Effect of Air-HAST Conditions on Sn Whisker Growth

Abstract

Sn whiskers are one of the major causes of failure in fine-pitch electronics because of the short distance between the leads in an electronic package. In various whisker mechanisms, it takes a long time to grow a whisker due to Sn corrosion because the temperature is limited to below 100°C in high humidity. In the highly accelerated temperature and humidity stress test (HAST), the corrosion phenomenon rarely occurred because of the little air inside the chamber. Therefore, air is needed in the whisker accelerating test to meet the same whisker mechanism under high temperature and humidity conditions. In this study, an Air-HAST with air inputs in the chamber with highly temperature and humidity was introduced. Whisker growth was accelerated with temperatures at 130°C and various air pressures using the thin quad flat package (TQFP) sample with Sn plating lead. The whisker growth in the Air-HAST, HAST, and high temperature and high humidity test (85°C, 85%R.H.) was compared by plotting each growth length and number of whiskers. The accelerated relationships of whisker growth under the various test conditions will help the electronic industry meet the short development cycles.