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...
Solder Alloys
Drop Test Performance of SACm® Pb-Free Solder Alloy
As I discussed in my last post, the industry has found that reducing the silver content of SAC alloys helps to improve its mechanical shock performanc...
The Magic of Engineered Solders
Engineered solders are solders that can make a HUGE difference with your thermal management, IGBT, die-attach, medical device, hermetic sealing, or co...
Leadframe Solderability Issues in Power Semiconductors
It is no secret that automotive semiconductor customers are becoming increasingly demanding. The “under the hood / bonnet” electronics env...
Why the World Needs SACm® Solder: improved shock resistance and thermal cycling performance in electronics assembly
As the world began transitioning to Pb-Free solder in the early 2000’s, the electronics industry determined that SAC387 (95.5Sn/3.8Ag/0.7Cu) was...
Soldering to Wood
Many surface finishes are solderable with the right flux. Many of our electronic devices use solder to bond copper, silver, gold, and other metals, bu...
What Is Indium?
Being the Indium Corporation, we know what indium is, where it comes from, and how to use it. But sometimes we forget that not everyone is as im...
Wet Gold II: Measuring Gold Content in an Ore With Only a Scale
Folks, In my last post we saw how you could measure density with only a scale. In this post, we will expand on that technique and learn h...
Wet Gold: A Technique to Measure Density Without Knowing the Volume
Folks, In the category of interesting requests, Ron, a gold worker, from Guyana, sent me the following note: Dr. Ron, My colleagues use a “...
2013 SVC Presentation: A High Temperature, High-Strength, Pb-Free, Metallic Sputtering Target Bond using Reactive Multilayer NanoFoil
I’m not the only one presenting new NanoFoil® data at this year’s SVC (Society of Vacuum Coaters) Conference. Another member of o...
DIY: Applying Solder to Molybdenum, Titanium, and Tungsten (Ultrasonic Soldering)
There are many sputtering target materials that are tricky to solder to. For those alloys we ‘bring out the big guns’ – in this case...