Technical Library | 2012-10-11 19:50:09.0
First published in the 2012 IPC APEX EXPO technical conference proceedings. This paper shows the benefits by using a pure palladium Layer in the ENEPIG (Electroless Nickel, Electroless Palladium, Immersion Gold) and ENEP (Electroless Nickel, Electroless P
Technical Library | 2013-01-18 02:42:14.0
ENIG (Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold) is to deposit nickel gold plating which has good solderability, wear resistance , leveling appearance and small electric resistance. It included 4 steps that are pretreatment, immersion nickel, immersion gold and Post treatment...
Technical Library | 2015-11-25 14:15:12.0
In this study various printed circuit board surface finishes were evaluated, including: organic solderability preservative (OSP), plasma finish (PF), immersion silver (IAg), electroless nickel / immersion silver (ENIS), electroless nickel / immersion gold hi-phosphorus (ENIG Hi-P), and electroless nickel / electroless palladium / immersion gold (ENEPIG). To verify the performance of PF as a post-treatment option, it was added to IAg, ENIG Hi-P, and ENEPIG to compare with non-treated. A total of nine groups of PCB were evaluated. Each group contains 30 boards, with the exception on ENIS where only 8 boards were available.
Technical Library | 2017-09-07 13:56:11.0
As a surface finish for PCBs, Electroless Nickel/Electroless Palladium/Immersion Gold (ENEPIG) was selected over Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold (ENIG) for CMOS image sensor applications with both surface mount technology (SMT) and gold ball bonding processes in mind based on the research available on-line. Challenges in the wire bonding process on ENEPIG with regards to bondability and other plating related issues are summarized.
Technical Library | 2020-11-15 21:01:24.0
ENIG, electroless nickel immersion gold is now a well-regarded finish used to enhance and preserve the solder-ability of copper circuits. EPIG, electroless palladium immersion gold, is a new surface finish also for enhancing and preserving solder-ability but with the advantage of eliminating Electroless Nickel from the deposit layer. This feature has become increasingly important with the increasing use of high frequeny PWB designs whereby nickel's magnetic properties are detrimental. We examine these two finishes and their respective soldering characteristics as plated and after steam aging and offer an explanation for the performance deviation.
Technical Library | 2014-11-06 16:43:24.0
This paper summarizes the results of recent investigations to examine the effect of electroless nickel process variations with respect to Pb-free (Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu) solder connections. These investigations included both ENIG and NiPd as surface finishes intended for second level interconnects in BGA applications. Process variations that are suspected to weaken solder joint reliability, including treatment time and pH, were used to achieve differences in nickel layer composition. Immersion gold deposits were also varied, but were directly dependent upon the plated nickel characteristics. In contrast to gold, different electroless palladium thicknesses were independently achieved by treatment time adjustments.
Technical Library | 2023-01-06 16:09:03.0
The 4-14 IPC Standards Committee recently created a revision to the IPC4552 specification for Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold (ENIG) finished Printed Circuit Boards (PCB). Revision A brings a more comprehensive evaluation of metal layer thicknesses measurement, composition and introduces, for the first time, a quality aspect for nickel corrosion which has been historically connected to a defect called black line nickel or black pad.
Technical Library | 2020-11-15 21:22:11.0
The latest highest reliability requirements demand a high performance electroless nickel and immersion gold (HP ENIG). The new IPC specification 4552A has refocused the industry with reference to nickel corrosion. The interpretation of the existing specification, that judges corrosion on 3 levels, is complex and if misinterpreted can lead to phantom failures. An obvious way to avoid any potential misinterpretation is to eradicate any evidence of corrosion completely.
Technical Library | 2019-04-17 21:29:14.0
Electroless nickel electroless palladium immersion gold (ENEPIG) surface finish for printed circuit board (PCB) has now become a key surface finish that is used for both tin-lead and lead-free solder assemblies. This paper presents the reliability of land grid array (LGA) component packages with 1156 pads assembled with tin-lead solder onto PCBs with an ENEPIG finish and then subjected to thermal cycling and then isothermal aging.
Technical Library | 2013-01-17 15:37:21.0
A problem exists with electroless nickel / immersion gold (ENIG) surface finish on some pads, on some boards, that causes the solder joint to separate from the nickel surface, causing an open. The solder has wet and dissolved the gold. A weak tin to nickel intermetallic bond initially occurs, but the intermetallic bond cracks and separates when put under stress. Since the electroless nickel / immersion gold finish performs satisfactory in most applications, there had to be some area within the current chemistry process window that was satisfactory. The problem has been described as a 'BGA Black Pad Problem' or by HP as an 'Interfacial Fracture of BGA Packages…'[1]. A 24 variable experiment using three different chemistries was conducted during the ITRI (Interconnect Technology Research Institute) ENIG Project, Round 1, to investigate what process parameters of the chemical matrix were potentially satisfactory to use and which process parameters of the chemical matrix need to be avoided. The ITRI ENIG Project has completed Round 1 of testing and is now in the process of Round 2 TV (Test Vehicle) build.
