Electronic Component Terminal Protrusion Suppresses Solder Wetting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic components face challenges with solder wetting issues during mounting, leading to tombstoning and reduced bonding strength, particularly in high-power automotive applications where large capacity components are required.
Innovation Solution
The electronic component features a conductor with a protrusion on its side surface, extending in the longitudinal direction, which increases the distance solder needs to travel, reducing wetting and enhancing bonding strength by concentrating solder on the ends and center regions with varying thicknesses, thereby suppressing solder wetting and ensuring robust connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the element body has a length in the height direction larger than the length in the width direction to include more internal electrodes, then the capacity increases, but the solder wetting area increases leading to tombstoning
Solution Approach 1:
The conductor is designed with non-uniform thickness, featuring a thinner center portion and thicker end portions. This local variation in geometry creates different solder wetting characteristics across the conductor surface, allowing the center to resist wetting while ends accept solder, thereby preventing tombstoning while maintaining adequate capacity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from considering only the planar dimensions (width and length) to incorporating the height dimension by creating a three-dimensional conductor structure with varying thickness. This dimensional addition allows control over solder flow path length and wetting behavior without changing the footprint area, thus preventing tombstoning while maintaining capacity
2Ease of manufacture
If the conductor has a uniform thickness to simplify manufacturing, then the manufacturing process is easier, but the solder distribution is uneven causing tombstoning
Solution Approach 1:
The conductor is designed with non-uniform thickness, featuring a thinner center portion and thicker end portions. This local variation in geometry creates different solder wetting characteristics across the conductor surface, allowing the center to resist wetting while ends accept solder, thereby preventing tombstoning while maintaining adequate capacity
Solution Approach 2:
The thickness parameter of the conductor is deliberately varied across its length, with the center portion being thinner than the end portions. This parameter change affects the solder wetting behavior, creating a natural gradient that guides solder to the ends while preventing excessive wetting in the center, thus ensuring reliable bonding without tombstoning
Data Source
AI summary
An element body of a rectangular parallelepiped shape has a length in a height direction larger than a length in a width direction and has a length in a longitudinal direction larger than the length in the height direction. A terminal electrode is disposed at an end of the element body in the width direction and extends in the longitudinal direction. The element body includes a pair of principle surfaces opposing each other in the height direction, a pair of end surfaces opposing each other in the longitudinal direction, and a pair of side surfaces opposing each other in the width direction. The terminal electrode includes a conductor disposed on the side surface. The conductor includes a protrusion having a length in the longitudinal direction larger than a length in the height direction.