Electronics Manufacturing Technical Articles

Screening for Counterfeit Electronic Components

Mar 11, 2010 | Stephen Schoppe, Glenn Robertson - SMTAI Proceedings

Counterfeit products have been a growing problem worldwide, and the electronics industry has been no exception. Authentication of electronic components by electrical and physical testing can provide a cost-effective means of risk management, aimed at keeping counterfeits out of the supply chain. In this presentation, we will review sources of counterfeit components, and discuss the capabilities and limitations of test processes used for authentication. We will then present examples of component authentication using these tools....

Publisher: Process Sciences, Inc.

Aiming for High First-pass Yields in a Lead-free Environment

Mar 04, 2010 | Mario Scalzo Senior Technical Support Engineer CSMTPE, Six Sigma Black Belt, Indium

While the electronics manufacturing industry has been occupied with the challenge of RoHS compliance and with it, Pb-free soldering, established trends of increasing functionality and miniaturization have continued. The increasing use of ultra-fine pitch and area-array devices presents challenges in both printing and flux technology. With the decrease in both the size and the pitch of said components, new problems may arise, such as head-in-pillow and graping defects...

Publisher: Indium Corporation

Building Differentiated Products Through Shorter, More Predictable Design Cycles.

Feb 25, 2010 | Cadence

This paper will focus on two challenges: building differentiated products, which can enable systems companies to quickly penetrate a market, take a leadership position, and effectively counter or displace any competition; and build them faster. Clear differentiation also allows a superior value proposition, which will enable a stronger position on pricing with less need to circum to eroding ASPs. Differentiation can involve many factors, but this paper will focus on those related to the technology impact/usage that directly enables the design of products with shorter, more predictable design cycles compared to the competition....

Publisher: Cadence Design Systems, Inc.

Reworking QFN's Newly Developed Cost Effective Approach

Feb 18, 2010 | Best Inc

This paper describes a new rework process for leadless devices where the devices can be manually placed without relying on capital equipment....

Publisher: BEST Inc.

Developing An Effective, Fast-Curing, Environmentally Sound Conformal Coating

Feb 10, 2010 | Phil Kinner; HumiSeal Europe

The electronics industry has recently undertaken the transition to lead-free processing as a direct consequence of the RoHS directive, which came into force in July 2006. However, this is unlikely to be the last transition required since the European Solvent Emissions Directive, 1999 is starting to be implemented and enforced by national governments. This is resulting in pressure on larger manufacturers, currently emitting more than 5 tonnes of solvent vapour per annum to take steps to limit and reduce their emissions....

Publisher: Chase Electronic Coatings

Optimizing the Clean-Tech Manufacturing Mix

Feb 03, 2010 | OCM Manufacturing

This paper will consider the unique characteristics of the renewable energy and clean-tech sectors and explore how a smartly optimized electronics manufacturing outsourcing model can help OEMs accelerate their timeto- market and support their cost-per-kilowatt reduction goals....

Publisher: OCM Manufacturing

The Universal PCB Design Grid System

Jan 27, 2010 | Valor Computerized Systems

This paper reviews one of the single most important, but sometimes overlooked or taken for granted, aspects of the electronics industry – The PCB Design Grid System...

Publisher: Valor Computerised Systems Ltd

Trace, Track and Control: High Production Output at Low Costs

Jan 19, 2010 | François Monette, Cogiscan Inc. and Matt Van Bogart, Microscan Systems, Inc.

Learn how Trace, Track and Control (TTC) solutions help manufacturers cut cost, cut waste, automate critical manufacturing processes, and increase yields—all critical elements in today’s economic environment....

Publisher: Microscan

Micro-Sectioning of PCBs for Failure Analysis

Jan 13, 2010 | Bob Wettermann

Micro-sectioning (sometimes referred to as cross-sectioning)is a technique, used to characterize materials or to perform a failure mode analysis, for exposing an internal section of a PCB or package. Destructive in nature, cross-sectioning requires encapsulation of the specimen in order to provide support, stability, and protection. Failures that can be investigated through micro-sectional analysis include component defects, thermo-mechanical failures, processing failures related to solder reflow, opens or shorts, voiding and raw material evaluations....

Publisher: BEST Inc.

Advanced Thermal Interface Materials for Enhanced Flip Chip BGA

Jan 06, 2010 | Punit Kohli, Martin Sobczak, Jeff Bowin, Michael Matthews - Henkel / Ablestik Laboratories

Increased functionality and performance requirements for microprocessors and ASICs have resulted in a trend to package these devices in the flip-chip BGA form factor (FCBGA). Because these devices use in excess of 40-100 Watts of power, their packages must dissipate heat in an extremely efficient manner. Most semiconductor companies have developed some type of thermally enhanced FCBGA package that provides heat dissipation through the back of the die to a heat spreader....

Publisher: Henkel Electronic Materials

Horizontal Convection Reflow Technology Defined

Dec 23, 2009 | APS Novastar

Leading up to the development of lead-free soldering alloys, Horizontal Convection* was developed for the reflow process. Getting the correct temperature profile, with the narrow process window in lead-free applications, is now more important than ever. In each chamber or “zone”, air is circulated toward one side of the oven above the PCB and toward the opposite side of the oven below the PCB, forming a “cyclone” around the board. The forced air circulation results in a uniform temperature profile along the entire circuit board assembly. This technology is ideal for the precise profiles needed for lead free soldering....

Publisher: DDM Novastar Inc

Why Switch From Pure DI-Water to Chemistry

Dec 22, 2009 | Dr. Harald Wack, Umut Tosun, M.S.Chem.Eng., Dr. Joachim Becht, Dr. Helmut Schweigart

While most cleaning applications in the North American market rely on cleaning with DI-water only, for removing OA fluxes in first place, recent market studies show that water has reached its limitations in cleaning performance while favoring usage of aqueous processes. The term aqueous implies the use of aqueous-based chemistries with active ingredients and are usually diluted with DI-water. The nature of these active ingredients in the aqueous chemistries varies between manufacturer and his R&D knowledge. ...

Publisher: ZESTRON Americas

The Basics of Soldering

Dec 14, 2009 | Chris Nash, Indium Corporation

In this article, I will present a basic overview of soldering for those who are new to the world of soldering and for those who could use a refresher. I will discuss the definition of soldering, the basics of metallurgy, how to choose the proper alloy, the purpose of a flux, soldering temperatures, and typical heating sources for soldering operations....

Publisher: Indium Corporation

Solder Preform Basics

Dec 14, 2009 | Paul A. Socha, Indium Corporation.

Solder paste is the most recognized form of solder used in electronics assembly today. A surface mount application depends on solder paste to attach the components to the circuit board. However, solder paste may not be the only solution. This is especially true when working with through-hole components or very large devices that require more solder than can be supplied by printed solder paste. In fact, quite often a PCB involves mixed technology that requires more than one form of solder. Solder paste is used for the surface mount components and solder preforms are utilized to attach the leads on through-hole components, avoiding wave or selective soldering....

Publisher: Indium Corporation

Thermal Profiling: A Practical Approach to Reflow Profiling

Dec 14, 2009 | Liyakathali Koorithodi, Indium Corporation

In the lead-free era, thermal profiling has a critical role in the SMT assembly process. We discuss the profiling, tools, practical issues, and inspection methods of golden boards, and related tools. As the process window narrows, profiling equipment and/or thermocouple (TC) errors must be taken into consideration. In addition, the accuracy and attachment method of the thermocouple will significantly impact critical assemblies....

Publisher: Indium Corporation

Recommendations for Installing Flash LEDs on Flex Circuits

Dec 09, 2009 | Shereen Lim

For the mobile market some PCB assemblies have been converted to flex circuit assemblies, in part because flex circuit assembly can be twisted or bent per the application needs. Flex circuits offer the same advantages as conventional printed circuit boards: quality, reliability, and high density....

Publisher: Avago Technologies

Considerations for High Speed PCB Track Design in 10Gb/s Serial Data Transmission

Dec 09, 2009 | Steve Bowers and Dr Herbert Lage Applications Engineering Avago Technologies Fiber Optic Products Division

A fundamental evaluation of a variety of approaches for designing a high-speed (10 Gb/s) serial differential electrical channel is examined. The application of the electrical interface has been simulated using HSpice software. It demonstrated how the signal quality could be affected by the use of microstrip versus stripline traces and their associated advantages and disadvantages is discussed. Example XFI channels were assembled from the simulation results to demonstrate viability of the application....

Publisher: Avago Technologies

BGA Package Component Reliability After Long-Term Storage

Dec 03, 2009 | R. Key, B. Lange, R. Madsen

This paper provides additional data in support of shelf life extension for BGA and Die Size BGA (DSBGA) Packages....

Publisher: Texas Instruments

Component Reliability After Long Term Storage

Dec 03, 2009 | R. R. Madsen

Each year the semiconductor industry routes a significant volume of devices to recycling sites for no reliability or quality rationale beyond the fact that those devices were stored on a warehouse shelf for two years. This study identifies the key risks attributed to extended storage of devices in uncontrolled indoor environments and the risk mitigation required to permit safe shelf-life extension....

Publisher: Texas Instruments

Sustaining a Robust Fine Feature Printing Process

Nov 24, 2009 | George Babka; Assembléon, David Sbiroli, Chris Anglin; Indium Corporation, Richard Brooks, Christopher Associates

With the introduction of 01005 chip components and 0.3 mm pitch CSP devices, electronic component packaging is pushing surface mount technology to the limits of its potential. Miniaturization is driving the electronics industry to implement the smallest and tightest pitch components in order to meet their customer demands. But how much miniaturization is possible before there is a paradigm shift in the technology? At what point is solder paste no longer viable? How small of a feature can be printed with solder paste, and can this process be implemented into a production environment?...

Publisher: Assembléon

SMT Placement for ICs, Connectors and Odd-Shaped Components

Nov 18, 2009 | Gerry Padnos Director of Technology, Juki Automation Systems.

Accurate component placement is a basic requirement for any pick and place machine. The first step towards accurate placement is accurate centering, or measurement of the component’s position on the placement head. One of the most widely used centering methods for ICs, connectors, and odd‐shaped components are a camera based system that measures the component position relative to a known point. Camera based centering systems include three main elements: lighting, camera, and software. Each of these elements are critical to obtaining an accurate measurement of the component and ultimately for accurate component placement on the PCB. As the old adage goes, the system is only as strong as its weakest link....

Publisher: Juki Automation Systems

Head-in-Pillow BGA Defects

Nov 05, 2009 | Karl F. Seelig.

Head-in-pillow (HiP), also known as ball-and-socket, is a solder joint defect where the solder paste deposit wets the pad, but does not fully wet the ball. This results in a solder joint with enough of a connection to have electrical integrity, but lacking sufficient mechanical strength. Due to the lack of solder joint strength, these components may fail with very little mechanical or thermal stress. This potentially costly defect is not usually detected in functional testing, and only shows up as a failure in the field after the assembly has been exposed to some physical or thermal stress....

Publisher: AIM Solder

Effects of an Appropriate PCB Layout and Soldering Nozzle Design on Quality and Cost Structure in Selective Soldering Processes

Oct 29, 2009 | Reiner Zoch, Product Manager Christian Ott, Sales and Project Manager SEHO Systems GmbH

The globalization of markets results in stronger competition with clearly noticeably cost pressure. For companies producing electronic equipment it is therefore of existential importance to reduce production costs whilst maintaining a consistently high quality level of the manufactured products. Manual repair soldering that is expensive, time-consuming and cost intensive is already unacceptable due to the required quality and the reproducibility of the whole manufacturing process....

Publisher: SEHO Systems GmbH

Conforming To a Higher Standard of Reliability

Oct 22, 2009 | Phil Kinner

An electronic product's reliability has the potential to make or break its manufacturer and can be life-threatening in many safety critical applications. Conformal coatings have long been used to protect electronic assemblies from their operating environment but can vary hugely in their protective performance. It is the objective of this article to explain in detail why it is important to qualify coating products to the relevant standards and how different coating types affect performance....

Publisher: Chase Electronic Coatings

A Review of Models for Time-to-Failure Due to Metallic Migration Mechanisms

Oct 14, 2009 | Elissa Bumiller and Dr. Craig Hillman

Electrochemical migration (ECM) is defined as the growth of conductive metal filaments across a printed circuit board (PCB) in the presence of an electrolytic solution and a DC voltage bias. ECM, also known as dendritic growth, is a critical issue in the electronics industry because the intermittent failure behavior of ECM is a likely root-cause of the high occurrence of field failures identified as no trouble found (NTF)/could not duplicate (CND)...

Publisher: DfR Solutions (acquired by ANSYS Inc)

Resin Coated Copper Capacitive (RC3) Nanocomposites for System in a Package (SiP): Development of 3-8-3 structure

Oct 08, 2009 | Rabindra N. Das, Konstantinos I. Papathomas, Steven G. Rosser, Tim Antesberger, John M. Lauffer, Mark D. Poliks and Voya R. Markovich.

In the present study, we report novel ferroelectric-epoxy based polymer nanocomposites that have the potential to surpass conventional composites to produce thin film capacitors over large surface areas, having high capacitance density and low loss. Specifically, novel crack resistant and easy to handle Resin Coated Copper Capacitive (RC3) nanocomposites capable of providing bulk decoupling capacitance for a conventional power-power core, or for a three layer Voltage-Ground-Voltage type power core, is described....

Publisher: i3 Electronics

The Environmental Cost of Green

Sep 30, 2009 | Aqueous Technologies Corporation

Being involved in the electronics assembly industry for more than 23 years, specifically in the field of defluxing and cleanliness testing, I have seen my share of environmental regulations. Long before the debate over lead-free alloys, there was the Montreal Protocol....

Publisher: Aqueous Technologies Corporation

Optimizing Batch Cleaning Process Parameters for Removing Lead-Free Flux Residues on Populated Circuit Assemblies

Sep 18, 2009 | Steve Stach, Austin American Corporation, Mike Bixenman, Kyzen Corporation

Electronic assembly cleaning processes are becoming increasingly more complex because of global environmental mandates and customer driven product performance requirements. Manufacturing strategies today require process equivalence. That is to say, if a product is made or modified in different locations or processes around the world, the result should be the same. If cleaning is a requirement, will existing electronic assembly cleaning processes meet the challenge? Innovative cleaning fluid and cleaning equipment designs provide improved functionality in both batch and continuous inline cleaning processes. The purpose of this designed experiment is to report optimized cleaning process parameters for removing lead-free flux residues on populated circuit assemblies using innovative cleaning fluid and batch cleaning equipment designs....

Publisher: Austin American Technology

What Cannot Be Cleaned In a Stencil Cleaner

Sep 18, 2009 | Steve Stach, Austin American Technology

The stencil cleaner can be one of the most versatile tools on the manufacturing floor. It can be used to clean electronic modules in various stages of the manufacturing process. In fact, an automated stencil cleaner can clean just about anything you come up against in your PCB assembly process....

Publisher: Austin American Technology

Fluid Flow Mechanics Key To Low Standoff Cleaning

Sep 18, 2009 | Harald Wack, Ph.D., Umut Tosun, Naveen Ravindran, Sylvain Chamousset, Joachim Becht, Ph.D.; ZESTRON, Steve Stach, Austin American Technology Corp.

In recent years, various studies have been issued on cleaning under low standoff components; most however, with incomplete information. It is essential to revisit and describe the latest challenges in the market, identifying obvious gaps in available information. Such information is crucial for potential and existing users to fully address the cleanliness levels under their respective components. With the emergence of lead-free soldering and even smaller components, new challenges have arisen including cleaning in gaps of less than 1-mil....

Publisher: ZESTRON Americas

Non-Contact Streaming Technology Enhances the Dispense Process

Sep 16, 2009 | Speedline Technologies, Inc.

The dispensing industry within electronics manufacturing represents a very diverse marketplace indeed; many different materials can be applied in many different ways. One high-growth area in this market is underfill, driven by the explosive demand for hand-held devices (HHDs). This segment is comprised of popular consumer goods, such as cell phones, mp3 players, GPS navigators, PDAs, portable games and ultra-mobile PCs. A new, non-contact dispense technology, known as Streaming, has recently been introduced to specifically address the incumbent needs associated with underfill....

Publisher: Speedline Technologies, Inc.

Screen and Stencil Printing Processes for Wafer Backside Coating

Sep 09, 2009 | Mark Whitmore, Jeff Schake.

Stencil printing equipment has traditionally been used in the surface mount assembly industry for solder paste printing. In recent years the flexibility of the tool has been exploited for a wide range of materials and processes to aid semiconductor packaging and assembly. One such application has been the deposition of adhesive coatings onto the backside of silicon wafers....

Publisher: ASM Assembly Systems (DEK)

The Redesign of a High Reliability Avionics Power Supply

Sep 09, 2009 | Paul Nickelsberg, President and Senior Engineer with Orchid Technologies Engineering and Consulting

Power supply design for avionics has become an area of increased activity over the past few years. New to the market are industrial quality, high current, lithium based battery systems. Available from a wide variety of vendors, these batteries are characterized by their low weight and high- energy availability......

Publisher: Orchid Technologies Engineering & Consulting, Inc.

Model Management for Predictive Accuracy

Sep 02, 2009 | Accuracy Competence Management, Assembléon BV.

The current trend of miniaturization in products and substrates is expected to continue in most advanced electronic products. Telecommunication and computer applications typically need high density connection boards incorporating smaller passive components, finer pitch IC’s and area array packages. The key factor in the technically successful evolution is the development of new interconnection processes, such as the use of conductive adhesive with very fine grained inter-connection materials....

Publisher: Assembléon

AOI-AXI Duo Improves Product Yield

Aug 26, 2009 | David Upton

Automated optical inspection (AOI) and automated X-ray inspection (AXI) have been around for some time in various configurations and both have played a role in improving the quality of circuit boards. While some companies opt for one technology over the other, each form of inspection contributes its own unique benefit to the manufacturing process....

Publisher: Nordson YESTECH

De-fluxing Eases

Aug 19, 2009 | Mike Konrad, President, Aqueous Technologies

There are several advantages to using a contract assembler. One of which is maintaining the ability to dictate desired results. Therefore, how those results are achieved becomes someone else's concern. When you combine this with the fact that many contract assemblers are not accustomed to saying "no," you become a witness to the birth of innovation....

Publisher: Aqueous Technologies Corporation

The Environmental Impact of Pick-and-place Machines

Aug 12, 2009 | Sjef van Gastel

Energy labels are a key part of global attempts to reduce consumption of environmental resources. They inform customers of the future consequence of their purchases. There are now many national and other energy labels covering houses, cars, lamps, washing machines and dryers, air conditioners, etc. The EU Energy using Products (EuP) directive also is working on classifying industrial applications to set rules for future energy reductions. These rules are at least three years away; until then, there are no energy labels for industrial manufacturing equipment....

Publisher: Assembléon

Defluxing Déjà vu

Jul 29, 2009 | Michael Konrad, President, Aqueous Technologies Corporation

While the origin of the phrase "may you live in interesting times" is widely disputed, the fact that we indeed live in an interesting time is certainly not. While record bank failures and declines in stock values, only rivaled by the Depression era, wreak havoc on consumer confidence, the economic trickle-down effect translates to reductions in production output and ultimately the consolidation of many industries, including electronic assembly....

Publisher: Aqueous Technologies Corporation

Joule Heating Effects on the Current Carrying Capacity of an Organic Substrate for Flip-Chip Applications

Jul 22, 2009 | Varaprasad Calmidi, Irv Memis.

This paper deals with the thermal effects of joule heating in a high interconnect density, thin core, buildup, organic flip chip substrate. The 440 μm thick substrate consists of a 135 μm thick core with via density of about 200 μm. The typical feature sizes in the substrate are 50 micron diameter vias is the core/buildup layers and 12 micron thick metal planes. An experimental test vehicle is powered with current and the temperature rise was measured. A numerical model was used to simulate the temperature rise in the TV....

Publisher: i3 Electronics

01005 Assembly, the AOI route to optimizing yield

Jul 15, 2009 | Cathy Combet, Ming-Ming Chang, Product Managers, Vi TECHNOLOGY, France.

The increasing demand for smaller & smaller portable electrical devices is leading to the increasing usage of extremely small components in the SMT assembly lines. With the introduction of 01005 packages in mass production, all the different stages of the line are facing new challenges: from board design, through component placement to reflow process. Each stage introduces some specific types of defect which are considered impossible to repair due to the small size of the package. AOI has become an essential tool to enable good yield in the assembly of 01005....

Publisher: Vi TECHNOLOGY

Using Hansen Space to Optimize Solvent Based Cleaning Processes for Manufacturing Electronic Assemblies.

Jul 09, 2009 | Steve Stach.

Sometimes you just cannot clean with water. Good examples of this are: circuits with batteries attached, cleaning prior to encapsulation, ionic cleanliness testing, and non-sealed or other water sensitive parts. High impedance or high voltage circuits need to be cleaned of flux residues and other soils to maximize performance and reliability and, in these types of circuits; water can be just as detrimental as fluxes. When solvent cleaning is called for, Hansen solubility parameters can help target the best solvent or solvent blend to remove the residue of interest, and prevent degradation of the assembly being manufactured. In short, using this approach can time, manufacturing cost and reduce product liability....

Publisher: Austin American Technology

Thermal Residue Fingerprinting: A Revolutionary Approach to Develop a Selective Cleaning Solution

Jul 01, 2009 | Steve Stach, Austin American Technology Harald Wack, Ph.D., Umut Tosun, Naveen Ravindran, ZESTRON America, John M. Radman, Daniel D. Phillips, Trace Laboratories East

During the last 5 years, the processes to remove flux residues especially for lead-free and challenging geometries have demonstrated new cleaning obstacles which have to be overcome.i A new methodology has been recently developed to further increase the propensity for successful cleaning.ii At the core of this method is the thermal identification of the residue matrix. Thermal energy changes the physical state, i.e. transitions between liquid, solid and gas phases. By taking advantage of such specific information during phase transitions, the cleaning process can be tailored to such settings, which in turn increases the cleaning success significantly....

Publisher: ZESTRON Americas

A New Angle on Printing

Jun 25, 2009 | George Babka, Scott Zerkle; Assembléon Americas, Frank Andres, Rahul Raut, Westin Bent; Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials, Dave Connell; Research in Motion.

Although blade contact angle is a critical stencil printing parameter, screen printers have so far been unable to vary it "on-the-fly", in software. The recently released Assembléon/Yamaha YGP printer has changed this, and has made new application research possible to study a crucial 01005 process variable for feature printing that previous researchers have ignored.

We have designed the first robust solder paste printing process for 01005 components that uses only a single printer and stencil. We have studied transfer efficiencies across all the major parameters, with important results for reliable high-density equipment assembly. Our findings show that a variable blade contact angle can print fine features with wider process window, and reduce overall process variation between boards produced from a line....

Publisher: Assembléon

The Call for Halogen-Free Electronic Assemblies

Jun 17, 2009 | Karl Seelig, Michael Burgess.

The increased interest in halogen-free assemblies is a result of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) exerting pressure on electronic equipment manufacturers to eliminate halogens. The NGOs primary focus is on resolving global environmental issues and concerns. As a result of an increase in the enormous "e-waste" dump sites that have begun showing up around the world, NGOs are pushing consumer electronic manufacturers to ban halogen-containing material in order to produce "green" products. Not only are these sites enormous, but the recycling methods are archaic and sometimes even illegal.

This stockpiling and dumping has created growing political and environmental issues. In order to deal with this issue, the question of why halogens are a focal point must be addressed....

Publisher: AIM Solder

Drop Shock Reliability of Lead-Free Alloys - Effect of Micro-Additives

Jun 11, 2009 | Ranjit S Pandher, Brian G Lewis, Raghasudha Vangaveti, Bawa Singh

The shock reliability of solder joints has become a major issue for the electronic industry partly because of the ever increasing popularity of portable electronics and partly due the transition to lead free solders....

Publisher: Cookson Electronics

Cree® XLamp® LED Thermal Management

Jun 11, 2009 | Cree, Inc.

XLamp LEDs lead the solid-state lighting industry in brightness while providing a reflow-solderable design that is optimized for ease of use and thermal management. Lighting applications featuring XLamp LEDs maximize light output and increase design flexibility, while minimizing environmental impact. This application note serves as a guide to understanding thermal management of XLamp LEDs and minimizing the effects of elevated junction temperatures....

Publisher: Cree, Inc.

Soldering of SMD Film Capacitors in Practical Lead Free Processes

Jun 02, 2009 | Matti Niskala, Product Manager; Evox Rifa Group Oyj, a KEMET Company.

Today the lead free soldering process is a must in commercial electronics and it is also coming more and more important in automative and industrial electronics sectors in the near future. The most common choices for lead free solders are different Tin-Solder-Copper (SAC) alloys. Processes using SAC solders cause extra stress, because of increased process temperatures, especially to the plastic materials....

Publisher: KEMET Electronics Corporation

New Precision Coating Deposition Method for Photovoltaic Manufacturing

May 28, 2009 | Stuart Erickson, President; Ultrasonic Systems, Inc.

Considerable effort is ongoing to improve the efficiency and to move towards high-volume manufacturing of photovoltaic cells. Much attention has been focused on developing in-line processes to replace the current batch processes. A critical process to improve the performance of solar wafers is the application of Dopants. The basic requirement for this process is an automated method for applying a very thin, uniform film of Dopant to the silicon wafer as part of an in-line manufacturing process....

Publisher: Ultrasonic Systems, Inc.

Flexible Termination - Reliability in Stringent Environments

May 21, 2009 | John Prymak, Corey Antoniades, Peter Blais, Allen Hill, Ken Lai, Mark Laps, Kevin Lynn, Reggie Phillips, Corey Riedl, Axel Schmidt, Bill Sloka, Paul Staubli; KEMET Corporation.

Failure due to board flex cracks persists as the dominant failure mode in multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCC). (...) This paper is intended to show the impact of temperature cycling, high-temperature life tests, and multiple bend exposures to the MLCC with this flexible termination....

Publisher: KEMET Electronics Corporation

Tackling SMT Enemy Number One - Raising The Standard of Solder Paste Application

May 14, 2009 | MYDATA automation

Is screen printing technology able to keep pace with rising quality demands and increasingly complex board layouts? Or, is new jet printing technology ready to fill the gap? A comparison study between the two methods reveals some interesting differences. Screen printers offer some possibilities for optimizing solder paste deposits, but optimization is far easier and quicker with the jet printer. At the same time, the ability to print individualized deposits on every single pcb pad may be the ultimate answer to the growing quality challenge....

Publisher: Mycronic AB