Strap device clamping soldered wires for use in solar cell arrays

Abstract

A strap device clamps soldered wires to a conductive pad to reduce stress on the solder joints and to prevent the wire from springing off of the conductive pad if the solder joint should fail. This is accomplished by forming a conductive strap on a die into a yoke shape. The ends of the strap are then welded to a conductive pad so that the strap's yoke shape defines an opening between the strap and the conductive pad. A wire is inserted into the opening and soldered to form a solder joint between the wire, the strap, and the conductive pad. The strap reduces the stress on the solder joint by increasing its surface area and by clamping the wire to the conductive pad during the high temperature portion of a thermal cycle. If the solder joint should fail, the conductive strap maintains a electro-mechanical connection between the wire and the conductive pad.