Sep 17, 2012 
Nihon Superior, a supplier of advanced soldering materials to the global market, has announced details of its participation in the Technical Program of SMTAI 2012, which is being held in the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, Orlando, FL, from October 14-18, 2012.
Senior Technical Advisor Keith Sweatman will be presenting a paper co-authored with Nihon Superior’s R&D Manager Takashi Nozu and President Tetsuro Nishimura, “Optimizing Solder Paste for Void Minimization with Vacuum Reflow”, which will report a study on the factors in solder paste formulations that affect the incidence of voids in solder joints that can impair the performance of high power semiconductors by interfering with heat transfer. Of particular interest is the interaction of the solder paste with the new process of vacuum reflow that can reduce the incidence of voiding to levels not previously achievable.
Keith Sweatman and Nihon Superior USA’s Keith Howell also are amongst the 18 authors of Part III of a paper reporting the results of the thermal fatigue testing of solder alloys that have been introduced to offer a lower cost alternative to the high-silver “SAC” alloys or to provide better resistance to drop impact. This testing has been undertaken as part of the iNEMI Pb-Free Alloy Characterization Project. Part III “Thermal Fatigue Results for Low Ag Alloys” includes results for Nihon Superior silver-free alloy SN100C,
Keith Sweatman also will be co-chairing with Celestica’s Jeff Kennedy the session on backward compatibility which includes several interesting papers on the consequences of using tin-lead solders for the assembly of BGA with lead-free solder balls.
The paper, “Optimizing Solder Paste for Void Minimization with Vacuum Reflow” will be presented in Session SMT7, 4-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17 in the Asia 2 meeting room.
The paper “iNEMI Pb-Free Alloy Characterization Project Report: Part III - Thermal Fatigue Results for Low Ag Alloys” will be presented in Session LF1, 8-10 a.m. on Thursday, October 18 in the Australia 3 meeting room.
Session SMT6, “BGA Backwards Compatibility? - The Mixed Metal Dilemma” will be presented from 2-3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17 in the Asia 2 meeting room.
Nihon Superior was founded in 1966 when it began marketing unique flux products imported from the US. The company made its mark on society by gathering the most advanced soldering and brazing technologies and products from around the world, and supplying them to companies in the metal-joining industry. A turning point for the company came when it started developing its own soldering materials and with the success of its unique SN100C lead-free solder alloy Nihon Superior has become a major player in the global market. To support the growing demand for its products, Nihon Superior has established manufacturing and sales centers in Japan, China and other Asian countries, and the United States, and formed business partnerships with companies in other markets.
