Dye-n-Pry, also called Dye And Pry, Dye and Pull, Dye Staining, or Dye Penetrant, is a destructive analysis technique used on surface mount technology (SMT) components to either perform

failure analysis Failure analysis is the process of collecting and analyzing data to determine the cause of a failure, often with the goal of determining corrective actions or liability. According to Bloch and Geitner, ”machinery failures reveal a reaction chain o ...

or inspect for

solder Solder (; NA: ) is a fusible metal alloy used to create a permanent bond between metal workpieces. Solder is melted in order to wet the parts of the joint, where it adheres to and connects the pieces after cooling. Metals or alloys suitable ...

joint integrity. It is an application of

dye penetrant inspection Dye penetrant inspection (DP), also called liquid penetrate inspection (LPI) or penetrant testing (PT), is a widely applied and low-cost inspection method used to check surface-breaking defects in all non-porous materials (metals, plastics, or cera ...

Method

Dye-n-Pry is a useful technique in which a

dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...

penetrant material is used to inspect for interconnect failures in integrated circuits (IC). This is mostly commonly done on solder joints for ball grid array (BGA) components, although in some cases it can be done with other components or samples. The component of interest is submerged in a dye material, such as red steel dye, and placed under vacuum. This allows the dye to flow underneath the component and into any cracks or defects. The dye is then dried in an oven (preferably overnight) to prevent smearing during separation, which could lead to false results. The part of interest is mechanically separated from the

printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in Electrical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a L ...

(PCB) and inspected for the presence of dye. Any fracture surface or interface will have dye present, indicating the presence of cracks or open circuits. IPC-TM-650 Method 2.4.53 specifies a process for dye-n-pry.

Use in failure analysis of electronics

Dye-n-Pry is a useful failure analysis technique to detect cracking or open circuits in BGA solder joints. This has some practical advantages over other destructive techniques, such as cross sectioning, as it can inspect a full ball grid array which may consist of hundreds of solder joints. Cross sectioning, on the other hand, may only be able to inspect a single row of solder joints and requires a better initial idea of the failure site. Dye-n-pry can be useful for detecting several different failure modes. This includes

pad cratering Pad cratering is a mechanically induced fracture in the resin between copper foil and outermost layer of fiberglass of a printed circuit board (PCB). It may be within the resin or at the resin to fiberglass interface. The pad remains connected to ...

or solder joint fracture from mechanical drop/shock,

thermal shock Thermal shock is a type of rapidly transient mechanical load. By definition, it is a mechanical load caused by a rapid change of temperature of a certain point. It can be also extended to the case of a thermal gradient, which makes different par ...

, or

thermal cycling Thermal analysis is a branch of materials science where the properties of materials are studied as they change with temperature. Several methods are commonly used – these are distinguished from one another by the property which is measured: * ...

. This makes it useful technique to incorporate into a reliability test plan as part of the post test failure inspection. It is also a useful method to inspect or diagnose failures due to manufacturing defects or design flaws. This includes defects such as black pad for PCBs with ENIG surface finishes or early failures due to excessive board flexure from depaneling or In-circuit test (ICT).

References

{{Reflist Chip carriers Digital electronics Electronic design Electronics manufacturing Engineering failures Integrated circuits Mechanical tests Nondestructive testing Product testing Reliability engineering Semiconductor analysis Semiconductor devices

Method

Use in failure analysis of electronics

See also

References