Electronics Manufacturing Technical Articles

Electronics Manufacturing Technical Articles

Papers and articles related to SMT, PCB & EMS industry.

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1757 SMT / PCB Assembly Related Technical Articles

Solving the ENIG Black Pad Problem: An ITRI Report on Round 2

Jan 17, 2013 | F.D.Bruce Houghton

A problem exists with electroless nickel / immersion gold (ENIG) surface finish on some pads, on some boards, that causes the solder joint to separate from the nickel surface, causing an open. The solder has wet and dissolved the gold. A weak tin to nickel intermetallic bond initially occurs, but the intermetallic bond cracks and separates when put under stress. Since the electroless nickel / immersion gold finish performs satisfactory in most applications, there had to be some area within the current chemistry process window that was satisfactory. The problem has been described as a 'BGA Black Pad Problem' or by HP as an 'Interfacial Fracture of BGA Packages…'[1]. A 24 variable experiment using three different chemistries was conducted during the ITRI (Interconnect Technology Research Institute) ENIG Project, Round 1, to investigate what process parameters of the chemical matrix were potentially satisfactory to use and which process parameters of the chemical matrix need to be avoided. The ITRI ENIG Project has completed Round 1 of testing and is now in the process of Round 2 TV (Test Vehicle) build....

Publisher: Celestica Corporation

Celestica Corporation

A multinational electronics manufacturing services (EMS) company.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Manufacturer, Standards Setting / Certification, Training Provider

Identification and Prevention of "Black Pad"

Jan 17, 2013 | Kong Hui Lee

The use of an electroless nickel, immersion gold (ENIG) surface finish comes with the inherent potential risk of Black Pad failures that can cause fracture embrittlement at the interface between the solder and the metal pad. As yet, there is no conclusive agreed solution to effectively eliminate Black Pad failures. The case studies presented are intended to add to the understanding of the Black Pad failure mechanism and to identify both the plating and the subsequent assembly processes and conditions that can help to prevent the likelihood of Black Pad occurring....

Publisher: Jabil Circuit, Inc.

Jabil Circuit, Inc.

An electronic product solutions company providing comprehensive electronics design, manufacturing and product management services.

St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

Consultant / Service Provider

Electroformed vs. Laser-cut: A Stencil Performance Study

Jan 11, 2013 | By Michael R. Burgess and William E. Coleman, Ph.D., Photo Stencil

There have been claims in the industry that laser-cut electroformed nickel foil blanks provide stencil print performance comparable to electroformed stencils. A study was established to measure the quantitative differences in performance between the two during an independent lab study....

Publisher: Photo Stencil LLC

Photo Stencil LLC

Photo Stencil provides high-performance stencils, squeegee blades, thick film and metal mask screens and tooling for the surface mount technology (SMT) assembly, solar, and semiconductor industries.

Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

Manufacturer

The Application of Spherical Bend Testing to Predict Safe Working Manufacturing Process Strains

Jan 09, 2013 | John McMahon P.Eng, Brian Gray P.Eng,

The increased temperatures associated with lead free processes have produced significant challenges for PWB laminates. Newly developed laminates have different curing processes, are commonly filled with ceramic particles or micro-clays and can have higher Tg values. These changes designed to reduce Z-axis expansion and improve the materials resistance to thermal excursions through primary attach and rework operations have also produced harder resin systems with reduced fracture toughness....

Publisher: Celestica Corporation

Celestica Corporation

A multinational electronics manufacturing services (EMS) company.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Manufacturer, Standards Setting / Certification, Training Provider

The Conditions and Solutions of Lead-free Hand Soldering

Jan 05, 2013 | Huang Xin

More and more countries legislate to forbib lead usage in solder material. However, the lead-free solder wire has higher melting point and soldering temperature, increase soldering iron temperature may damage the PCB or components. How to solve this problem?...

Publisher: Leisto Industrial Co., Limited

Leisto Industrial Co., Limited

Manufacturer and supplier of replacement soldering tips for soldering irons and soldering robots, automatic tape dispenser, automatic label dispenser, screw feeder, etc.

Shenzhen, China

Manufacturer, Manufacturer's Representative

Investigation of Pad Cratering in Large Flip-Chip BGA using Acoustic Emission

Jan 03, 2013 | Anurag Bansal, Cherif Guirguis, Kuo-Chuan Liu

Electronics assemblies with large flip-chip BGA packages can be prone to either pad cratering or brittle intermetallic (IMC) failures under excessive PCB bending. Pad cratering cracks are not detected by electrical testing or non-destructive inspection methods, yet they pose a long term reliability risk since the cracks may propagate under subsequent loads to cause electrical failure. Since the initiation of pad cratering does not result in an instantaneous electrical signature, detecting the onset of this failure has been challenging. An acoustic emission methodology was recently developed by the authors to detect the onset of pad cratering. The instantaneous release of elastic energy associated with the initiation of an internal crack, i.e., Acoustic Emission (AE), can be monitored to accurately determine the onset of both pad cratering and brittle intermetallic (IMC) failures....

Publisher: Cisco Systems, Inc.

Cisco Systems, Inc.

Cisco designs, manufactures, and sells Internet protocol (IP)-based networking and other products related to the communications and IT industry and provide services associated with these products.

San Jose, CA, USA

Manufacturer's Representative

Advances in Conductive Inks across Multiple Applications and Deposition Platforms

Dec 27, 2012 | Scott E. Gordon, Jay R. Dorfman, Daniel Kirk, Kerry Adams

Printed Electronics is generally defined as the patterning of electronic materials, in solution form, onto flexible substrates, omitting any use of the photolithography, etching, and plating steps commonly found within the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) industry. The origins of printed electronics go back to the 1960s, and close variants of several original applications and market segments remain active today. Through the 1980s and 1990s Printed Electronic applications based on Membrane Touch Switch and Electroluminescent lighting technologies became common, and the screen printed electronic materials used then have formed the building blocks for many of the current and emerging technologies and applications... First published in the 2012 IPC APEX EXPO technical conference proceedings....

Publisher: DuPont

DuPont

World's most dynamic science company, creating sustainable solutions for a better, safer and healthier life.

Wilmington, Delaware, USA

Manufacturer

Types of flexible printed circuit board

Dec 26, 2012 | Grace Yang

①Single side The basic flexible printed circuit board is used of substrate of single side pcb materials and coated coverlay after finishing printed. ②Double sided That is made of substrates of double sided printed circuit board with double surface coated coverlays after finishing printed. ③Single copper foil with double coverlays Single copper foil coated different coverlays with double surface after finishing printed. ④Air gap Laminating two single printed circuit board together with no glue and bare design to meet high flexibility requirements. ⑤Multilayer That is designed for three and above circuit layers by laminating single side printed circuit board or double sided printed circuit board. ⑥COF IC chips and electronic components are installed on the flexible circuit board directly. ⑦Rigid-Flexible PCB Combined to rigid PCB with supporting and flexible PCB with high flexibility. ...

Publisher: Everest PCB equipment Co.,Ltd

Everest PCB equipment Co.,Ltd

EVEREST is a manufacturer of PCB equipment in China.We are focus on providing the best products and services for our clients. After making efforts for several years, we are in the lead leve

Beijing, China

Manufacturer

Principles of Analog In-Circuit Testing

Dec 26, 2012 | Anthony J. Suto, Teradyne

Passive components including resistors, capacitors, inductors, and circuit-protection devices compose the highest percentage of all devices that are populated on today’s PCB assemblies. However, the successful isolation and testing of these components during ICT is perhaps the most challenging and the least understood of all modern-day validation practices....

Publisher: Teradyne

Teradyne

Teradyne is a leading supplier of Automatic Test Equipment used to test semiconductors, wireless products, data storage and complex electronic systems which serve consumer, communications, industrial and government customers.

North Reading, Massachusetts, USA

Consultant / Service Provider, Manufacturer

Advantages of Bismuth-based Alloys for Low Temperature Pb-Free Soldering and Rework

Dec 20, 2012 | Brook Sandy, Edward Briggs and Ronald Lasky, Ph.D.

The increased function of personal electronic devices, such as mobile phones and personal music devices, has driven the need for smaller and smaller active and passive components. This trend toward miniaturization, occurring at the same time as the conversion to RoHS-compliant lead-free assembly, has been a considerable challenge to the electronics assembly industry. The main reason for this is the higher reflow process temperatures required for Pb-free assembly. These higher temperatures can thermally damage the PCB and the components. In addition, the higher reflow temperatures can negatively affect the solder joint quality, especially when coupled with the smaller paste deposits required for these smaller components. If additional thermal processing is required, the risk increases even more. First Published at SMTA's International Conference on Soldering and Reliability in Toronto, May 2011...

Publisher: Indium Corporation

Indium Corporation

Solder pastes, solder preforms, solder spheres, soldering fluxes, electrically-conductive adhesives. All alloys: tin-lead, lead-free, indium alloys, and more.

Utica, New York, USA

Manufacturer

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