Knowledge Hub

Your Gateway to Technical Knowledge Exchange for the Global Electronics Community

Explore our database of industry knowledge that fuels innovation, learning, and professional growth. Knowledge Hub is a collection of conference technical papers, webinars, presentations, on-demand video and more. You can search by author, title, keyword and type of content. You can also search for keywords and topics in the Tag field. Access to Knowledge Hub is reserved for members.

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NSOP Reduction for QFN RFIC Packages

Wire bonded packages using conventional copper leadframe have been used in industry for quite some time. The growth of portable and wireless products is driving the miniaturization of packages .. read more

Challenges on ENEPIG Finished PCBs: Gold Ball Bonding and Pad Metal Lift

As a surface finish for PCBs,Electroless Nickel/Electroless Palladium/Immersion Gold (ENEPIG) was selected over Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold (ENIG) for CMOS image sensor applications with .. read more

An Investigation into the Use of Nano-Coated Stencils to Improve Solder Paste Printing with Small Aperture Area Ratios

Certain types of nano-coated stencils dramatically improve the transfer efficiency of solder paste during paste printing. These nano-coatings also refine the solder paste brick shape giving imp .. read more

Comparison of Site Printing Performance for Rework - Adhesive Backed Plastic versus Mini Metal Stencils

Ever since there has been a widespread usage of surface mount parts,the trend of continued shrinkage of devices with ever finer pitches has continued to challenge PCB assemblers for the rework .. read more

Mitigation of Pure Tin Risk by Tin-Lead SMT Reflow - Results of an Industry Round-Robin

The risk associated with whisker growth from pure tin solderable terminations is fully mitigated when all of the pure tin is dissolved into tin-lead solder during SMT reflow. In order to take f .. read more

To Quantify a Wetting Balance Curve

Wetting balance testing has been an industry standard for evaluating the solderability of final finishes on printed circuit boards (PCB) for many years. A Wetting Balance Curve showing Force as .. read more

Additive Manufacturing in a Supply Chain Solution Provider Environment

Additive Manufacturing has recently been brought into the spotlight as an alternative manufacturing method. While there are many different additive manufacturing technologies,the two that will .. read more

21st Century PCB FAB Factory Design Which Eliminates Regional Cost Advantages

Over fifteen years has passed since North America and Europe ceased being the center of worldwide PCB fabrication,and were supplanted by a Far East market with low cost labor,more relaxed envir .. read more

RoHS Substance Measurements in Complex Products

With the wide breadth of component types used in complex electronic equipment,implementation of the European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances 2011/65/EU/ (RoHS) is a challenge. A low v .. read more

PCB Cleanliness Assessment Methodologies - A Comparative Study

PCB manufacturers use a wide variety of solder pastes and fluxes including No-Clean,RMA and OA,both leaded and lead-free within their processes. As part of the manufacturing process,components .. read more

Void Reduction in Reflow Soldering Processes by Sweep Stimulation of PCB Substrate

Due to the ongoing trend towards miniaturization of power components,the need for increased thermal conductivity of solder joints in SMT processes gains more and more importance. Therefore,the .. read more

Controlling Voiding Mechanisms in the Reflow Soldering Process

While a significant level of voiding can be tolerated in solder joints where electrical conductivity is the main requirement,voiding at any level severely compromises thermal conductivity. For .. read more

Novel Thermally Conductive Low Pressure Overmold Materials as a Solution for Thermal Management

The dissipation of heat from a power die,such as those used to drive the increasingly popular LED arrays,has traditionally been achieved by use of a thermal interface material (TIM) and a metal .. read more

Can Lower Temperature Solderable Adhesive Replace SAC Paste

The electronic industry is currently very interested in low temperature soldering processes,such as using Sn/Bi alloy,to improve process yield,eliminate the head-in-pillow effect,and enhance re .. read more

Thermal Profile Variation and PCB Reliability

When designing PCBs,solder paste selection is critical. Once a specific paste type and supplier are identified,the manufacturing process is developed and refined. Critical to the quality of the .. read more

Does Solder Particle Size Impact the Electrical Reliability of a No-Clean Solder Paste Flux Residue

No-clean soldering processes continue to dominate the electronics manufacturing world,especially amongst consumer-type electronics. For many years,type 3 was pretty much the “standard” solder p .. read more

Solderability and Reliability Evolution of no-Clean Solder Fluxes for Selective Soldering

Flux consumption for wave soldering tends to decrease,mainly due to its gradual replacement by reflow soldering methods (i.e. pin-in-paste) in many electronics applications. However,in several .. read more

Factors Affecting the Adhesion of Thin Film Copper on Polyimide

The use of copper foils laminated to polyimide (PI) as flexible printed circuit board precursor is a standard practice in the PCB industry. We have previously described [1] an approach to very .. read more

Approaches to Commercializing New Nano-Electronic Materials

•Nano-electronics potential •Barriers to entry – and opportunities •Examples –Nano-solder –Capacitor materials –Graphene •Opportunities for rapid commercialization? .. read more

Improved Maintenance and Reliability for Large Volume Underfill Processes

An ever-increasing number of electronics assembly applications are using flip chip packages that require large volume underfill. Large volume underfill is typically defined as being for a die s .. read more

A Review of Jetting Technologies for Fluid Dispensing - Identifying the Features that Influence Productivity

As consumer products continue to reduce in price,pressure is placed upon the manufacturing of sub-components for improving cost. Back in the mid-1990s,jet valves for fluid dispensing in electro .. read more

Utility of Dual Applicators for Non-Atomized Conformal Coating to Improve High-Volume Manufacturing Optimization

Electronics manufacturers protect their circuit boards with conformal coatings. Conformal coatings serve as a barrier from environmental hazards and internal shorts,tin whiskers,and corrosion a .. read more

PCB Sourcing Using PCQR

In a global market,it is often difficult to determine the best PCB suppliers for your technology needs,while also achieving the lowest costs for your products. Considering each PCB supplier has .. read more

Test Method Development for Detecting Pitting/Crevice Corrosion Formation on Electronic Assemblies

Pitting/Crevice corrosion on printed circuit boards has not been well studied in the industry. This mechanism has been seen at small solder mask openings near circuit traces on printed circuit .. read more

Condensation Testing - A New Approach

Conformal coatings are applied to protect electronic assemblies from adventitious environmental factors,which include,for example,corrosive gases,corrosive fluids and high humidity. Whenever th .. read more

Effect of Permittivity and Dissipation Factor of Solder Mask Upon Measured Loss

Existing coated microstrip trace impedance estimation usually uses the dielectric constant (Dk) of solder mask ink measured at 1 MHz from its datasheet. Or,some printed circuit board (PCB) manu .. read more

The Role of Organic Amines in Soldering Materials

The transition from eutectic tin-lead to lead-free soldering in electronic assembly,mandatedby the RoHS legislation, has brought great pressure and challenge to solder mater .. read more

Dispelling the Black Magic of Solder Paste

Solder paste has long been viewed as “black magic”. This “black magic” can easily be dispelled through a solder paste evaluation. Unfortunately,solder paste evaluation can be a challenge for el .. read more

Can Age and Storage Conditions Affect the SIR Performance of a No-Clean Solder Paste Flux Residue?

The SMT assembly world,especially within the commercial electronics realm,is dominated by no-clean solder paste technology. A solder paste flux residue that does not require removal is very att .. read more

A Study on Using Solid State Relay (SSR) in Automatic Test Equipment

Reed relay is widely used in Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) for its high speed,low cost and wide availabilities. However,being mechanical relays,they have their share of limitations and this pa .. read more

NSOP Reduction for QFN RFIC Packages

Wire bonded packages using conventional copper leadframe have been used in industry for quite some time. The growth of portable and wireless products is driving the miniaturization of packages .. read more

Challenges on ENEPIG Finished PCBs: Gold Ball Bonding and Pad Metal Lift

As a surface finish for PCBs,Electroless Nickel/Electroless Palladium/Immersion Gold (ENEPIG) was selected over Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold (ENIG) for CMOS image sensor applications with .. read more

An Investigation into the Use of Nano-Coated Stencils to Improve Solder Paste Printing with Small Aperture Area Ratios

Certain types of nano-coated stencils dramatically improve the transfer efficiency of solder paste during paste printing. These nano-coatings also refine the solder paste brick shape giving imp .. read more

Comparison of Site Printing Performance for Rework - Adhesive Backed Plastic versus Mini Metal Stencils

Ever since there has been a widespread usage of surface mount parts,the trend of continued shrinkage of devices with ever finer pitches has continued to challenge PCB assemblers for the rework .. read more

Mitigation of Pure Tin Risk by Tin-Lead SMT Reflow - Results of an Industry Round-Robin

The risk associated with whisker growth from pure tin solderable terminations is fully mitigated when all of the pure tin is dissolved into tin-lead solder during SMT reflow. In order to take f .. read more

To Quantify a Wetting Balance Curve

Wetting balance testing has been an industry standard for evaluating the solderability of final finishes on printed circuit boards (PCB) for many years. A Wetting Balance Curve showing Force as .. read more

Additive Manufacturing in a Supply Chain Solution Provider Environment

Additive Manufacturing has recently been brought into the spotlight as an alternative manufacturing method. While there are many different additive manufacturing technologies,the two that will .. read more

21st Century PCB FAB Factory Design Which Eliminates Regional Cost Advantages

Over fifteen years has passed since North America and Europe ceased being the center of worldwide PCB fabrication,and were supplanted by a Far East market with low cost labor,more relaxed envir .. read more

RoHS Substance Measurements in Complex Products

With the wide breadth of component types used in complex electronic equipment,implementation of the European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances 2011/65/EU/ (RoHS) is a challenge. A low v .. read more

PCB Cleanliness Assessment Methodologies - A Comparative Study

PCB manufacturers use a wide variety of solder pastes and fluxes including No-Clean,RMA and OA,both leaded and lead-free within their processes. As part of the manufacturing process,components .. read more

Void Reduction in Reflow Soldering Processes by Sweep Stimulation of PCB Substrate

Due to the ongoing trend towards miniaturization of power components,the need for increased thermal conductivity of solder joints in SMT processes gains more and more importance. Therefore,the .. read more

Controlling Voiding Mechanisms in the Reflow Soldering Process

While a significant level of voiding can be tolerated in solder joints where electrical conductivity is the main requirement,voiding at any level severely compromises thermal conductivity. For .. read more

Novel Thermally Conductive Low Pressure Overmold Materials as a Solution for Thermal Management

The dissipation of heat from a power die,such as those used to drive the increasingly popular LED arrays,has traditionally been achieved by use of a thermal interface material (TIM) and a metal .. read more

Can Lower Temperature Solderable Adhesive Replace SAC Paste

The electronic industry is currently very interested in low temperature soldering processes,such as using Sn/Bi alloy,to improve process yield,eliminate the head-in-pillow effect,and enhance re .. read more

Thermal Profile Variation and PCB Reliability

When designing PCBs,solder paste selection is critical. Once a specific paste type and supplier are identified,the manufacturing process is developed and refined. Critical to the quality of the .. read more

Does Solder Particle Size Impact the Electrical Reliability of a No-Clean Solder Paste Flux Residue

No-clean soldering processes continue to dominate the electronics manufacturing world,especially amongst consumer-type electronics. For many years,type 3 was pretty much the “standard” solder p .. read more

Solderability and Reliability Evolution of no-Clean Solder Fluxes for Selective Soldering

Flux consumption for wave soldering tends to decrease,mainly due to its gradual replacement by reflow soldering methods (i.e. pin-in-paste) in many electronics applications. However,in several .. read more

Factors Affecting the Adhesion of Thin Film Copper on Polyimide

The use of copper foils laminated to polyimide (PI) as flexible printed circuit board precursor is a standard practice in the PCB industry. We have previously described [1] an approach to very .. read more

Approaches to Commercializing New Nano-Electronic Materials

•Nano-electronics potential •Barriers to entry – and opportunities •Examples –Nano-solder –Capacitor materials –Graphene •Opportunities for rapid commercialization? .. read more

Improved Maintenance and Reliability for Large Volume Underfill Processes

An ever-increasing number of electronics assembly applications are using flip chip packages that require large volume underfill. Large volume underfill is typically defined as being for a die s .. read more

A Review of Jetting Technologies for Fluid Dispensing - Identifying the Features that Influence Productivity

As consumer products continue to reduce in price,pressure is placed upon the manufacturing of sub-components for improving cost. Back in the mid-1990s,jet valves for fluid dispensing in electro .. read more

Utility of Dual Applicators for Non-Atomized Conformal Coating to Improve High-Volume Manufacturing Optimization

Electronics manufacturers protect their circuit boards with conformal coatings. Conformal coatings serve as a barrier from environmental hazards and internal shorts,tin whiskers,and corrosion a .. read more

PCB Sourcing Using PCQR

In a global market,it is often difficult to determine the best PCB suppliers for your technology needs,while also achieving the lowest costs for your products. Considering each PCB supplier has .. read more

Test Method Development for Detecting Pitting/Crevice Corrosion Formation on Electronic Assemblies

Pitting/Crevice corrosion on printed circuit boards has not been well studied in the industry. This mechanism has been seen at small solder mask openings near circuit traces on printed circuit .. read more

Condensation Testing - A New Approach

Conformal coatings are applied to protect electronic assemblies from adventitious environmental factors,which include,for example,corrosive gases,corrosive fluids and high humidity. Whenever th .. read more

Effect of Permittivity and Dissipation Factor of Solder Mask Upon Measured Loss

Existing coated microstrip trace impedance estimation usually uses the dielectric constant (Dk) of solder mask ink measured at 1 MHz from its datasheet. Or,some printed circuit board (PCB) manu .. read more

The Role of Organic Amines in Soldering Materials

The transition from eutectic tin-lead to lead-free soldering in electronic assembly,mandatedby the RoHS legislation, has brought great pressure and challenge to solder mater .. read more

Dispelling the Black Magic of Solder Paste

Solder paste has long been viewed as “black magic”. This “black magic” can easily be dispelled through a solder paste evaluation. Unfortunately,solder paste evaluation can be a challenge for el .. read more

Can Age and Storage Conditions Affect the SIR Performance of a No-Clean Solder Paste Flux Residue?

The SMT assembly world,especially within the commercial electronics realm,is dominated by no-clean solder paste technology. A solder paste flux residue that does not require removal is very att .. read more

A Study on Using Solid State Relay (SSR) in Automatic Test Equipment

Reed relay is widely used in Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) for its high speed,low cost and wide availabilities. However,being mechanical relays,they have their share of limitations and this pa .. read more