Reliable microelectronic systems have to undergo lengthy and cost-intensive testing before they go into series production. With new simulation approaches, such tests can be implemented much faster, more flexibly and more cost-effectively. Fraunhofer IKTS is working on this together with partners from industry and research in the 'mikroVAL' project.
For qualification tests to check reliability, a prototype must first be built and subjected to appropriate experiments. Subsequent changes to the design must then be transferred to the prototype and tested again. This makes the process expensive, slow and only adaptable to a limited extent.
These disadvantages can be avoided by using simulation models. However, conventional simulation approaches are only suitable for individual components and not for complex assemblies. To make matters worse, the data required for realistic modeling is not published by the component manufacturers in order to protect their intellectual property.
In the project, ten partners from research and industry, including the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS, want to develop a workflow that combines various approaches for simulating qualification tests. The aim is to reduce or even completely replace the effort required for these tests.
Using modern modeling principles, such as reduced order modeling (ROM), the calculation time can be reduced without reducing accuracy. This makes it possible to evaluate several systems and therefore larger assemblies in one step. The IP (Intellectual Property) protection for component manufacturers is retained, as only information on the interface and behavior from the simulation models is passed on. What is new is that the component models created in this way can be reused several times and integrated into increasingly complex systems. Fraunhofer IKTS is focusing on the evaluation of solder joints.
In previous attempts to simulate qualification, interactions between the microelectronic components and the housing are often not considered. However, these are of great importance for reliability and are therefore to be taken into account in the new approach.
