Patent Publication Number: US-2022237059-A1

Title: Solder Joint Damage-Prevention Mode for a Computing Device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED MATTER 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/140,468, filed Jan. 22, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     SUMMARY 
     This document describes techniques and apparatuses including a solder joint damage-prevention mode for a computing device. In general, the computing device may enter the solder joint damage-prevention mode to transfer heat to solder joints and prevent failure mechanisms such as fracture, creep, and/or fatigue. The solder joint damage-prevention mode may rely upon one or more operations, including identifying a state of the computing device in or following which damage to the solder joints has an increased likelihood and, in response, activating a thermal-conditioning system. The thermal-conditioning system may, in general, increase a temperature of the solder joints to improve mechanical robustness of the solder joints. 
     This Summary is provided to introduce simplified concepts of techniques and apparatuses drawn to a solder joint damage-prevention mode, the concepts of which are further described below in the Detailed Description and Drawings. This Summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The details of one or more aspects of techniques and apparatuses including a solder joint damage-prevention mode for a computing device are described in this document with reference to the following drawings. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates example details of a computing device using a solder joint damage-prevention mode. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates example details of a computing device, including operative elements of the computing device that may implement a solder joint damage-prevention mode. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example method that may be performed by a computing device implementing a solder joint damage-prevention mode in accordance with one or more aspects. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     This document describes techniques and apparatuses including a solder joint damage-prevention mode for a computing device. In general, the computing device may enter the solder joint damage-prevention mode to transfer heat to solder joints and prevent failure mechanisms such as fracture, creep, and/or fatigue. The solder joint damage-prevention mode may rely upon one or more operations, including identifying a state of the computing device in or following which damage to the solder joints has an increased likelihood and, in response, activating a thermal-conditioning system. The thermal-conditioning system may, in general, increase a temperature of the solder joints to improve mechanical robustness of the solder joints. 
     The techniques and apparatuses may have utility in a testing environment that includes testing the computing device for solder joint reliability (SJR). The techniques and apparatuses may also have utility across a variety of field-use environments in which damage to the solder joints has an increased likelihood. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates example details  100  of a computing device  102  using a solder joint damage-prevention mode  104 . Although  FIG. 1  illustrates the computing device  102  as a smartphone, the computing device  102  may take a variety of forms, such as a navigation system within a jet aircraft, an instrumentation of a weather balloon, a droppable forest-service probe, a safety system for an automobile, a laptop, and so on. 
     Using the solder joint damage-prevention mode  104 , the computing device  102  may identify a state  106  in or following which damage to solder joints of the computing device  102  has an increased likelihood. For instance, and as part of identifying the state  106 , the computing device  102  determines that the computing device  102  is falling and expects to have an impact  108  with a surface  110  of the ground. Although  FIG. 1  illustrates a type of the state  106  (e.g., a “falling-impact” state) in or following which damage to solder joints of the computing device  102  may be induced, other types of the state  106  are possible (e.g., a “temperature-cycle” state, an “extreme-temperature” state). 
     For example, the impact  108  may damage solder joints  112  of the computing device  102 . The solder joints  112  may be part of a module  114  that includes a printed circuit board (PCB)  116  and an integrated circuit (IC) component  118  having interconnects  120 . During fabrication, surface mount (SMT) techniques may form the solder joints  112  (e.g., fuse materials such as tin (Sn), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and so on), effectuating a coupling (e.g., a mechanical coupling and, in some instances, an electrical coupling) of the IC component  118  (e.g., the interconnects  120 ) to the PCB  116 . 
     Although  FIG. 1  illustrates the IC component  118  with the interconnects  120  as a ball grid array (BGA) package (e.g., a packaged IC die that uses an array of spherical balls for the interconnects  120 ), the IC component  118  with the interconnects  120  may be an IC die including copper pillars and/or studs (e.g., a flip-chip die), a lead-frame chip-scale package (LFCSP), a thin small-outline package (TSOP), and so on. 
     Upon identifying the state  106 , the computing device  102  may activate a thermal-conditioning system  122  to change (e.g., increase) a temperature  124  of the solder joints  112 . The change in the temperature may temporarily change a property of the solder joints  112  (e.g., an elasticity, a ductility) to prevent damage to the solder joints  112  that the impact  108  may induce. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the thermal-conditioning system  122  may include a load resistor that is mounted to the PCB  116 . For example, and as part of activating the thermal-conditioning system  122 , the computing device  102  may route electrical current to the load resistor to generate heat. Further, a layout of the PCB  116  may locate the load resistor on a surface that is opposite to a surface to which the IC component  118  is coupled. In such an instance, the PCB  116  may include one or more vertical interconnect access structures (vias, not illustrated) to conduct heat (e.g., a conduction heat-transfer mechanism) from the thermal-conditioning system  122  (e.g., the load resistor), through the PCB  116 , and to regions of the PCB  116  including the solder joints  112 . 
     Alternatively or additionally, the thermal-conditioning system  122  may include logic circuitry (e.g., a processor, not illustrated) that executes extraneous computations (e.g., execute a looping algorithm of a nonessential application) or increases a clock frequency to generate heat. In such instances, one or more portions of the thermal-conditioning system  122  may be separate from the module  114  and transfer heat to the regions of the PCB  116 , including the solder joints  112 , using a combination of convection, radiation, and/or conduction heat-transfer mechanisms. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates example details  200  of the computing device  102 , including operative elements of the computing device  102  that may implement the solder joint damage-prevention mode  104 . 
     The computing device  102  includes the module  114 . The module  114  may include the IC component  118  having the interconnects  120 , the solder joints  112 , and the PCB  116 . The module  114  may also include one or more elements of the thermal-conditioning system  122  (e.g., a load resistor or other heat-generating device). 
     The computing device  102  also includes one or more environment sensor(s)  202  that can detect a change in an environment surrounding the computing device  102 . Examples of the environment sensor(s)  202  include a thermistor that can detect a change in an ambient temperature, a barometer that can detect a change in an ambient barometric pressure, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver that can detect a change in a position, or an accelerometer that can detect a change in a velocity. 
     The computing device  102  also includes one or more processor(s)  204  and a computer-readable storage medium (CRM)  206 . The processor(s)  204  may include a single-core processor or a multiple-core processor composed of a variety of materials, such as silicon, polysilicon, high-K dielectric, copper, and so on. 
     In the context of this discussion, the CRM  206  of the computing device  102  is a hardware-based storage medium, which does not include transitory signals or carrier waves. As an example, the CRM  206  may include one or more of a read-only memory (ROM), a Flash memory, a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), a NOR memory, a static random-access memory (SRAM), and so on. The CRM  206  includes executable code or instructions of a thermal-conditioning manager application  208  that, when executed by the processor(s)  204  of the computing device  102 , directs the operative elements of the computing device  102  to implement the solder joint damage-prevention mode  104 . 
     Implementing the solder joint damage-prevention mode  104  may include a combination of activities, such as identifying the state  106  that may induce damage to the solder joints  112 , activating the thermal-conditioning system  122  to change the temperature  124  of the solder joints  112  and improve a mechanical robustness of the solder joints  112 , determining an absence of the state  106 , and deactivating the thermal-conditioning system  122 . 
     In some instances, implementing the solder joint damage-prevention mode  104  may include the computing device  102  identifying one or more activities that the computing device  102  needs to delay or offload while the computing device  102  is in the solder joint damage-prevention mode  104 . Examples include delaying or offloading software updates that are not time-sensitive, memory and storage management processes, network communications that back up or receive data, and/or user data processing. 
     Implementing the solder joint damage-prevention mode  104  may also include scheduling operations. As examples, scheduling operations may include scheduling activation of the solder joint damage-prevention mode  104  based on a predicted time (e.g., a time that a jet aircraft is to depart), scheduling the delaying and/or offloading of activities of the computing device  102 , and so on. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an example method  300  that may be performed by a computing device implementing a solder joint damage-prevention mode in accordance with one or more aspects. Operations of the method  300 , described in a series of blocks  302 - 308 , are not limited to the order or sequence as described below and, in general, may encompass various implementations of solder joint damage-prevention mode  104 . Furthermore, the method  300  may use elements of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . 
     At block  302 , a computing device (e.g., the computing device  102 ) may identify a state (e.g., the state  106 ) in or following which damage to solder joints (e.g., the solder joints  112 ) of the computing device has an increased likelihood. In some instances, identifying the state may be in response to a user of the computing device providing an input to the computing device (e.g., the user manually enters the computing device into a solder joint damage-prevention mode through an options menu). In other instances, identifying the state may be in real time and in response to the computing device detecting a change in an environment surrounding the computing device (e.g., the computing device automatically enters into a solder joint damage-prevention mode in response to the environment sensors  202  detecting a change in an ambient temperature surrounding the computing device, a change in an ambient barometric pressure surrounding the computing device, a change in a position of the computing device, or a change in a velocity of the computing device). In yet other instances, identifying the state may include predicting the state at a future time. 
     At block  304 , the computing device may activate a thermal-conditioning system (e.g., the thermal-conditioning system  122 ), effectuating a change in a temperature (e.g., the temperature  124 ) of the solder joints. Changing (e.g., increasing) the temperature of the solder joints may improve a mechanical robustness (e.g., ductility, elasticity) of the solder joints. 
     In some instances (e.g., when the user manually enters the computing device into a solder joint damage-prevention mode), activating the thermal-conditioning system may be in response to detecting a change in an environment surrounding the computing device. In other instances, activating the thermal-conditioning system may include activating the thermal-conditioning system at a predicted time. 
     Activating the thermal-conditioning system may include the computing device routing electrical current to one or more load resistors to generate heat. Alternatively or additionally, activating the thermal-conditioning system may include the computing device executing one or more processing algorithms that increase a clock frequency and/or perform extraneous computations to generate heat. 
     At block  306 , the computing device may identify an absence of the state. In some instances, identifying the absence of the state may be in response to a user of the computing device providing an input to the computing device (e.g., the user manually removes the computing device from a solder joint damage-prevention mode through an options menu). In other instances, identifying the absence of the state may be in real time and in response to the computing device detecting a change in an environment surrounding the computing device (e.g., the computing device automatically exits the solder joint damage-prevention mode in response to the environment sensors  202  detecting a change in an ambient temperature surrounding the computing device, a change in an ambient barometric pressure surrounding the computing device, a change in a position of the computing device, or a change in a velocity of the computing device). 
     At block  308 , the computing device may deactivate the thermal-conditioning system, effectuating another change in the temperature of the solder joints (e.g., a decrease in the temperature of the solder joints). In some instances, deactivating the thermal-conditioning system may be in response to the computing device identifying the absence of the state. 
     The preceding discussion describes techniques and apparatuses related to a solder joint damage-prevention mode for a computing device. These techniques may be realized using one or more of the entities or components shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , which may be further divided, combined, and so on. Thus, these figures illustrate some of the many possible systems or apparatuses capable of employing the described techniques.