Technical Library | 2015-07-27 16:58:29.0
When it comes to the application of conformal coating, curing the coating plays a key role in the circuit assembly and selective conformal coating process. Curing conformal coating occurs after the coating spray/dispense process is complete. The coating is considered “cured” when the conformal coating on the circuit assembly is sufficiently tack-free to be handled. Curing can sometimes be accomplished at room temperature but takes a considerable amount of time to dry. Accelerated conformal coating curing decreases this drying period, the cure process reaches either the tack-free or a fully dried state but not quite having fully cured properties. Accelerated curing techniques include one or a combination of heat, moisture, UV light, and chemical reaction curing. This article focuses primarily on thermal or heat curing.
Technical Library | 2019-03-06 21:26:14.0
Electronic assemblies use a large variety of polymer materials with different mechanical and thermal properties to provide protection in harsh usage environments. However, variability in the mechanical properties such as the coefficient of thermal expansion and elastic modulus effects the material selection process by introducing uncertainty to the long term impacts on the reliability of the electronics. Typically, the main reliability issue is solder joint fatigue which accounts for a large amount of failures in electronic components. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the effect of polymer encapsulations (coatings, pottings and underfills) on the solder joints when predicting reliability.This paper presents the construction and validation of a thermo-mechanical tensile fatigue specimen. The thermal cycling range was matched with potting expansion properties in order to vary the magnitude of tensile stress imposed on solder joints
Technical Library | 2020-08-13 01:12:57.0
The solar industry has driven solutions that result in electronics systems that are required to perform in outside environments for over 25 years. This industry expectation has resulted in solutions to protect the electronics from failure that can result from interaction with moisture, and various chemicals leading to corrosion and shorting of the systems. Potting and encapsulation compounds can impart the very high level of protection from environmental, thermal, chemical, mechanical, and electrical conditions that the solar applications demand.
Technical Library | 2021-09-08 13:57:37.0
While the presence of silver in SAC solder provided excellent temperature cycling durability, the silver in high silver SAC alloy also made the solders susceptible to failures under drop/shock loading. To improve the drop/shock reliability, the silver content in SAC alloys was reduced from three percent, to as low as no silver. Solder dopants, also known as microalloy additions, are elements (typically 0.1% or lower) other than the main constituents of the alloy that have been shown to improve solder performance. Commonly used microalloy additions include nickel (Ni), bismuth (Bi), manganese (Mn), and antimony (Sb).
Technical Library | 2023-11-14 19:24:08.0
In PCB circuit assemblies the trend is moving to more SMD components with finer pitch connections. The majority of the assemblies still have a small amount of through hole (THT) components. Some of them can't withstand high reflow temperatures, while others are there because of their mechanical robustness. In automotive applications these THT components are also present. Many products for cars, including steering units, radio and navigation, and air compressors also use THT technology to connect board-to-board, PCB's to metal shields or housings out of plastic or even aluminium. This is not a simple 2D plain soldering technology, as it requires handling, efficient thermal heating and handling of heavy (up to 10 kg) parts. Soldering technology becomes more 3D where connections have to be made on different levels. For this technology robots using solder wire fail because of the spattering of the flux in the wires and the long cycle time. In wave soldering using pallets the wave height is limited and pin in paste reflow is only a 2D application with space limitations.
Technical Library | 2023-11-14 19:52:11.0
The continuous drive in the Electronics industry to build new and innovative products has caused competitive design companies to develop assemblies with consolidated PCB designs, decreased physical sizes, and increased performance characteristics. As a result of these new designs, manufacturers of electronics are forced to contend with many challenges. One of the most significant challenges being the processing of thru-hole components on high thermal mass PCBs having the potential to exceed 20 layers in thicknesses and have copper mass contents of over 40oz. High thermal mass PCBs, coupled with the use of mixed technologies, decreased component spacing, and the change from Tin Lead Solder to Lead Free Alloys has lead many manufacturing facilities to purchase advanced soldering equipment to process challenging assemblies with a high degree of repeatability.
Technical Library | 2015-12-17 17:24:17.0
Product quality can be improved through proper application of design for test (DFT) strategies. With today's shrinking product sizes and increasing functionality, it is difficult to get good test coverage of loaded printed circuit boards due to the loss of test access. Advances in test techniques, such as boundary scan, help to recover this loss of test coverage. However, many of these test techniques need to be designed into the product to be effective.This paper will discuss how to maximize the benefits of boundary scan test, including specific examples of how designers should select the right component, connect multiple boundary scan components in chains, add test access to the boundary scan TAP ports, etc. A discussion of DFT guidelines for PCB layout designers is also included. Finally, this paper will include a description of some advanced test methods used in in-circuit tests, such as vectorless test and special probing methods, which are implemented to improve test coverage on printed circuit boards with limited test access.
Technical Library | 2018-04-11 22:18:05.0
Millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequency applications are becoming more common. There are applications utilizing PCB technology at 60 GHz, 77 GHz and many other mmWave frequencies. When designing a PCB for mmWave frequency, the properties of the circuit materials need to be considered since they can be critical to the success of the application. Understanding the properties of circuit materials at these frequencies is very important.This paper will give an overview of which circuit material properties are important to mmWave frequency applications using PCBs. There will be data supplied which demonstrates why these properties are essential to the circuit material selection for mmWave applications. Some properties discussed will be dielectric constant (Dk) control, dissipation factor, moisture absorption, thickness control and TCDk (Temperature Coefficient of Dk). Measured comparisons will be shown for insertion loss and Dk versus frequency for different types of circuit materials up to 110 GHz. As part of the test data, the impact on circuit performance due to TCDk and moisture absorption will be shown at mmWave frequencies.
Technical Library | 2023-05-02 18:50:24.0
Surface-mount PCB components are smaller than their lead-based counterparts and provide a radically higher component density. They are available in a variety of shapes and sizes designated by a series of standardized codes curated by the electronics industry. Of these PCB components, the 0201-sized are the smallest, measuring 0.024 x 0.012 in. (0.6 x 0.3 mm) – that's 70% smaller than the previous 0402 level! The 0201 components are designed to improve reliability in space-constrained applications such as portable electronics like smartphones, tablets, robotics and digital cameras, but require delicate handling during the assembly process. Given the miniaturized dimensions of an 0201 package, it is crucial that the mounting process abide by a series of guidelines regarding the design of the PCB mounting pads and solderable metallization, PCB circuit trace width, solder paste selection, package placement and overages, solder paste reflow, solder stencil screening, and final inspection. It's advisable that one review this information when procuring the services of a PCB assembler.
Technical Library | 2014-08-14 17:58:41.0
High reliability applications for high performance computing, military, medical and industrial applications are driving electronics packaging advancements toward increased functionality with decreasing degrees of size, weight and power (SWaP) The substrate technology selected for the electronics package is a key enabling technology towards achieving SWaP. Standard printed circuit boards (PWBs) utilize dielectric materials containing glass cloth, which can limit circuit density and performance, as well as inhibit the ability to achieve reliable assemblies with bare semiconductor die components. Ceramic substrates often used in lieu of PWBs for chip packaging have disadvantages of weight, marginal electrical performance and reliability as compared to organic technologies. Alternative materials including thin, particle-containing organic substrates, liquid crystal polymer (LCP) and microflex enable SWaP, while overcoming the limitations of PWBs and ceramic. This paper will discuss the use of these alternative organic substrate materials to achieve extreme electronics miniaturization with outstanding electrical performance and high reliability. The effect of substrate type on chip-package interaction and resulting reliability will be discussed. Microflex assemblies to achieve extreme miniaturization and atypical form factors driven by implantable and in vivo medical applications are also shown.
