Effect of loading type on fatigue crack growth behavior of solder joint in electronic packaging

Fatigue cracking tests of a solder joint were carried out using in-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technology under tensile and bending cyclic loadings. The method for predicting the fatigue life is provided based on the fatigue crack growth rate of the solder joint. The results show that the effect of the loading type on the fatigue crack growth behavior of a solder joint cannot be ignored. In addition, the finite element analysis results help quantitatively estimate the response relationship between solder joint structures. The fatigue crack initiation life of a solder joint is in good agreement with the fatigue life (N50%) of a totally electronic board with 36 solder joints.