In a message dated 4/21/06 17:47:28, [log in to unmask] writes: > Just a quick question. What are you speaking of below when you suggest > eliminating solder fillets on the end caps? Aren't those fillets necessary for > reasons of reliability? > Hi Leland, This is a common misconception--and goes way back to ceramic leadless castellated chip carriers. What the fillets do is pull the component down to the PCB soldering pad because of solder surface tension, thus minimizing the solder joint height. Increased solder joint height reduces the strains experienced by the solder from a given thermal expansion displacement. Thus, in chip components as in leadless chip carriers, the SJ underneath the component fractures relatively early [much earlier for the larger chip carriers]; what the fillets do provide is solder volume through which the crack more or less slowly propagates--but this really is a Band-Aid approach. Much more reliability can be achieved with the proper SJ height; see BGAs and CGAs neither of which has solder fillets. Reducing the PCB pad size allows the chip component to swim up on the liquid solder [now surface tension works to your benefit]—better yet is gluing the components down and let the high CTE of the adhesive lift the components away from the PCB during the soldering process thus increasing the SJ height, and thus increasing fatigue reliability. Regards, Werner Engelmaier Engelmaier Associates, L.C. Electronic Packaging, Interconnection and Reliability Consulting 7 Jasmine Run Ormond Beach, FL 32174 USA Phone: 386-437-8747, Fax: 386-437-8737, Cell: 386-316-5904 E-mail: [log in to unmask], Website: www.engelmaier.com