Global Electronics Association Knowledge Hub

At present there are a large number of materials that have been proposed as replacements for lead containing solder for reflow and wave and selective soldering. Unlike solder paste in a reflow .. read more

Little data has been generated on the performance of lead-free solders under vibration and mechanical shock. What data exists suggests that lead-free solders may be less reliable than eutectic .. read more

Many will look to IPC standards for advice or workmanship requirements for electronic assemblies. Some will find a copy of IPC-A-610 Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies and stop there. But I .. read more

This presentation attempts to convince the reader that while all the logistical,equipment,financial and process aspects of any business are important,the high performance work team is the criti .. read more

As more electronic assembly moves from OEM to EMS providers,a number of key issues arise in the overall value stream of production. This presentation will provide a comprehensive look at qualit .. read more

Recent increases in assembly temperatures in response to removing lead from solder used in printed circuit boards (PCBs) assembly has increase the strain and stress on interconnect structures. .. read more

This presentation will review the findings of a HDPUG consortia effort to evaluate 29 different bare board material and stack-up combinations and their associated performance after 6X Pb-free r .. read more

Excessive moisture entrapped/absorbed within printed board laminates can expand during soldering operations,causing delamination or other damage. While moisture absorption data is available for .. read more

Electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) has captured the major share of the lead free final finish market globally even though it’s not the least expensive. ENIG not only provides a robust met .. read more

With increasing use of portable appliances such as PDA and cellular phone,changing environment of application requires higher solder joint reliability. The Cu-OSP process has been widely used f .. read more

The formation during the soldering process of the layer of intermetallic compound Cu6Sn5 at the solder substrate interface provides the essential evidence that a metallurgical bond that is the .. read more

Restrictions on the use of chemicals in began 30 years ago in the US with the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act. Over the last five years we have seen a logarithmic increase in produc .. read more

Industry associations,such as IPC,were quick to develop standards to help the electronics industry deal with emerging environmental regulations; however,for regulatory compliance,smooth interna .. read more

This presentation will examine materials declaration from a practical point of view,identify the role of materials declaration in the product lifecycle analysis and thus hone in on the practica .. read more

Specialty high frequency circuit materials have been used in the PCB industry for decades and for many different reasons. There are several attributes of these materials that are very unique wh .. read more

The ever-increasing use of high frequency in high density interconnect (HDI) assemblies,combined with the worldwide move towards lead-free manufacturing,has initiated a closer assessment of eff .. read more

The signal channels that link high speed processors to memory and various other peripherals,are limited by the inherent characteristics of the printed circuit board. These are what ultimately c .. read more

The use of flexible circuit boards in the design and manufacture of electronic products has experienced a consistent and rapid growth over the last 15 years because their light weight and physi .. read more

Two major trends in printed wiring boards electronics are applications that require higher operating frequency,often in the radio frequency range (GHz),and the use of lead free solder assembly. .. read more

For many critical electronic applications,there is a need for dielectric systems that exhibit better electrical insulation performance than epoxies and other conventional materials. In the prod .. read more

The conversion to lead free Ball Grid Array (BGA) packages has raised several new assembly and reliability issues. One reliability concern becoming more prevalent is the increased propensity fo .. read more

The handheld wireless product market place demands products that are small,thin,low-cost and lightweight and improved user interfaces. In addition,the convergence of handheld wireless phones wi .. read more

Imagine that you were choosing a camera for your AOI system. Should you opt for a black and white camera or a color camera? This seems like a no-brainer. Most of us would go for a color camera. .. read more

RoHS exempt high reliability OEMs breathed a sign of relief for not having to go through the grind of revising their processes and material to be RoHS compliant. However,this was short lived be .. read more

The European Union list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) published in the Registration,Evaluation,Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation,requires producers of A .. read more

Portable Electronics devices are having more functionality but the size is getting smaller. What it means to SMT is to place more,smaller and ultra fine pitch devices on PC board. This makes SM .. read more

Some Ball Grid Array suppliers are migrating their sphere alloys from SAC305 (3% Ag) or 405 (4% Ag) to alloys with lower silver contents. There are a numerous perceived benefits to this move in .. read more

Although the EU RoHS legislation restricts the use of lead in electronics equipment,many high-end multi layer server printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) continue to be built with lead unde .. read more

Many BGA and CSP component suppliers have begun shipment of components with a variety of “second generation” Pb-free solder ball alloys. Much of the motivation for the alloy changes has been to .. read more

Copper Wrap Plate as specified in IPC 6012B table 3-2,is a requirement developed to enhance reliability for PCB’s designed with via structures that require planarization and surface capping. PC .. read more

Over the years,signal integrity performance and bandwidth gets more critical for today’s higher signal transmission speeds and bandwidth demand in every field of applications such as computing, .. read more

The signal channels that link high speed processors to memory and various other peripherals,are limited by the inherent characteristics of the printed circuit board. These are what ultimately c .. read more

The High Density Packaging Users Group (HDPUG) consortia completed an extensive study of 29 different bare board material and stackup combinations and their associated performance after 6X Pb-f .. 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

An experimental study was conducted to examine the impact of rework processes on quality and reliability. In this study,676 IO plastic ball grid array packages were assembled with Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu .. read more

Hot gas rework of BGAs with a mirrored BGA design configuration using SnAgCu based lead-free alloys is more challenging as compared to conventional SnPb techniques. Rework of BGAs using a conve .. read more

During lead-free wave soldering or rework operation for through hole components,high rate copper dissolution may occur to printed wiring boards. It is widely believed that Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) lead-f .. read more

Conformal coatings are used in high reliability electronics to protect the circuits from environmental contaminants. They are applied by a variety of methods,and in varying thicknesses. Confirm .. read more

Fully automatic X-ray Inspection (AXI) is an established technique for inspecting component mounting and solder joint integrity on PCBA’s. It is occasionally used for the detection of faults on .. read more

The process of plating through holes (PTH) is inherent to modern PCB manufacturing. In an arena of increasing circuit density and layer counts,the reliability of the PTH process is under consta .. read more

Implementation of lead-free assembly processes results in higher copper dissolution rate than traditional SnPb alloys. The rate at which copper is dissolved could be dependent on many factors,s .. read more

Lead-free selective soldering can result in extended times at high temperatures,which in turn can result in excessive dissolution of exposed copper,such as plated through holes. This phenomenon .. read more

The high temperature exposures associated with lead-free soldering of printed circuit boards (PCBs) can alter the laminate material properties thereby creating a shift in the performance and re .. read more

In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis on miniaturization of Board Mount Power (BMP) modules and electronic subassemblies. In addition there has been a shift from predominately t .. read more

The cracking and delamination of printed circuit boards (PCB) during exposure to elevated thermal exposure,such as reflow and rework,have always been a concern for the electronics industry. How .. read more

Inkjet printing is of great interest in the field of electronics manufacture because its digital nature negates the need for physical tooling. A wide variety of active and passive materials are .. read more

Foresite has investigated many whisker failures and found that consistent high levels of chloride,sulfate and amines are present in and around the areas of whisker formation even in hot dry env .. read more

Current leakage on a printed circuit board (PCB) can occur due to a reduction in surface insulation resistance (SIR) between adjacent conductors. This is frequently caused by electrochemical mi .. read more

As new generations of electronic products emerge they often surpass the capability of existing packaging and interconnection technology and the infrastructure needed to support newer technologi .. read more