints Under Thermal Cycling

Related to microelectronics’ reliability, lifetime estimation methods have gained importance, especially for surface-mounted devices. The virtual testing of electronic assemblies necessitates the geometry modeling and finite element analysis of the solder joint. The effect of the simplification of the solder geometry on the predicted lifetime is an open question. Furthermore, there is still not yet straightforward guidance for the choice of the material model and fatigue lifetime model. In this study, the impact of the geometry input method, the material model and the lifetime model choice is investigated on two different surface-mounted capacitors in a simulation-based benchmark analysis under thermal cyclic loading. Four different types of solder geometry modeling approaches are compared, among which one is a physics-based approach. Ten different fatigue models founded on plastic and viscoplastic material models are benchmarked. The results show that the component standoff height and the solder volume have a positive effect on the lifetime, while the capacitor size has a slightly negative effect on the lifetime. The results also suggest that approximate geometries can be used to replace the physics-based model with a restriction for the minimum standoff height.