Panning for Gold
Panning for gold is a thrill, just like scratching off a lotto ticket or playing a game at a casino. In a similar way, I am looking for gold every tim...
Solder Alloys
Manufacturing Indium with Pride
I recently caught up with Brent Boek, Supervisor of the indium cell at our Utica Business Park manufacturing facility in New York. Brent and his crew ...
NanoBond® is a Room Temperature Bonding Process
As I mentioned in an earlier post, some soldering applications require a fluxless process. In this line of work you see an assortment of odd soldering...
A Variable Zero Stress Point
We have observed that the temperature at which two materials are bonded will set the base temperature that any subsequent CTE is measured from. T...
Reflow of Copper Pillar Microbumps
Wafer bumping processes have evolved in the last 10 years. The semiconductor assembly industry has gone from bumping processes using solder paste prin...
The Limits of Mixing: A Chocolate Chip Example
Folks, We tend to think of mixing as something that can completely even out those things being mixed. As an example, let’s assume you are ...
An Alternative Approach to Sputtering Target Bonding
A traditionally bonded sputtering target experiences a wide range of temperatures over its life cycle. It is bonded at over 200°C – usually ...
High Temperature (Braze Alloy) Sputtering Target Bonding, with NanoFoil®
In an earlier post I mentioned one of the presentations we gave at the 2013 SVC TechCon. The other presentation that our team delivered at t...
Thermal Cycling Performance of SACm® Pb-Free Solder Alloy
The development of SACm® lead-free solder alloy by Indium Corporation’s R&D team was focused around improving the mechanical shock perfo...
NanoFoil® Tools of the Trade
As an application engineer working with various NanoFoil® applications, I have learned which common items are very handy to have with me whenever...
NanoFoil® for CPV Attachment
The attachment of concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) cells is the perfect application for NanoFoil®. Due to the isolated heating during bonding, less...
Measuring Void Content and Further Global Warming Musings
Folks, A reader writes: Dear Dr. Ron, I need to measure the void content of an alloy. Is there an easy way to do it? After a little thoug...