Abstract
This is the second article in a two-part series investigating solder connection failures associated with BGA packages. Part I, in the February 2017 issue of EDFA, examines various cases of open and short circuit failures, discusses the formation of voids, and explains how to reveal important clues by grinding away the BGA package. Part II continues the analysis of voids and focuses in on failures due to circuit board faults. In such cases, the board is ground away from the backside, stopping just short of the first inner copper layer. The alignment of the two uppermost copper layers, the integrity of microvias, and other potential problems are then examined using polarized light which readily passes through the remaining resin and fibers. As the examples in the article show, this approach can reveal a wide range of manufacturing defects in PCBs.
