Electronics Manufacturing Technical Articles

Metal-based Inkjet Inks for Printed Electronics

Dec 04, 2014 | Alexander Kamyshny, Joachim Steinke, Shlomo Magdassi

A review on applications of metal-based inkjet inks for printed electronics with a particular focus on inks containing metal nanoparticles, complexes and metallo-organic compounds. The review describes the preparation of such inks and obtaining conductive patterns by using various sintering methods: thermal, photonic, microwave, plasma, electrical, and chemically triggered. Various applications of metal-based inkjet inks (metallization of solar cell, RFID antennas, OLEDs, thin film transistors, electroluminescence devices) are reviewed....

Publisher: Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Preparation, Manufacturing Lead-Free Soldering Alloy

Nov 28, 2014 | Tarik Talib Issa, Asmaa Shawky Khalil

A soldering alloy composition Sn40-Bi60 has been manufactured by quenching method to achieve the both cast and wire shape. Differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) was done to study the melting behavior for a large portion of the alloy melts sharply at a approximately 136 C0 ,the melting point of Sn-Bi. X-Ray diffraction and optical microscopy were used to analyzed its microstructure characterization. The hardness of the alloys has been tested and find at a value 2 HRB as ductile form....

Publisher: University of Baghdad

Effects of Packaging Materials on the Lifetime of LED Modules Under High Temperature Test

Nov 18, 2014 | Lei Nie, Wenjing Xiang - Hubei University of Technology, Mingxiang Chen, Huajing Li, Quan Chen - Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Performance degradation of packaging material is an important reason for the lifetime reduction of LED. In order to understanding the failure behavior of packaging material, silicone and phosphor were chosen to fabricate LED samples within which an aging test at 125℃ was performed. The result of online luminance measurement showed that LED samples with both silicone and phosphor had the highest luminance decay rate among all test samples because the carbonization of silicone and the consequent outgassing reduced the luminance quickly. The result of the luminance variance with test time was analyzed and an exponential decay model was developed with which the lifetime of LED under high temperature could be estimated....

Publisher: Hubei University of Technology

Advanced Thermal Management Solutions on PCBs for High Power Applications

Nov 13, 2014 | Gregor Langer, Markus Leitgeb - Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG, Johann Nicolics, Michael Unger - Vienna University of Technology, Hans Hoschopf, Franz P. Wenzl - Joanneum Research Forschungsgesm.b.H.

With increasing power loss of electrical components, thermal performance of an assembled device becomes one of the most important quality factors in electronic packaging. Due to the rapid advances in semiconductor technology, particularly in the regime of high-power components, the temperature dependence of the long-term reliability is a critical parameter and has to be considered with highest possible care during the design phase (...)

The aim of this paper is to give a short overview about standard thermal solutions like thick copper, thermal vias, plugged vias or metal core based PCBs. Furthermore, attention will be turned on the development of copper filled thermal vias in thin board constructions......

Publisher: Tridonic GmbH & Co KG

Effect of Process Variations on Solder Joint Reliability for Nickel-based Surface Finishes

Nov 06, 2014 | Hugh Roberts, Sven Lamprecht, Gustavo Ramos, Christian Sebald

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....

Publisher: Atotech

Solder Joint Reliability Under Realistic Service Conditions

Oct 30, 2014 | P. Borgesen, S. Hamasha, M. Obaidat, V. Raghavan, X. Dai; Department of Systems Science & Industrial Engineering, Binghamton University, M. Meilunas, M. Anselm; Universal Instruments Corporation.

The ultimate life of a microelectronics component is often limited by failure of a solder joint due to crack growth through the laminate under a contact pad (cratering), through the intermetallic bond to the pad, or through the solder itself. Whatever the failure mode proper assessments or even relative comparisons of life in service are not possible based on accelerated testing with fixed amplitudes, or random vibration testing, alone. Effects of thermal cycling enhanced precipitate coarsening on the deformation properties can be accounted for by microstructurally adaptive constitutive relations, but separate effects on the rate of recrystallization lead to a break-down in common damage accumulation laws such as Miner's rule. Isothermal cycling of individual solder joints revealed additional effects of amplitude variations on the deformation properties that cannot currently be accounted for directly.

We propose a practical modification to Miner's rule for solder failure to circumvent this problem. Testing of individual solder pads, eliminating effects of the solder properties, still showed variations in cycling amplitude to systematically reduce subsequent acceleration factors for solder pad cratering. General trends, anticipated consequences and remaining research needs are discussed...

Publisher: Universal Instruments Corporation

5 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a New Cut and Strip Machine

Oct 27, 2014 | Pete Doyon, VP Product Management, Schleuniger, Inc.

A lot of time and effort often goes into finding the right equipment for your facility. Purchasing a new wire cut & strip machine is no different. With so many options, where does one start? Asking these five questions during the decision making process will help ensure you end up with equipment that fits all of your needs. ...

Publisher: Schleuniger, Inc.

Combination of Spray and Soak Improves Cleaning under Bottom Terminations

Oct 23, 2014 | Dr. Mike Bixenman; Kyzen Corporation, Julie Fields; Technical Devices Company, Eric Camden; Foresite.

The functional reliability of electronic circuits determines the overall reliability of the product in which the final products are used. Market forces including more functionality in smaller components, no-clean lead-free solder technologies, competitive forces and automated assembly create process challenges. Cleanliness under the bottom terminations must be maintained in harsh environments. Residues under components can attract moisture and lead to leakage currents and the potential for electrochemical migration (...)

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate innovative spray and soak methods for removing low residue flux residues and thoroughly rinsing under Bottom Termination and Leadless Components...

Publisher: KYZEN Corporation

Oxide Thickness and Solderability Methodology to Determine Long Term Storage of BGAs and QFPs

Oct 16, 2014 | Rama Hegde, senior member of technical staff; Freescale Semiconductor.

Key points are:

*Long-term storage of BGA & QFP products may be required due to:

• Fab and assembly factory transfers
• Product obsolescence requiring customers make lifetime/EOL purchases
• Providing extended service (10+ years) on vehicles
• Other program needs

* Integrity of EOL products in terms of solderability needs to be verified....

Publisher: Freescale Semiconductor Inc

Cleaning Of Assembled PCBs - A Crucial Way of Enhancing Product Reliability and Avoiding Problems in the Field

Oct 09, 2014 | Wilfried Clemens.

Over the last years more and more international newspapers reported in Europe / USA and Japan: "Tunnel train got stuck under the Channel – thousands of people stranded", "Recall of thousands of cars to workshops for control and repair", "Power Failures left households without energy for hours." Very often news like this relate to malfunctions of electric and electronic circuits under adverse conditions or sometimes even in normal operating environment (...)

The presentation will deal with all kinds of aspect of cleaning to ensure the reliability of electronic circuitry in ever changing operation conditions in the most important industrial areas....

Publisher: Kolb Cleaning Technology USA LLC