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Indium Corporation conducts extensive research on the soldering fundamentals for Surface Mount Technology and other electronics applications.

Browse our library for abstracts of some of the most popular published articles that you may find useful in your efforts to improve your process results. All papers in our library are available for download.

Check the box next to each paper you want to download. You may download as many papers as you wish. After selecting papers and completing the contact information form on this page, the paper(s) will be e-mailed to you at the e-mail address you provide.

    Papers about solder alloy

  • Choosing a Low-Cost Alternative to SAC Alloys for PCB Assembly

    by Dr. Ronald C. Lasky, Brook Sandy

    Developing low-cost alternatives to near-eutectic SAC alloys for Pb-free assembly is crucial to continue producing affordable electronics products. Metals prices, especially silver, have been on the rise, and will likely stay at their near historic high levels. Solder alloys with lower silver content have been considered with trade-offs in performance, but are there alternatives?

    There are many reasons to consider alternative Pb-free alloys to SAC305. Several new alloys have been recently introduced, while others, which had little popularity in the past, are showing more potential due to changes in the industry. The question is: how much do subtle variations in alloy composition affect the performance and process requirements of PCB assembly? This paper will compare some of these alloys side-by-side and discuss whether existing processes need to be modified for alternative alloys.

    Apex 2012, SAC, pb-free, lead-free, solder alloy

    Posted on 14 Oct 2011

  • Future Lead-Free Solder Alloys and Fluxes-Meeting Challenges of Miniaturization

    by Dr. Ning-Cheng Lee

    In general, new lead-free solder alloys with the following characteristics are desired in order to enable the continuation of miniaturization trend: (1) alloy with a reduced melting temperature, (2) alloy with a better solder spread, (3) alloy with a slower wetting speed at melting temperature, (4) a softer alloy, or alloy with a reduced voiding tendency or greater ductility, (5) alloy with a refined grain size, (6) alloy with low tendency to form large IMC plate, (7) alloy with a higher resistance toward corrosion and electrochemical migration, (8) alloy with a greater oxidation resistance. On the other hand, no-clean fluxes with the following features are needed: (1) reduced volatile, (2) halide-free, (3) greater fluxing capacity, (4) higher residue resistivity, (5) more resistant to oxidation and charring, (6) more efficient oxidation barrier, (7) lower activation temperature, (8) slower wetting speed when solder begins to melt, (9) less spattering, (10) higher probe penetratability, (11) capability of inducing nucleation of solder upon cooling, and (12) greater resistance against slump.

    SAC, solder joint, soldering, flux, solder alloy, lead-free

    Posted on 4 Mar 2010

  • Lead-free: Controlling Tombstoning Behavior

    by Dr. Benlih Huang, Dr. Ning-Cheng Lee

    Tombstoning has plagued the surface mount assembly industry for decades. While the problem seemed under control, it has begun creeping in again due to the miniaturization of discretes such as 0402S and 0201S. This article studies tombstoning behavior on a series of SN AG CU Lead-Free Solders and attempts to find a way to control the problem.

    lead-free, pb-free, tombstoning, solder, solder paste, SMT, solder alloy, pasty range, soldering, reflow

    Posted on 1 Jan 2009

  • Simple Testing to Evaluate Ball Attach Fluxes

    by Jim Hisert, Sigurd R. Wathne PE

    The best way to test a flux is to conduct the test in the production line under actual working conditions. This can be impractical if too many materials are included in the evaluation process. There are, however, ways to understand the capabilities of a wide range of flux materials without scrapping a large amount of production parts and time. This article will outline a test procedure that can be used to initially compare fluxes with minimal time, capital expense, and equipment. The key data is the quality of a flux to promote wetting of various alloys on a variety of surface finishes. [1] This will be calculated as a change in solder diameter after reflow. Although solder spread is the numerical outcome of the testing, cleanability of water-soluble fluxes and post reflow residue of no-clean fluxes may become apparent to the technician involved in this testing. It is a good way to get a feel for a material set in a very short time.

    Solder Melting, Solder Basics, solder alloy, solder, pb-free, Flux Cleaning, flux, BGA, ball attach

    Posted on 1 Jan 2009

  • Sticking with it: Solder Use in Chip Packaging

    by Adrian Low, Jim Hisert, Andy C. Mackie PhD

    Although there are some unsubstantiated claims that the history of solder reaches back 7000 years (Ref. 1), it seems more likely that the first gold-tin solders were used in jewelry in the Egyptian Early Dynastic Era, around 5000 years ago (Ref. 2). Why is solder still the overwhelming choice for interconnects when high-tech alternatives abound? The answer is simple: Solder is the only electrically conductive joining material that is so compatible with the metal surface it is joining to that it intermingles on the atomic level.

    Solder Melting, solder alloy, solder, pb-free, Flux Cleaning, flux, BGA, ball attach

    Posted on 15 Oct 2009

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