Global Electronics Association Knowledge Hub

Portable electronics demand that inductors and transformers be implemented in low profile surface mount packages. In communication systems,magnetic components are used for impedance matching,vo .. read more

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

In a typical mechatronic manufacturing functional test setup,actual load simulations are usually done by connecting the DUT outputs to power or ground in order to establish either a high or low .. read more

As a part of series of studies on X-Ray inspection technology to quantify solder defects in BGA balls,we have conducted inspection of 3 level POP package by using a new AXI that capable of 3D-C .. read more

Embedding components within the PC board structure is not a new concept. Until recently,however,most embedded component PC board applications adapted only passive elements. The early component .. read more

The embedding of components in electronic interconnection structures has been carried out for more than 30 years. It is regarded as the “poor men’s silicon device”. Different technologies have .. read more

Soldering has been a key process step in the manufacture of electronic assemblies since the earliest days of the electronics industry,it is also one of the most challenging processes to control .. read more

Press-fit technology is a proven and widely used and accepted interconnection method for joining electronics assemblies. Printed Circuit Board Assembly Systems and typical functional subassembl .. read more

Electrical overstress causes damage to sensitive components,including latent damage. A significant source of EOS is high-frequency noise in automated manufacturing equipment. This paper analys .. read more

Proper assembly of components is critical in the manufacturing industry as it affects functionality and reliability. In a heat sink assembly,a detailed manual process is often utilized. However .. read more

Although reflow ovens may not have been dramatically changed during the last decade the reflow process changes step by step. With the introduction of lead-free soldering not only operation tem .. read more

A materials study of high reliability electronics cleaning is presented here. In Phase 1,mixed type substrates underwent a condensed contaminants application to view a worst-case scenario for .. read more

This paper documents the experimental work performed to further understand the impact on mid-chip solder balling from both the manufacturing process and the flux chemistry. Mid-chip solder ball .. read more

This paper discusses a nano copper based paste for use in via filling. The company manufactures nano copper and disperses the coated nano copper into a paste in combination with micron copper. .. read more

Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) and Printed Electronics (PE) both describe conductor/substrate combinations that makeconnections. Both PCB and PE technologies have been in use for a long time in .. read more

There is considerable interest in finding and replacing lead based solder alloys in high power environments and for existing high temperature operating environments. The high power electronics .. read more

The change to lead-free solders in electronic assemblies created a need to replace tin-lead solderable termination finishes with materials such as pure tin or soft gold,on electronic component .. read more

With the impending deadline for RoHS II and the elimination of exemptions for lead bearing solders in electronics for mission critical electronics,the issue of tin whiskers remains unresolved. .. read more

With regard to precision cleaning applications within electronics manufacturing,pH neutral product development was a major breakthrough in recent years. The impetus for this development resulte .. read more

Packaging trends enable disruptive technologies. The miniaturization of components reduces the distance between conductive paths. Cleanliness of electronic hardware based on the service exposur .. read more

This paper describes the results of a whisker formation study on SAC305 assemblies,evaluating the effects of cleanliness and lead-frame materials in room temperature/high humidity (25°C/85%RH) .. read more