This is a fairly typical example of wear out failure of an aluminum electrolytic capacitor.

This is an optical image of the capacitor that captures the part date code.

This is an image of the top of the device showing the vent, which ruptured and leaked a small amount of electrolyte.

This is an image of the capacitor after dissecting the can. The capacitor roll was charred indicating that the core reached excessive temperature.

This is a plot of capacitance versus age for “passing” capacitors from the same population of capacitors. The trend line is an inverse exponential function indicative of the wear out process.

The analysis results suggest that the capacitor failure was caused by the normal wear out processes that are characteristic of aluminum electrolytic capacitors, i.e. capacitance decreases and electrolyte volume decreases (i.e. capacitor dries out) as the capacitors age and approach end-of-life.

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A client suspected a tin whisker had grown between two IC leads.

It turns out this was a glass fiber embedded in the solder joint.

EDS analysis proves it is a SiO2-Al2O3-CaO glass fiber.

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This is a somewhat classic case of solder joint fatigue failure, but with the added factor of gold embrittlement. The solder alloy is SN63, the package is a J-lead PMIC, and it is soldered to an alumina ceramic substrate.

The elemental spectrum of the bulk solder joint suggested it contained ~ 3 wt% of gold, which is considered a threshold for gold embrittlement.

The thermal fatigue fracture showed classic characteristics such as grain boundary separation and propagation through the bulk solder joint.

The AuSn4 intermetallic compound is clearly visible in the solder joint microstructure at about 12% by area in the section. This harder phase in the Sn-Pb matrix likely accelerated the thermal fatigue failure.

The analysis results suggest that the thermal fatigue damage was likely due to the combination of (1) CTE mismatch between the J-lead package and the alumina substrate and (2) Au-Sn IMC in the solder joint microstructure at the threshold for gold embrittlement.

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Residues on PCBAs are unfortunately common place. SEM/EDS analysis helps to determine the nature of the residue.

The image above shows residue on the surface of the PCBA, but it is not clear what is the nature of the residue.

EDS analysis shows that the residue is likely tin bromide, suggesting corrosive bromide flux activator was left behind after assembly.

This is a BSE SEM image of some of the residue, which shows dendritic growth. The dendrites suggest that electrochemical migration (ECM) was a factor meaning ionic contamination, electric field, and moisture were likely at play. If the dendrites migrate between normally isolated signals (e.g. PWR & GND) then the circuit fails.

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A client provided two sensor assemblies for failure analysis of capacitor C4 on the internal PCBA.

This is an optical micrograph of the capacitor as mounted on the PCBA.

This is an optical image of an intermediate grinding stage during microsection preparation. A bending fracture was noted under one of the terminations.

This is a BSE SEM image of the capacitor microsection.

The fracture appeared to be due to flexure of the PCBA.

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Ionic contamination, moisture, and electrical bias can combine to create electro-chemical migration (ECM) shorts under an IC device as shown in this example.

This is an optical image showing residue on the bottom surface of the FPGA package.

This is a BSE SEM image of the same corner location. The residue bridges several signals at this corner.

An EDS spectrum of the residue suggest that it contains chlorine and bromine. Part of the bromine signal likely originates from the brominated epoxy molding compound. The chlorine & perhaps some of the bromine is most likely residual solder flux activator.

The analysis results suggest that the most likely cause of failure was external corrosion and ECM due to halide contamination. The corrosion and ECM was likely exacerbated by elevated temperature and humidity conditions.

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A client provided a flex cable sample to SEM Lab, Inc. for SEM/EDS analysis of the crimp contact plating.

EDS of the contact plating revealed that the plating was pure tin, which explains in part the many tin whiskers associated with the crimped region of the flex cable.

The longest whisker in this image is very close to shorting two adjacent signals.

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