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 | 2012-10-11 19:50:09.0
First published in the 2012 IPC APEX EXPO technical conference proceedings. This paper shows the benefits by using a pure palladium Layer in the ENEPIG (Electroless Nickel, Electroless Palladium, Immersion Gold) and ENEP (Electroless Nickel, Electroless P
Technical Library | 2014-11-06 16:43:24.0
This paper summarizes the results of recent investigations to examine the effect of electroless nickel process variations with respect to Pb-free (Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu) solder connections. These investigations included both ENIG and NiPd as surface finishes intended for second level interconnects in BGA applications. Process variations that are suspected to weaken solder joint reliability, including treatment time and pH, were used to achieve differences in nickel layer composition. Immersion gold deposits were also varied, but were directly dependent upon the plated nickel characteristics. In contrast to gold, different electroless palladium thicknesses were independently achieved by treatment time adjustments.
Technical Library | 2015-11-25 14:15:12.0
In this study various printed circuit board surface finishes were evaluated, including: organic solderability preservative (OSP), plasma finish (PF), immersion silver (IAg), electroless nickel / immersion silver (ENIS), electroless nickel / immersion gold hi-phosphorus (ENIG Hi-P), and electroless nickel / electroless palladium / immersion gold (ENEPIG). To verify the performance of PF as a post-treatment option, it was added to IAg, ENIG Hi-P, and ENEPIG to compare with non-treated. A total of nine groups of PCB were evaluated. Each group contains 30 boards, with the exception on ENIS where only 8 boards were available.
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 | 2023-01-10 20:03:37.0
Since the IPC-4552 rev A for ENIG was introduced there have been many requests for clarification of acceptable and unacceptable levels of nickel corrosion. This paper attempts to further clarify the effects of nickel corrosion on solder wetting balance test results and the resultant intermetallic formed. The study will attempt to produce level 1, level 2, and level 3 corrosion as denoted by IPC-4552 rev A and tabulate wetting balance results and congruity of intermetallic formed.
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 | 2023-01-10 20:08:36.0
Nickel corrosion in ENIG and ENEPIG is occasionally reported; when encountered at assembly it manifests as soldering failures in ENIG and wire bond lifts in ENEPIG. Although not common, it can be highly disruptive, resulting in missed deliver schedules, supply chain disruption, failure analysis investigations, and liability - all very costly.
Technical Library | 2023-01-10 20:15:42.0
Over the past years there has been consistent growth in the use of electroless nickel / immersion gold (ENIG) as a final finish. The finish is now frequently being used for PBGA, CSP, QFP and COB and more recently gathered considerable interest as a low cost under-bump metallization for flip chip bumping application. One of the largest users for this finish has been the telecommunication industry, were millions of square meters of PCBs with ENIG have been successfully used. The nickel layer offers advantages such as multiple soldering cycles and hand reworks without copper dissolution being a factor. The nickel also acts as a reinforcement to improve through-hole and blind micro via thermal integrity. In addition the nickel layer offers advantages such as co-planarity, Al-wire bondability and the use as contact surface for keypads or contact switching. Especially those pads, which are not covered by solder need a protective coating in corrosive environment – such as high humidity or pollutant gas.