Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a failure analysis of the solder layer in a Darlington power transistor in a TO-3 package. Design/methodology/approach: A failed Darlington power transistor in a TO-3 package was examined by different kinds of failure analysis techniques. At first, internal gas analysis was conducted to measure the atmosphere. Then, scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) was performed to check the quality of the solder layers in the failed device, and the failure location was determined in the solder layer between chip and substrate. Next, the failed device was decapped to observe the defects. After removing the chip from the substrate, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were applied and the main elemental composition of the solder layer was identified. Findings: Internal gas analysis indicated that the moisture and oxygen contents exceeded the allowed maximum value. Large areas of voids were found in the solder layer by SAM. The main elemental compositions of the solder layer were identified by scanning electron microscopy and EDS. Furthermore, the valences of the chemical components in the solder layer were identified by XPS. Except for the few simple substances of the initial solder material, the chemical formulae of oxidation products in the solder layer were deduced. In addition, the root causes are also discussed. Originality/value: This paper focuses on the solder layer failure of a power transistor. Factors such as the presence of oxygen, voids and other factors, which can cause transistor damage, were comprehensively analyzed. The analysis process is worth learning from and the results can be used to improve the reliability of power devices in this kind of package.

To verify the reliability of a typical Pb-free circuit board applied for space exploration, five circuits were put into low temperature and shock test. However, after the test, memories on all five circuits were out of function. To investigate the cause of the failure, a series of methods for failure analysis was carried out, including X-ray detection, cross-section analysis, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis, and contrast test. Through failure analysis, the failure was located in the Pb-free (Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu) solder joint, and we confirmed that the failure occurred because of the low temperature and change of fracture characteristic of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305). A verification test was conducted to verify the failure mechanism. Through analyzing data and fracture surface morphology, the cause of failure was ascertained. At low temperature, the fracture characteristic of SAC305 changed from ductileness to brittleness. The crack occurred at solder joints because of stress loaded by shock test. When the crack reached a specific length, the failure occurred. The temperature of the material’s characteristic change was −70–−80 °C. It could be a reference for Pb-free circuit board use in a space environment.

Long bonding wires may swing significantly and touch with adjacent ones, which will result in short circuit under mechanical condition, especially in aerospace applications. This may seriously affect the operational reliability of high-density hermetic package components. The aim of this paper is to assess the touch risk of high-density package component under mechanical shock condition. An experiment setup, which can obtain the touch critical load and detect the wires swing touch through voltage signal captured by oscilloscope, is designed and built. To obtain the vibration data of different bonding wire structures under different shock loads, numerical simulation models are established after verified by the experimental data. Additionally, initial swing amplitude model, vibration frequency model, and damped coefficient model are established based on the simulation and experiment data. Furthermore, wire swing touch risk assessment model is established in consideration of the distribution of wire structure and shock load deviation. Based on the verified numerical simulation model, vibration characteristic parameters, including the initial swing amplitude, vibration frequency, and damped coefficient, can be calculated by numerical simulation and experimental results. The proposed method can be used to assess bonding wire touch risk in high-density hermetic package quantitatively. Potential touch risk, which cannot be reflected by failure analysis of structure damage after test, can also be detected by the electronic measurement designed in this paper. The proposed method can effectively reflect short circuit between long bonding wires of hermetic package in large shock applications, such as transport and launch.