Global Electronics Association Knowledge Hub

IPC-4552 and IPC-4556 are industry performance specifications for ENIG (Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold) and ENEPIG (Electroless Nickel/Electroless Palladium/Immersion Gold) as used for th .. read more

The next generation devices using high frequency of 5G to mmWave and greater has called for innovation in materials used in electronics manufacturing to realize the optimum signal integrity .. read more

ENIG, electroless nickel immersion gold is now a well-regarded finish used to enhance and preserve the solder-ability of copper circuits. EPIG, electroless palladium immersion gold, is a new .. read more

The latest highest reliability requirements demand a high performance electroless nickel and immersion gold (HP ENIG). The new IPC specification 4552A has refocused the industry with referen .. read more

Conventional Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold (ENIG) currently available in the market is prone to brittle solder joints failures. Due to these reasons, there are field failures and reliabi .. read more

The challenge of decrease PCB manufacturing environmental impact is here to stay. The rate at which a company can process change is key to strategical advantage. Any increase of the change r .. read more

The ENIG finish is one of the most common final finishes finding broad acceptance in the market for decades. ENIG is the abbreviation for “electroless nickel – immersion gold” where it is th .. read more

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

This paper is the first of two papers discussing the Celestica/Honeywell Lower Melt Alloy program. The program explores the manufacturability and reliability for Pb-freethree Bi-containing allo .. read more

An electroless nickel (EN) layer is frequently used in various industrial applications. Commonly it is used as the barrier layer in electroless nickel/immersion gold (ENIG) as a solderability p .. read more

As reliability requirements increase,especially for defense and aerospace applications,the need to characterize components used in electronic assembly also increases. OEM and EMS companies look .. read more

The case of processing issues with Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold (ENIG) is well documented,even as it endures as a very popular surface finish. Certainly the market says that quality ENIG h .. read more

As a surface finish,electroless nickel / electroless palladium / immersion gold (ENEPIG) has received increased attention for both packaging/IC-substrate and PWB applications. With a lower gold .. read more

Corrosion resistance is becoming one of the most important topics in the electronics industry. Corrosion results in field failures and huge losses,which annually total several billion U.S. doll .. read more

With the emergence of high speed,controlled impedance circuits requiring increasingly tight tolerances,there is a realization among designers and fabricators that more precise data is needed th .. read more

The increased temperatures associated with lead free processes have produced significant challenges for PWB laminates. Newly developed laminates have different curing processes,are commonly fil .. read more

The use of an Organic Metal finish only a few nano-meters deposited onto copper pads of printed circuit boards provides effective protection against oxidation and preserves solderability. The N .. read more

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In this study,the reliabilities of low Ag SAC alloys doped with Mn or Ce (SACM or SACC) were evaluated under JEDEC drop,dynamic bending,thermal cycling,and cyclic bending test conditions agains .. read more

With increasing adoption of lead-free PWB surface finishes,along with increasing product deployments in more corrosive environments,the electronics industry is observing increased occurrences o .. read more

This paper will explore the most common alternatives to hot air-leveled solder (HASL) as a finish for flex circuits and some of the issues one may want to be aware of when converting. Whether t .. read more

The reliability of lead-free (LF) solder joints in surface-mounted device components (SMD) has been investigated after thermo-cycle testing. Kirkendall voids have been observed at the interface .. read more

The New England Lead Free Consortium,composed of many companies in the electronic supply chain in the regional area and chaired by the author; has embarked on an extensive long term reliability .. read more

Although the advantages of Hot Air Solder Leveling (HASL) in providing the most robust solderable finish for printed circuit boards are well recognized,in the years leading up to the implementa .. read more

Flip chip bonding is the most desirable direct chip attachment approach for minimizing electronic assembly size as well as improving device performance. For most prototyping applications it is .. read more

The low Ag solder alloy shows higher drop performance than the high Ag solder alloy in the every kind of package and board combinations. This is related to the ductility of solder and the surfa .. read more

Tombstoning,the phenomena where a chip component stands up on one end during the reflow cycle,is well-documented and understood in tin-lead systems. It is reported to occur more frequently in l .. read more

Since the European 2002/95/EC RoHS directive enforcement on 1st July 2006,a dominating part of the electronic industry suppressed the use of Pb in electronic equipment. As one of the consequenc .. read more

For companies that choose to take the Pb-free exemption under the European Union’s RoHS Directive and continue to manufacture tin-lead (Sn-Pb) electronic products,there is a growing concern abo .. read more

As the use of area array connectors has become more widespread in electronic assemblies,the need to evaluate their reliability has increased. There is,however,limited information on how best to .. read more

This paper describes a new lead-free SMT rework process which avoids component overheating,reduces board warpage and cratering,and prevents adjacent components from thermal damage. In the repla .. read more

The continuous temperature resistance of electrically insulating materials can be judged by examining the effect of thermal stress loads on the electrical properties,such as moisture and insula .. read more

Society today relies on electronic devices that influence every aspect of our lives,such as communication,transportation,computing,home appliances,and recreation. The reliability of any electro .. read more

The data from the IPC Alternate Finishes Task Group Report “Time,Temperature and Humidity Stress for Final Finish Board Solderability” has been analyzed in a greater depth than in the actual re .. read more

The debate on the effect of voiding on BGA reliability has continued for years. Many PWB assemblers strive to minimize voiding,particularly with the advent of lead-free processing and in fine f .. read more

As the electronic industry is moving to lead-free PWB final finishes and high density circuit boards,the widely used PWB finish,SnPb HASL,has to be replaced with a lead-free and coplanar PWB fi .. read more

Work on assisting China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII) to assess the performance of a solder paste using the China alloy Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu0.019Ce (SACCe) was completed. Two Indium fluxes w .. read more

The immersion silver process has become the first choice of final finishing for many original equipment manufacturers (OEM) because of its shortened process flow,good conductivity,even depositi .. read more

One of the reported problems in moving to lead free has been increased solder voiding. Current research indicates that paste formulation,reflow profile and board finish,when selected carefully, .. read more

The surface finishes Ni-P/Pd/Au (hereafter referred to ENEPIG) and Ni-P/Au (hereafter referred to ENIG) were prepared on ball grid array (BGA) circuit boards by electroless/immersion plating me .. read more

With the combination of increased product complexity,increased frequencies and ever decreasing component sizes and pitches designers are faced with the dilemma on how design their products in t .. read more

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This study is focused on using different assembly options such as dip fluxing,flux jetting and reflow encapsulate for 200- 250um pitch lead-free (SnAgCu) flip chips on FR4 substrates. The impac .. read more

A novel electrochemical plating process for depositing gold and silver surface finishes using environmentally benign, organic-based solutions as the plating bath is being investigated. The plat .. read more

As Electrostatic discharge,humidity can have a bad impact on assembly quality. It requires environmental conditions and process controls but also risks knowledge. To overcome humidity issue,par .. read more

The influence of co-deposited Phosphorous (P) (from low to high P) within an electroless Nickel layer,regarding the reliability of the solder joint integrity was investigated. The solder joint .. read more

This paper will highlight the shortcomings of each of the commonly used surface finishes available on the market today. The goal is to spark the industry interest,that it may double its efforts .. read more

The impact cooling rates exert on the reflow process is identified. The trends in shear strength and the microstructural evolution of the solder joints are described. Lead free (Sn/3.5Ag/0.7Cu) .. read more

Lead-free soldering technology is still in its infancy with technical and cost issues posing major challenges for the industry. It is expected that soldering in a nitrogen atmosphere might over .. read more

The wetting of alternative PCB surface finishes,including immersion silver (I-Ag) and immersion tin (I-Sn),by Sn/Ag/Cu solder and Sn/Pb solder,was studied in this work,along with electroless ni .. read more