Performance Assessment of different Machine Learning Algorithm for Life-Time Prediction of Solder Joints based on Synthetic Data

This paper proposes a computationally efficient methodology to predict the damage progression in solder contacts of electronic components using temperature-time curves. For this purpose, two machine learning algorithms, a Multilayer Perceptron and a Long Short-Term Memory network, are trained and compared with respect to their prediction accuracy and the required amount of training data. The training is performed using synthetic, normally distributed data that is realistic for automotive applications. A finite element model of a simple bipolar chip resistor in surface mount technology configuration is used to numerically compute the synthetic data. As a result, both machine learning algorithms show a relevant accuracy for the prediction of accumulated creep strains. With a training data length of 350 hours (12.5% of the available training data), both models show a constantly good fitting performance of R2 of 0.72 for the Multilayer Perceptron and R2 of 0.87 for the Long Short-Term Memory network. The prediction errors of the accumulated creep strains are less than 10% with an amount of 350 hours training data and decreases to less than 5 % when using further data. Therefore, both approaches are promising for the lifetime prediction directly on the electronic device.