Technical Library | 2023-09-07 14:38:31.0
A repeat customer specializing in high-technology interconnect, sensor, and antenna solutions, partnered with us to dispense small volumes of solder paste (Indium 10.1 SAC305 T6SG 78%m) onto backplane connectors – gold pads 0.175mm x 0.225mm. We performed a test requiring 0.200mm diameter or smaller dots to demonstrate the dispensing capability required.
Technical Library | 1999-05-07 11:28:39.0
There are many things that can go wrong when soldering to gold plate over nickel surfaces. First of all, we know that gold and solder are not good friends, as any time solder comes into contact with gold, something seems to go wrong. Either the solder bonds to the gold and eventually pulls off as the tin and gold cross-migrate, leaving voids; or the solder completely removes the gold and is expected to bond to the metal which was under the gold.
Technical Library | 2014-08-07 15:13:44.0
Gold embrittlement in SnPb solder is a well-known failure mechanism in electronic assembly. To avoid this issue, prior studies have indicated a maximum gold content of three weight percent. This study attempts to provide similar guidance for Pb-free (SAC305) solder. Standard surface mount devices were assembled with SnPb and SAC305 solder onto printed boards with various thicknesses of gold plating. The gold plating included electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) and electrolytic gold of 15, 25, 35, and 50 microinches over nickel. These gold thicknesses resulted in weight percentages between 0.4 to 7.0 weight percent.
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 | 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 | 2024-06-19 13:59:50.0
The solderability of a nickel-palladium-gold (Ni-Pd-Au) finish on a Cu substrate was evaluated for the Pb-free solder, 95.5Sn-3.9Ag-0.6 Cu (wt.%, abbreviated Sn-Ag-Cu) and the eutectic 63Sn-37 Pb (Sn-Pb) alloy. The solder temperature was 245ºC. The flux was a rosin-based mildly activated (RMA) solution. The Ni-Pd-Au finish was tested in the as-fabricated condition as well as after exposure to one of the following accelerated storage (shelf life) regiments:
Technical Library | 2020-08-05 18:49:32.0
The evolution of internet-enabled mobile devices has driven innovation in the manufacturing and design of technology capable of high-frequency electronic signal transfer. Among the primary factors affecting the integrity of high-frequency signals is the surface finish applied on PCB copper pads – a need commonly met through the electroless nickel immersion gold process, ENIG. However, there are well-documented limitations of ENIG due to the presence of nickel, the properties of which result in an overall reduced performance in high-frequency data transfer rate for ENIG-applied electronics, compared to bare copper. An innovation over traditional ENIG is a nickel-less approach involving a special nano-engineered barrier designed to coat copper contacts, finished with an outermost gold layer. In this paper, assemblies involving this nickel-less novel surface finish have been subjected to extended thermal exposure, then intermetallics analyses, contact/sheet resistance comparison after every reflow cycle (up to 6 reflow cycles) to assess the prevention of copper atoms diffusion into gold layer, solder ball pull and shear tests to evaluate the aging and long-term reliability of solder joints, and insertion loss testing to gauge whether this surface finish can be used for high-frequency, high density interconnect (HDI) applications.
Technical Library | 2022-03-02 21:26:51.0
The solderability of a nickel-palladium-gold (Ni-Pd-Au) finish on a Cu substrate was evaluated for the Pb-free solder, 95.5Sn-3.9Ag-0.6 Cu (wt.%, abbreviated Sn-Ag-Cu) and the eutectic 63Sn-37 Pb (Sn-Pb) alloy. The solder temperature was 245ºC. The flux was a rosin-based mildly activated (RMA) solution. The Ni-Pd-Au finish was tested in the as-fabricated condition as well as after exposure to one of the following accelerated storage (shelf life) regiments: (1) 33.6, 67.2, or 336 hours in the Battelle Class 2 flowing gas environment or (2) 5, 16, or 24 hours of steam aging (88ºC, 90%RH).
Technical Library | 2015-09-23 22:08:32.0
A molded interconnect device (MID) is an injection molded thermoplastic substrate which incorporates a conductive circuit pattern and integrates both mechanical and electrical functions. (...) Flip chip bonding of bare die on MID can be employed to fully utilize MID’s advantage in device miniaturization. Compared to the traditional soldering process, thermo-compression bonding with gold stud bumps provides a clear advantage in its fine pitch capability. However, challenges also exist. Few studies have been made on thermocompression bonding on MID substrate, accordingly little information is available on process optimization, material compatibility and bonding reliability. Unlike solder reflow, there is no solder involved and no “self-alignment,” therefore the thermo-compression bonding process is significantly more dependent on the capability of the machine for chip assembly alignment.
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.
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