Technical Library | 2020-11-09 16:59:53.0
A customer contacted ACI Technologies regarding a high failure rate of their assemblies. They provided assemblies to be X-rayed and inspected for the purpose of identifying any process related issues such as (but not limited to) solder and assembly workmanship and evidence of damage due to moisture related problems during reflow (a.k.a. "popcorning"). Moisture damage usually appears as physical damage to the component. The first indication of moisture damage would be externally observable changes to the package in the form of bulging or fractures to the outer surface of the component, an example of which is shown in Figure 1. Internally observable indicators of moisture damage typically include fractures to the die inside the package and lifted or fractured wire bonds. These conditions would be apparent during transmissive X-ray inspection. Another symptom of moisture related damage would be inconsistent solder joint sizes that result from package deformation during the liquidus phase of the reflow process. None of these indicators of moisture related damage were present on the customer samples.
Technical Library | 2009-04-09 20:43:09.0
Evidence has come to light that increased solder process temperatures, specifically for lead free solder, are dramatically shortening life expectancy of components; failures do not show up during initial test, but much later on in the products life,
Technical Library | 2021-09-15 18:44:20.0
Analyzing failures is a critical process in determining the physical root causes of problems. The process is complex, draws upon many different technical disciplines, and uses a variety of observation, inspection, and laboratory techniques. One of the key factors in properly performing a failure analysis is keeping an open mind while examining and analyzing the evidence to foster a clear, unbiased perspective of the failure.
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 | 2017-09-13 00:20:21.0
The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between energy-resource depletion, climate change, health resources and the Environmental Kuznets Curve(EKC) under the financial constraint environment in the panel of selected developed countries, over the period of 2000–2013.
Technical Library | 2010-07-08 19:56:15.0
As technology becomes increasingly reliant on electronics, understanding the reliability of lead-free solder also becomes increasingly important. This research project focused on phase transformation kinetics with the lead-free solder SAC 305. Today in the electronics industry, SAC 305 is the most widely used solder, making it a high priority to understand its long-term stability and performance in a variety of service conditions. Recent evidence has shifted the focus from thermal aging to reflow temperature and time above liquidus values during initial solder melting.
Technical Library | 2007-08-09 12:23:10.0
Recent developments in No Flow-Fluxing Underfill (NFFUF) products have demonstrated their utility to enhance the reliability of flip chip assemblies with reduced processing steps over conventional capillary flow methods. This basic work considered processing conditions such as dispensed volume and placement force, speed and dwell time. Further evaluations of these new products on a variety of flip chip assembly configurations manufactured by various processes have been undertaken to provide further evidence of their suitability and potential in high volume electronic manufacturing. This paper summarizes the recent evaluations and discusses new studies of additional assembly configurations, which include higher input/output (l/O) counts up to full arrays in excess of 1200 l/Os.
Technical Library | 2011-09-26 13:53:30.0
On September 14, 2010, the late Shannon Wren, owner of VisionTech Components ("VisionTech"), and Stephanie McCloskey, VisionTech's Administrative Manager, were arrested during the execution of search and seizure warrants issued against the pair by the United States government after evidence connected them to the sale of counterfeit parts to the U.S. Navy, defense contractors and others. A ten-count indictment charged McCloskey with conspiracy, aiding and abetting in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Sections 371 and 2; trafficking in counterfeit goods, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 2320; and mail fraud, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1341. McCloskey pled guilty to conspiracy and aiding and abetting for her role in the scheme.
Technical Library | 2020-01-02 12:16:02.0
A customer contacted the Helpline with the concern that parts being used in their assembly may possibly be counterfeit components. The counterfeiting of electronics components is a world-wide problem, and the threat today is even more evident than ever before. Any company, large or small, that manufactures assemblies using electronics components is equally susceptible to using counterfeit devices in their assemblies. In most cases, counterfeit components aren't discovered until after the component has already been placed on a printed circuit board (PCB), usually during first article electrical test. At this point, the only recourse is to debug the circuit to determine the faulty component and rework each PCB already in production to replace the faulty component. As one might easily surmise, this is a rather costly process; world-wide, counterfeit components account for over $15B loss in sales annually!
Technical Library | 2023-05-22 17:46:29.0
Over the past several years, much research has been performed and published on the benefits of stencil nano-coatings and solvent under wipes. The process improvements are evident and well-documented in terms of higher print and end-of-line yields, in improved print volume repeatability, in extended under wipe intervals, and in photographs of the stencil's PCB-seating surface under both white and UV light. But quantifying the benefits using automated Solder Paste Inspection (SPI) methods has been elusive at best. SPI results using these process enhancements typically reveal slightly lower paste transfer efficiencies and less variation in print volumes to indicate crisper print definition. However, the improvements in volume data do not fully account for the overall improvements noted elsewhere in both research and in production.
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