Reliability Physics Approach for High-Density Ball Grid Arrays in Autonomous Vehicle Applications

Integration of advanced sensing systems in autonomous vehicles is possible due to high performance processors that utilize high-density ball grid array (HD-BGA) packaging. The configuration of advanced sensors within autonomous vehicles requires the placement of processing modules within non-conventional vehicles compartments that can drastically influence the reliability of HD-BGAs. Durability of HD-BGAs to different loads depend on their location within the vehicle as well as the form factor of the package itself. Reliability Physics Approach (RPA) combines simulation tools and empirical models to predict the reliability of advanced electronic packages under complex environmental and operational loads by identifying the susceptibility of electronic components to the dominant failure mechanism. In this paper, the reliability of an electronic module will be investigated under various vibration loads at different vehicle compartments and the influence of mounting configuration of electronic module to housing under thermal loads. In addition, the BGA form factor will be investigated to demonstrate the implementation of RPA early in the design process to develop such mitigation techniques as underfill selection to improve the reliability of HD-BGAs in autonomous vehicle applications.