Dielectric Material Damage Vs. Conductive Anodic Filament Formation

It should be noted that this is an overview paper that represents the early stages of an ongoing investigation into the causes and effects between conductive anodic filament (CAF) formation and printed wiring board (PWB) material damage. Our belief is that certain or specific types of material damage can increase the propensity for CAF formation. The preliminary data collected suggests is that there is no statistical correlation between the general definition of material damage (cohesive failure) and CAF. The resulting dichotomy is that we find no CAF failures in some coupons that have obvious material damage and we find CAF failures in coupons that don't exhibit material damage....