Technical Library | 2020-07-29 19:58:48.0
The majority of flexible circuits are made by patterning copper metal that is laminated to a flexible substrate, which is usually polyimide film of varying thickness. An increasingly popular method to meet the need for lower cost circuitry is the use of aluminum on Polyester (Al-PET) substrates. This material is gaining popularity and has found wide use in RFID tags, low cost LED lighting and other single-layer circuits. However, both aluminum and PET have their own constraints and require special processing to make finished circuits. Aluminum is not easy to solder components to at low temperatures and PET cannot withstand high temperatures. Soldering to these materials requires either an additional surface treatment or the use of conductive epoxy to attach components. Surface treatment of aluminum includes the likes of Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold plating (ENIG), which is extensive wet-chemistry and cost-prohibitive for mass adoption. Conductive adhesives, including Anisotropic Conductive Paste (ACP), are another alternate to soldering components. These result in component substrate interfaces that are inferior to conventional solders in terms of performance and reliability. An advanced surface treatment technology will be presented that addresses all these constraints. Once applied on Aluminum surfaces using conventional printing techniques such as screen, stencil, etc., it is cured thermally in a convection oven at low temperatures. This surface treatment is non-conductive. To attach a component, a solder bump on the component or solder printed on the treated pad is needed before placing the component. The Aluminum circuit will pass through a reflow oven, as is commonly done in PCB manufacturing. This allows for the formation of a true metal to metal bond between the solder and the aluminum on the pads. This process paves the way for large scale, low cost manufacturing of Al-PET circuits. We will also discuss details of the process used to make functional aluminum circuits, study the resultant solder-aluminum bond, shear results and SEM/ EDS analysis.
Technical Library | 2021-10-06 17:54:32.0
The corrosion of Nickel-Palladium-Gold (Ni-Pd-Au) finish terminals in humid environments is known to be reduced with the application of a conformal coating such as acrylic. Corrosion has a higher rate of occurrence around the terminal 'knee' of a surface mount component, which may be reduced with the application of conformal coatings. Although radio frequency (RF) plasma processing is generally known to enhance conformity of conformal coating to surfaces through ionic bombardment, the effect on the functionality of assembled printed circuit boards (PCB) is not as well known. The purpose of this study is to assess whether RF plasma processing can enhance the adhesive and coverage qualities of an acrylic conformal coating on PCBs
Technical Library | 2011-09-22 16:30:11.0
The remainder of this paper will deal with the adhesive cure mechanism most often found in the microelectronics industry; the thermal activation and cure of adhesives that are most commonly based on epoxy backbones. The use of heat is already prevalent in the microelectronics industry as most printed circuit board assemblies use some element of this thermal energy (reflow ovens for example) during the component soldering and assembly stage or during their burn-in stage (convection ovens).
Technical Library | 2017-06-01 17:12:08.0
The corrosion of Nickel-Palladium-Gold (Ni-Pd-Au) finish terminals in humid environments is known to be reduced with the application of a conformal coating such as acrylic. Corrosion has a higher rate of occurrence around the terminal ‘knee’ of a surface mount component, which may be reduced with the application of conformal coatings. Although radio frequency (RF) plasma processing is generally known to enhance conformity of conformal coating to surfaces through ionic bombardment, the effect on the functionality of assembled printed circuit boards (PCB) is not as well known. The purpose of this study is to assess whether RF plasma processing can enhance the adhesive and coverage qualities of an acrylic conformal coating on PCBs, specifically on Ni-Pd-Au terminals with a knee, and if plasma processing has an effect on the electrical functionality of components and fully assembled PCB.
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