Technical Library | 2013-03-21 21:24:49.0
This paper explores the behaviour of a copper test vehicle with multiple reflowed solder joints, which has direct relevance to ball grid arrays (BGA) and high density interconnect structures. The paper explores the relative stress conditions on the distributed joints and the sensitivity to ball joint shape... First published in the 2012 IPC APEX EXPO technical conference proceedings
Technical Library | 2024-02-05 17:51:01.0
Objective: Drying = reducing the humidity in PCB before soldering Preventing delamination caused by thermal stress after moisture absorption Methods: Drying in convection and/ or vacuum oven Parameters subject to material type, soldering surface, layer count, time to soldering, layout (copper-plated areas)
Technical Library | 2008-11-13 00:06:32.0
The electronics industry is facing issues with hot spots, solder joint stresses and Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) mismatch between PCB and IC substrate. Flip chip type packages for example have very low CTE compared to traditional PCB material. Thus it is necessary to have low CTE printed circuit boards in order to keep solder joint intact with such low CTE packages. There are currently several materials available in the market to address thermal and CTE challenges but each material has its own advantages and limitations...
Technical Library | 2009-02-13 12:29:39.0
To meet the market demand for a best-in-class, low-cost leadfree alloy for wave, selective and dip soldering
Technical Library | 2013-04-18 16:46:42.0
Conformal coatings are considered a method of providing corrosion protection to electrical assemblies used in high-humidity or harsh environments. They are applied to PCBs for various reasons: to protect from moisture and contamination, to minimize dendritic growth, to provide stress relief, and for insulation resistance. These contribute to more durable handling, enhanced device reliability, and reduced warranty costs. Increased miniaturization of new circuit board designs requires flexible, low stress coating material to protect delicate components and fine-pitch leads. Silicone conformal coatings offer many advantages that address the general trend of ongoing PCBs designs, such as: high flexibility and low modulus to reduce stress on delicate or small components... First published in the 2012 IPC APEX EXPO technical conference proceedings.
Technical Library | 2015-04-30 20:17:03.0
Higher-speed signal transmission is increasingly required on a printed circuit board to handle massive data in electronic systems. So, signal transmission loss of copper wiring on a printed circuit board has been studied. First, total signal loss was divided into dielectric loss and conductor loss quantitatively based on electromagnetic theory. In particular, the scattering loss due to surface roughness of copper foil has been examined in detail. And the usefulness of the copper foil with low surface roughness has been demonstrated.
Technical Library | 2023-02-13 19:23:18.0
Spontaneously forming tin whiskers, which emerge unpredictably from pure tin surfaces, have regained prevalence as a topic within the electronics research community. This has resulted from the ROHS-driven conversion to "lead-free" solderable finish processes. Intrinsic stresses (and/or gradients) in plated films are considered to be a primary driving force behind the growth of tin whiskers. This paper compares the formation of tin whiskers on nanocrystalline and conventional polycrystalline copper deposits. Nanocrystalline copper under-metal deposits were investigated, in terms of their ability to mitigate whisker formation, because of their fine grain size and reduced film stress. Pure tin films were deposited using matte and bright electroplating, electroless plating, and electron beam evaporation. The samples were then subjected to thermal cycling conditions in order to expedite whisker growth. The resultant surface morphologies and whisker formations were evaluated.
Technical Library | 2022-09-25 20:03:37.0
Cracking remains the major reason of failures in multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) used in space electronics. Due to a tight quality control of space-grade components, the probability that as manufactured capacitors have cracks is relatively low, and cracking is often occurs during assembly, handling and the following testing of the systems. Majority of capacitors with cracks are revealed during the integration and testing period, but although extremely rarely, defective parts remain undetected and result in failures during the mission. Manual soldering and rework that are often used during low volume production of circuit boards for space aggravate this situation. Although failures of MLCCs are often attributed to the post-manufacturing stresses, in many cases they are due to a combination of certain deviations in the manufacturing processes that result in hidden defects in the parts and excessive stresses during assembly and use. This report gives an overview of design, manufacturing and testing processes of MLCCs focusing on elements related to cracking problems. The existing and new screening and qualification procedures and techniques are briefly described and assessed by their effectiveness in revealing cracks. The capability of different test methods to simulate stresses resulting in cracking, mechanisms of failures in capacitors with cracks, and possible methods of selecting capacitors the most robust to manual soldering stresses are discussed.
Technical Library | 1999-05-07 08:45:39.0
Fine pitch SMT devices, although certainly not new, present more of an assembly processing challenge than 50 mil pitch devices. In fact it seems that the finer the pitch the more difficult or narrower the process window becomes. Besides the pitch of the leads being less on fine pitch devices narrower pad width on the board is typical. With fine pitch designs the board fabrication process is also stressed in that the strip of mask between the pads is designed narrower, the alignment of the mask to copper becomes more critical
Technical Library | 2009-06-02 23:53:18.0
Today the lead free soldering process is a must in commercial electronics and it is also coming more and more important in automative and industrial electronics sectors in the near future. The most common choices for lead free solders are different Tin-Solder-Copper (SAC) alloys. Processes using SAC solders cause extra stress, because of increased process temperatures, especially to the plastic materials.