ABSTRACT
In the two previous chapters, we considered two important influences on reliability, namely, mechanical and electrical factors. A third and, to some extent, less considered influence is chemical and electrochemical factors, which may be divided into two broad categories: electrochemical attacks and migration. Migration, in turn, may be divided into three areas: whiskers, dendritic growth, and diffusion. Although metallic migration has been known for decades, it has received more attention recently as the industry is moving toward lead-free soldering.
