Technical Library | 1999-08-09 11:11:55.0
A great deal of controversy continues to surround the use of Hot Air Solder Leveling (HASL) in the production of printed circuit boards (PCBs). The financial burden, technological limitations and environmental issues surrounding the HASL process continue to grow. This requires an in-depth review by the printed circuit board manufacturing plant, as well as the assembly operation and instrument designers ( OEMs), to determine what alternative surface finishes are appropriate.
Technical Library | 2021-12-29 19:37:20.0
The purpose of this study was to compare the strength of the bond between resin and glass cloth for various composites (laminates) and its dependence on utilized soldering pad surface finishes. Moreover, the impact of surface finish application on the thermomechanical properties of the composites was evaluated. Three different laminates with various thermal endurances were included in the study. Soldering pads were covered with OSP and HASL surface finishes. The strength of the cohesion of the resin upper layer was examined utilizing a newly established method designed for pulling tests.
Technical Library | 2021-07-06 21:13:36.0
The surface finishes commonly used on printed circuit boards (PCBs) have an effect on solder paste performance in the surface mount process. Some surface finishes are non-planar like hot air solder level (HASL) which can lead to inconsistencies in solder paste printing. Other surface finishes are difficult to wet during reflow like organic solderability preservative (OSP). What is the overall effect of surface finish on solder paste performance? Which solder paste is best for each surface finish? It is the goal of this paper to answer these questions.
Technical Library | 2021-10-20 18:21:06.0
The solderability of the SAC305 alloy in contact with printed circuit boards (PCB) having different surface finishes was examined using the wetting balance method. The study was performed at a temperature of 260 _C on three types of PCBs covered with (1) hot air solder leveling (HASL LF), (2) electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG), and (3) organic surface protectant (OSP), organic finish, all on Cu substrates and two types of fluxes (EF2202 and RF800). The results showed that the PCB substrate surface finish has a strong effect on the value of both the wetting time t0 and the contact angle h. The shortest wetting time was noted for the OSP finish (t0 = 0.6 s with EF2202 flux and t0 = 0.98 s with RF800 flux), while the ENIG finish showed the longest wetting time (t0 = 1.36 s with EF2202 flux and t0 = 1.55 s with RF800 flux). The h values calculated from the wetting balance tests were as follows: the lowest h of 45_ was formed on HASL LF (EF2202 flux), the highest h of 63_ was noted on the OSP finish, while on the ENIG finish, it was 58_ (EF2202 flux). After the solderability tests, the interface characterization of cross-sectional samples was performed by means of scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy.
Technical Library | 2023-03-16 18:51:43.0
Conductive anodic filament (CAF) formation was first reported in 1976.1 This electrochemical failure mode of electronic substrates involves the growth of a copper containing filament subsurface along the epoxy-glass interface, from anode to cathode. Despite the projected lifetime reduction due to CAF, field failures were not identified in the 1980s. Recently, however, field failures of critical equipment have been reported.2 A thorough understanding of the nature of CAF is needed in order to prevent this catastrophic failure from affecting electronic assemblies in the future. Such an understanding requires a comprehensive evaluation of the factors that enhance CAF formation. These factors can be grouped into two types: (1) internal variables and (2) external influences. Internal variables include the composition of the circuit board material, and the conductor metallization and configuration (i.e. via to via, via to surface conductor or surface conductors to surface conductors). External influences can be due to (1) production and (2) storage and use. During production, the flux or hot air solder leveling (HASL) fluid choice, number and severity of temperature cycles, and the method of cleaning may influence CAF resistance. During storage and use, the principal concern is moisture uptake resulting from the ambient humidity. This paper will report on the relationship between these various factors and the formation of CAF. Specifically, we will explore the influences of printed wiring board (PWB) substrate choice as well as the influence of the soldering flux and HASL fluid choices. Due to the ever-increasing circuit density of electronic assemblies, CAF field failures are expected to increase unless careful attention is focused on material and processing choices.
Technical Library | 2016-09-22 17:52:59.0
Conformal Coatings are often used to increase the reliability of electronic assemblies operating in harsh or corrosive environments where the product would otherwise fail prematurely. Conformal coatings are often qualified to international standards, intended to enable users to better differentiate between suitable conformal coating chemistries, but always on a flat test coupon, which is not representative of real world use conditions. In order to better correlate international standards with real world-use conditions, three-dimensional Surface Insulation Resistance (SIR) test boards have been manufactured with dummy components representative of those commonly used on printed circuit assemblies...
Technical Library | 2018-05-23 12:12:43.0
Driven by miniaturization, cost reduction and tighter requirements for electrical and thermal performance, the use of lead-frame based bottom-termination components (LF-BTC) as small-outline no-leads (SON), quad-flat no leads (QFN) packages etc., is increasing. However, a major distractor for the use of such packages in high-reliability applications has been the lack of a visible solder (toe) fillet on the edge surface of the pins: because the post-package assembly singulation process typically leaves bare copper leadframe at the singulation edge, which is not protected against oxidation and thus does not easily solder-wet, a solder fillet (toe fillet) does not generally develop.
Technical Library | 2019-10-03 14:27:01.0
Knowing how package warpage changes over temperature is a critical variable in order to assemble reliable surface mount attached technology. Component and component or component and board surfaces must stay relatively flat with one another or surface mount defects, such as head-in-pillow, open joints, bridged joints, stretched joints, etc. may occur. Initial package flatness can be affected by numerous aspects of the component manufacturing and design. However, change in shape over temperature is primarily driven by CTE mismatch between the different materials in the package. Thus material CTE is a critical factor in package design. When analyzing or modeling package warpage, one may assume that the package receives heat evenly on all sides, when in production this may not be the case. Thus, in order to understand how temperature uniformity can affect the warpage of a package, a case study of package warpage versus different heating spreads is performed.Packages used in the case study have larger form factors, so that the effect of non-uniformity can be more readily quantified within each package. Small and thin packages are less prone to issues with package temperature variation, due to the ability for the heat to conduct through the package material and make up for uneven sources of heat. Multiple packages and multiple package form factors are measured for warpage via a shadow moiré technique while being heated and cooled through reflow profiles matching real world production conditions. Heating of the package is adjusted to compare an evenly heated package to one that is heated unevenly and has poor temperature uniformity between package surfaces. The warpage is measured dynamically as the package is heated and cooled. Conclusions are drawn as to how the role of uneven temperature spread affects the package warpage.
Technical Library | 2014-08-19 15:39:13.0
Understanding warpage of package attach locations on PCBs under reflow temperature conditions is critical in surface mount technology. A new industry standard, IPC 9641, addresses this topic directly for the first time as an international standard.This paper begins by summarizing the sections of the IPC 9641 standard, including, measurement equipment selection, test setup and methodology, and accuracy verification. The paper goes further to discuss practical implementation of the IPC 9641 standards. Key advantages and disadvantages between available warpage measurement methods are highlighted. Choosing the correct measurement technique depends on requirements for warpage resolution, data density, measurement volume, and data correlation. From industry experience, best practice recommendations are made on warpage management of PCB land areas, covering how to setup, run, analyze, and report on local area PCB warpage.The release of IPC 9641 shows that flatness over temperature of the package land area on the PCB is critical to the SMT industry. Furthermore, compatibility of shapes between attaching surfaces in SMT, like a package and PCB, will be critical to product yield and quality in years to come.
Technical Library | 2023-08-04 15:38:36.0
The MicroLeadFrame® (MLF®)/Quad Flat No-Lead (QFN) packaging solution is extremely popular in the semiconductor industry. It is used in applications ranging from consumer electronics and communications to those requiring high reliability performance, such as the automotive industry. The wide acceptance of this packaging design is primarily due to its flexible form factors, size, scalability and thermal dissipation capabilities. The adaptation and acceptance of MLF/QFN packages in automotive high reliability applications has led to the development of materials and processes that have extended its capabilities to meet the performance and quality requirements. One of process developments that is enabling the success of the MLF/QFN within the automotive industry has been the innovation of side wettable flanks that provide the capability to inspect the package lead to printed circuit board (PCB) interfaces for reliable solder joints. Traditionally, through-board X-ray was the accepted method for detecting reliable solder joints for leadless packages. However, as PBC layer counts and routing complexities have increased, this method to detect well-formed solder fillets has proven ineffective and incapable of meeting the inspection requirements. To support increased reliability and more accurate inspection of the leadless package solder joints, processes to form side-wettable flanks have been developed. These processes enable the formation of solder fillets that are detectable using state-of-the-art automated optical inspection (AOI) equipment, providing increased throughput for the surface mount technology (SMT) processes and improved quality as well.
The SMTA membership is a network of professionals who build skills, share practical experience and develop solutions in electronic assembly technologies and related business operations.
Training Provider / Events Organizer / Association / Non-Profit
6600 City W Pkwy
Eden Prairie, MN USA
Phone: 952-920-7682
winsouce.jpg)