Advanced numerical prototyping methods in modern engineering applications - Optimisation for micro-electronic package reliability

Numerical prototyping methods based on numerical simulations and optimisation technologies are nowadays a key success factor for cost effectively and timely development and manufacturing of competitive products and processes. The typical numerical prototyping procedures are based on a sequence of numerical simulations and/or experiments done in an iterative form in order to achieve (sub-)optimal designs. The `Design Of Experiments¿ are usually selected according to the knowledge and experience of an engineer and/or defined according to certain numerical methods. The current paper describes our research and results of advanced numerical prototyping, specially focused on a novel `Design Of Experiment¿ approach and a novel `Response Surface Modelling¿ approach. These novel approaches are applied to an example in which a micro-electronic package is optimised to minimize the stress levels during processing and manufacturing of this component. It is shown that our novel approach leads to a substantial reduction of numerical experiments to obtain a certain accuracy of the response surface models. As such, the optimisation process is shortened and can be used to faster optimise the performance of products and/or process prior to major physical prototyping and manufacturing investments.