An experimental apparatus using moiré interferometry is developed to characterize the thermo-mechanical behavior of solder joints. A compact moiré interferometer is combined with an environmental chamber to allow real-time observation of non-linear and time-dependent solder and solder assemblies.

The first apparatus is based on convection heating and cooling to simulate an accelerated thermal cycling (ATC) condition. Vibrations caused by an environmental chamber are circumvented by unique rigid links that connect the specimen to the moiré interferometer. Displacement fields are documented while the chamber is being operated. The system is utilized to analyze thermo-mechanical behavior of a ceramic ball grid array package assembly and a plastic ball grid array package assembly. The effect of thermal cycling on the accumulated permanent deformation is documented, which reveals the temperature-dependent non-linearity of solder joints.

The second apparatus is based on conduction heating and cooling to achieve a high ramp rate. A special chamber is designed and fabricated using a high power thermoelectric cooler to achieve the desired ramp rate. The system is utilized to investigate the time-dependent behavior of solder joints.

A new solder joint configuration is designed and fabricated to be tested with the conduction based apparatus. The specimen is an extension of the conventional bi-material joint configuration but the unique design offers two important features; it negates the inherent shortcoming from cross sectioning required in moiré interferometry and produces a virtually uniform shear strain field at the solder joint. The deformation of solder joint is documented at a controlled ramp rate over several thermal cycles. The experimental results are analyzed and compared with those of Finite Element analysis to investigate the validity of solder constitutive models available in the literatures.