Laser soldering of small pitch BGAs on Plexiglas substrate PCBs
The paper presents the results of the study and the procedure of soldering 200µm pitch BGAs on circuits on PMMA (Poly-methyl-methacrylate or Plexiglas) substrate, starting from the paste deposition process, fine placement of the BGAs and finally soldering. The novelty in this research is that it had to face two restrictions. The combination of PMMA substrate, transparent to laser, and SnBi, ecologic solder paste, which required a low and very well-controlled soldering temperature, and the small size of the BGAs which needed a punctual soldering. These particularities led the team to use laser for soldering, due to the possibility of highly accurate energy calculation and very small size of the focused beam.
Optimizing laser soldering of SMD components: From theory to practice
The paper presents the results of a study of the procedure of laser soldering chip SMD components, taking into consideration various parameters of the soldering process: type and quantity of solder paste used, energy pumped into the system, etc. There are many situations in modern electronics where the heat for soldering must be controlled very accurately, for example for soldering temperature sensitive components or using different substrates that require a soldering temperature different than the usual ones (PMMA substrates need low temperature soldering). We studied the energy necessary for realizing high quality solder joints even from the first soldering, thus reducing the number of destroyed samples and decreasing the time and costs of development of the electronic module. Based on the theoretical model, we soldered components and performed electrical and mechanical tests, cross-sections, optical and X-ray inspections.
Numerical modelling of scanned beam laser soldering of fine pitch packages
Laser soldering provides a useful tool for the electronics manufacturer and has found a number of successful industrial applications. The laser provides highly controllable localised heating in a manner similar to hand soldering and has distinct advantages over other soldering methods. However, the heating processes that occur in laser soldering are complex making it difficult to predict whether a particular operation will be successful. Numerical modelling provides a valuable tool in answering such questions but the modelling process and the assumptions upon which it is based must be understood if the results are to be reliable.This paper explains the assumptions made in deriving a suitable model and describes the use of a commercial finite element modelling package to aid the understanding of laser soldering processes, with a particular emphasis on single and multi‐pass scanned beam soldering operations.