Tombstoning: The Death of a PCBA
Tombstoning (also known as the Manhattan effect, drawbridge effect, or Stonehenge effect) is described (in the simplest, and most common, sense) as oc...
SAC Solder
Lead-Free Consensus Update
Folks, In gathering information on the status of lead-free soldering, some helpful friends pointed out two great sources of information: NA...
Solder Wire
Solder wire is generally used for manual soldering operations, including rework. But, it can......
Tin/Silver Solder Paste in Die Attach (Sn/Ag)
A customer at Semicon West this year asked about Pb-free solder usage in die-attach applications. Although many smaller discrete components ...
SAC Solder Alloy Wets Well, It Just Doesn't Spread Well
Folks, I have often pointed out that SAC solder’s poor wetting is both a curse and Godsend. It is a curse when trying to fill ...
Field Data Encouraging for Lead-Free Solder Reliability
Folks, Although a few have suggested that lead-free reliability is an oxymoron, currently most people that have studied the reliability of SAC3...
SMT Reflow Process Window: Solder Paste Maximum Slope vs. Ramp (or Average) Rate
Included in a solder paste‘s Product Data Sheet, among other things, are general guidelines which aid the customer in designing a...
Silver-free and Low-Silver Solder Alloys for SMT Discussion, Part 1: Reliability
There seems to be a growing trend to use a low-Ag or Ag-free solder alloy for Surface Mount Technology (SMT) electronics assembly, similar to what is ...
Has the Time Come for Tin-Bismuth Solders?
Folks, When the industry was preparing to transition to lead-free solders almost ten years ago (can it have been that......