Board Level Reliability Testing: Leveraging Simulation to Improve PCB Reliability

Board Level Reliability Testing (BLRT) encompasses a wide range of environmental stress tests that evaluate the robustness of a semiconductor package once soldered to a printed circuit board (PCB). These tests often focus on solder joint reliability under thermal and mechanical loads and include test programs like accelerated thermal cycling, vibration exposure, drop testing, and others. However, these test programs often require 6 months or more to complete and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The proactive use of simulation can be a helpful tool to design for reliability (DfR) and improve overall BLRT robustness.

This session will cover examples of how to use simulation to predict test performance and evaluate design decisions that can improve the likelihood of passing qualification on the first attempt.