The Feasibility of Ultrasonically Bonding Surface Mount Components to Printed Circuit Boards

The potentially highly automated process of surface mounting electronic components directly onto a substrate or printed circuit board possesses a very weak link. Component movement subsequent to placement and before or during solder reflow leads to defect conditions such as tombstoning or rotational misalignment. This work investigates the feasibility of replacing this ‘weak’ assembly step(s) with ultrasonics. The selection and modification of suitable ultrasonic equipment is described as in the bonding of chip components onto PCBs. Reliability analysis of the resultant bonds along with bond quality in terms of shear strength and appearance under scanning electron microscope and optical microscope is studied. The results show that, with certain preferred directions of ultrasonic weld, weld preload and weld time bond strengths obtained compare very favourably with those achieved with the present surface mount technology reflow process, hence establishing the feasibility of ultrasonics for this application.