PCB Surface Finishes

&
Cost Effective Pb Free Assembly Materials

OSP Imm. Silver Imm. Tin Pb Free HAL

Richard Puthota
Director – Business Development & CTS
India & Africa
IPC / NPL PCB Problems Survey 2012

Surface Finish was the single most major contributor !

That’s why we chose this topic to address !
 What is a Surface Finish?

A surface finish may be defined as a “coating”

Surface
• located at the outermost layer of a PCB Finish
• (which is dissolved into the solder paste upon
reflow or wave soldering)
Metal Plating
Two Main Types of Coatings
• Metallic
• Organic

Note:
• (Base) Metal Plating is typically copper (in most
cases).
• But, in a few (like ENiG) the Nickel-phosphorous

Courtesy : Multek
 Why use a Surface Finish?

The surface finish protects

the PCB Surface Copper
until it’s Assembled

Courtesy : Multek
Importance of Surface Finish

• Most important material decision made for the electronic assembly

• Influences the process yield, the amount of rework ,

field failure rate, the ability to test, the scrap rate, and of course
the cost.

• One can be lead astray by selecting the lowest cost surface finish
only to find that the total cost is much higher.

• The selection of a surface finish should be done with a holistic

approach that considers all important aspects of the assembly.
Many Stake Holders

Each surface finish has attributes that make it attractive for certain applications;
however, this also implies that important tradeoffs are being made.

Reliable,
Multiple Robust
Reflows End
Largest product
Process
Window Lowest
COST

Easiest for
PCB
FPY at ICT
Manufacturer
to produce
with high
yield

The best surface finish for your application is the one that considers
the impact to all functions and provides the lowest overall cost.
Which one to Choose ?

Options Selection Metric

Cost

Limitations

Advantages
How to Select a Proper Surface Finish?

Reasons for Finishes

• Coplanarity (See Below)
• Lead-Free (RoHS and WEEE)
• Contact Resistance (Compression Connection)
• Tarnish Resistance
• Press-fit Requirements
• Wear Resistance
• Hardness
• Chemical Resistance
• Wire Bonding (Au or Al?)
• Cost
• Compatibility with other Surface Finishes More Coplanar
surface

Courtesy : Multek
 Surface Finish Types
Organic Coatings:
OSP (Organic Solderability Preservative)
Carbon Ink (Screened on)
(Or combinations of the two - OSP and Selective ENIG or Hard Gold)

• Metallic Coatings:
HASL (Hot Air Solder Level)
ENIG (Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold)
Electrolytic Ni /Au (Electrolytic Nickel / Gold)
Imm Ag (Immersion Silver)
Imm Sn (Immersion Tin)
Reflow Tin/Lead
Electroless Nickel/Palladium-Immersion Gold
Selective Solder Strip (SSS)
Sn Ni (Tin-Nickel) Not common
Unfused Tin/Lead
Electroless Nickel-Immersion Palladium

Courtesy : Multek
Key Product Considerations

 What is the cost sensitivity of the product (how

important is the surface finish cost)?
Industry Segments  What are the product volume requirements (high,
medium, or low)?

Medical  Is it a SnPb or Pb-free process?

Aerospace/Defence  If Pb-free, is shock/drop a concern for your product?

Consumer  Is fine pitch assembly required (how fine)?

Consumer hand held  What is the user environment (is corrosion a
concern)?

Automotive
 Multiple Reflow Cycles ?

Telecommunications
 Is wave solder required and if so, how thick are the

Industrial boards? Aspect Ratio ?

Lighting  Hole Fill ?
 Is high yield in-circuit testing required?
 Is wire bonding to the PCB SF required?
Surface Finishes Market Outlook

PCB Materials Finish 2006 PCB Materials Finish 2011

Reflowed Sn/Pb 0% Reflowed Sn/Pb 0%
Electrolytic Ni/Au 3% Electrolytic Ni/Au 4%
ImSn 4% ImSn 5%

LF HASL 19%
LF HASL 18%

OSP 46%
CAGR of 5%
OSP 58% HASL 5%

HASL 21% ImAg 8%

ENiG 2%
ENiG 3% ImAg 4% Surface Finish % Mm 2

Electrolytic Ni/Au 4.00 12

ImSn 5.00 14.64
LF HASL 18.00 57.31
HASL 5.00 17.1
ImAg 8.00 25.3
ENiG 2.00 7.5
OSP 58.00 183.7
Reflowed Sn/Pb 0.00% 1.5

Source: Prismark
OSP (Organic Surface Preservative) emerging
as a popular alternate surface finish
 Dip Coatings
HASL (Hot Air Solder Level)

OSP (Organic Solderability Preservative)

Manifold

C C
O H
PCB A E
OR T P
C
M
I I
N B S
G T
Coating Chemistry Sump R
Y

Conveyorized Dip Module Vertical Dip Tank

Courtesy : Multek
OSP (Organic Solderability Preservative)

Typical Equipment used for the Coating of OSP

Conveyorized Horizontal OSP and Pre-Flux Line

Courtesy : Multek
 OSP Visual Inspection

Courtesy : Enthone, Cookson Electronics

 OSP (Organic Solderability Preservative)
(Cookson Entek 106A(X), Shikoku Glicote SMD-E2L, Tamura Solderite)
Typical Thickness: 0.2 - 0.6 µm (8 - 24 µ in)

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

+ Flat, Coplanar pads - Not a “Drop-In” Process

+ Reworkable (assy adjustments are required)
(at PCB Fabricator) - Difficult to Inspect
+ Doesn’t Affect Finished - Questions Over Reliability of
Hole Size Exposed Copper After Assembly
+ Short, Easy Process - Limited Thermal Cycles
+ Low Cost - Reworked at CM?; Sensitive to Some
+ Benign to Soldermask Solvents Used for Misprint Cleaning
+ Cu/Sn Solderjoint - Limited Shelf life
- Panels Need to be Routed and Tested
Prior to Coating (ET Probe Issue)
- Handling Concerns

Courtesy : Multek
 HT OSP (Organic Solderability Preservative)
(Entek 106A HT, Shikoku Glicote SMD-F1, Tamura WPF-21)
Typical Thickness: 0.2 - 0.6 µm (8 - 24 µ in)

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

+ Flat, Coplanar pads - Availability

+ Reworkable (by Fabricator) - Not a “Drop-In” Process
+ Short, Easy Process (assy adjustments are required)
+ Benign to Soldermask - Difficult to Inspect
+ Cu/Sn Solderjoint - Questions Over Reliability of
Exposed Copper After Assembly
- Limited Thermal Cycles
- Reworked at CM?; Sensitive to Some
Solvents Used for Misprint Cleaning
- Limited Shelf life
- Panels Need to be Routed and Tested
Prior to Coating (ET Probe Issue)
- Copper Dissolution into Solder Volume
- Handling Concerns

Courtesy : Multek
 OSP and Selective ENIG

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

+ Advantages of OSP for SMT - Complex process for PCB suppliers

+ Advantages of ENIG in - Larger
through-holes
+ Cu/Sn Solderjoint
+ Can be used in Lead-Free

Currently being used in today’s handheld portable products

(aka, Combi-Finish or SIT)

Courtesy : Multek
 IPC 610-E Hole Fill Requirements

Class 1 Class 2 Class 3

Not 75% signal 75%

Minimum Hole Fill Criteria Specified 50% ground All

Most stringent class does not

require topside solder fillets
OSP – Process Challenges ( TSVHF)
Top Side Vertical Hole -fill is driven by
capillary action
Important parameters which can influence:
 Hole diameter,
 PTH wall Quality
 Hole aspect ratio,
 Flux
 Wetting force,
 Contact Time
 Selective Pallet Design

Solder will only fill as long as its molten

- OSP has lower wetting force besides Pb Free Solder Alloys.

- Risk of insufficient hole fill Can lead to single-sided
architecture
OSP – Solutions ( TSVHF) Top Side Vertical Hole Fill

Solutions:

 Alternate Surface Finish ( metallic)

 Aspect Ratio
 Increasing top-side preheat
 Increasing solder pot temperature
 Increasing the Contact Time
(Decrease Conveyor Speed – Increased Board Temperature)
 Increasing the Wave Height ( Wave Dynamics)
 Not recommended!
 Alternate wave solder alloy combined with the right Flux selection
 Preserve flux activity through preheat
 Baseline
Good Wave Contact - MUST
Leading Edge of Glass

Uniform Contact Area

• Maximize
Contact Area
Enthone
OSP - Advantages

• Provides very flat solder pad surfaces and excellent compatibility for consistent and uniform solder
paste application.
• Eliminates solder bridging defects that are commonplace in HASL finished printed circuit boards.
• Excellent solderability for both convection reflow and wave soldering.
• The organic coating does an excellent job eliminating copper oxidation. The solder joint exhibits a
tin/copper intermetallic layer.
• Solder wetting is made directly on the copper solder pads to produce extremely strong and reliable
solder joints.
• Copper has extremely good affinity to molten solder when it is clean and free of oxidation.
• The new HT OSP finish has the capability of at least 5 reflow cycles without degradation.
• The organic coating is dissolved by the presence of reflow heat and the flux activators in the paste.
• On double-sided SMT assemblies the organic coating is not degraded on the secondary side because
it has not been exposed to solder paste flux activators.
• The finish has good rework-ability. In the event that defective coating is received, the material can
be sent back to the supplier for recoating. Recoating is easy to do. The PWB is not exposed to
structural degradation stemming from thermal stresses in the rework procedure.
• The selection of OSP does not limit supplier PWB availability. Most PWB suppliers offer OSP finishes.
• Under reasonably good ambient conditions the shelf life is about one year.
OSP Disadvantages

a. Careful material handling procedures must be followed. Gloves or finger cots must be worn to protect the
OSP coating material from fingerprints. Human salts are capable of degrading the coating such that the
solder ability of the copper will be compromised.

b. Strict practices and controls designed to eliminate misprinting of solder paste is paramount. Mechanical
removal of the solder paste causes solder particles to be spread and imbedded inside via holes. Chemical
removal of the paste degrades the organic coating. Alcohol and other alcohol-blended solvents dissolve
about 75% of the coating material over the copper. Water cleaning removes about 15%. Board assemblies
that have been treated with cleaning solvents to remove paste misprints must be processed with haste to
avoid non-wetting defects resulting from oxidized copper.

c. OSP finished printed circuit boards may not be suitable for RF circuitry assemblies. Most RF boards require a
metal shield to be soldered and in contact to the grounding trace, thus providing the necessary shielding. The
organic coating and the shield may not provide sufficient electrical shielding (no metal to metal contact).

d. The OSP material can give ICT test probes difficulty in contacting the test pads on the board. More expensive
multi-point test probes may be required in many cases. More frequent cleaning of the ICT test fixture probes
will be necessary. An alternative solution is to apply solder paste to the test pads to ensure positive contact.
This will not be possible if vias are used in place of test pads.

e. Interleaving paper should be used to protect the OSP coating from abrasion damage during transit, where
boards may slide against one other when stacked. An alternative method, and a more costly one, is to place
individual boards in plastic bags.
Courtesy: Jim Kenny, Enthone
HASL or HAL

Hot Air Solder Leveling

Or
Hot Air leveling
 HASL (Hot Air Solder Level)
LEADED Version

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

+ “Nothing Solders Like Solder” - Co-Planarity Difference

+ Easily Applied Potential Off-Contact Paste Printing
+ Lengthy Industry Experience - Inconsistent Coating Thicknesses
+ Easily Reworked (on Varying Pad Sizes)
+ Multiple Thermal Excursions - Contains Lead
+ Good Bond Strength - Not Suited for High Aspect Ratios
+ Long Shelf Life - Not Suited for fine-pitch SMT and
+ Easy Visual Inspection Grid Array Packages
+ Cu/Sn Solderjoint - PWB Dimensional Stability Issues
- Bridging Problems on Fine Pitch
- Subjects the PCB to High Temp
 HAL (Hot Air Level)
UNLEADED Version
Equipment being used for the Coating of Lead-Free HAL
Same as for Leaded Versions but with a few Modifications

• Higher Temp Steel Solder Pots and Stronger - Higher Temp Pumps
(Effective heat transfer by improved alloy circulation)
• Pre-heat panel (pre-dip)
• Longer contact time with PCB
• High temperature resistant chemistries (oils and fluxes)
• Copper control (Drossing – Dilution and Skimming)
Courtesy : Multek *Source: CEMCO / FSL
 HASL (Hot Air Solder Level) Lead-Free
Typical Thickness: 1-40μm
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
+ “Nothing Solders Like Solder”
+ Easily Applied - Not Suited for High Aspect Ratios

+ Industry - Huge Co-Planarity Difference - Not Suited for < 20 Mil pitch SMT and BGA
+ Long Experience - PWB Dimensional Stability Issues
+ Easily Reworked - Bridging Problems on Fine Pitch
+ Multiple Thermal Excursions - Inconsistent Coating Thicknesses
+ Good Bond Strength Assemblies - High Process Temperature 260-270 deg C
+ Long Shelf Life
+ Easy Visual Inspection
+ Low Cost - Not Suitable For HDI Products

Courtesy: NCAB Group

Lead-free HASL Surface Finish
HASL Challenges – at an OEM

• Major challenge for Cookson Technical Team was to control the

failure of STB chassis at Functional Testing which was also reflecting
at the field.

• Major cause of the chassis failure at FT is PBGA.

The Probable Causes Verified

BGA’s Co- Planarity ?

Solderpaste Height

Temperature reflow

Big Board Warping’s

Solderpaste Tackiness

Spheres Oxidised..

HASL Co-planarity
HASL – a major variability

Major cause of the BGA solder joint failure is observed due to poor HASL finish of PCB.
1. Co planarity – Uneven solder surface
2. Too thin coating of HASL leading to migration after 1st reflow itself exposing copper.
( Poor solder ability in the subsequent reflows)
3. Solder mask window uneven around the BGA pad.
HASL Surface Variability

PCB barrel cracking (see the picture),

delaminations , bow and twist caused by
solder bath thermal stress
What do experts say about HASL thickness?

Bob Willis is a process engineer providing engineering support in conventional and surface mount assembly processes. He runs
special production features at exhibitions and offers his seminars, workshops and PCB manufacture and assembly audits
worldwide. www.ASKbobwillis.com.
The Impact – an analysis by Cookson
Thickness of the coating
It is a well known fact that finishes produced by the HASL method have non-uniform thickness of the
solder coating. The thickness of the coating is determined by operating parameters. The coating should
exhibit good-aging properties except for areas where the thickness of the layers is too thin

Mapping of one of the pads showing the difference in solder

coating thickness measured by XRF
7.0
6.5
6.0
5.5
5.0
4.5
4.0 Thickness of
3.5 the solder
3.0 coating, µm
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0

The areas with thin coating would have insufficient wettability after aging due to exposed
intermetallic (IMC growth rate much slower at room temperature compare to the elevated
temperatures, but still reaction does not stop. If solder layer was too thin, all tin would be consumed
by Sn/Cu interfacial reaction)
 Wetting characteristics of the Cu, Cu3Sn and Cu6Sn5
surfaces
Material /Flux Wetting Area RMA R
Side view shadowgraph
Angle (o) (mm2) of the areas spread tests
Cu Cu
Cu/RMA 3 72 on Cu, Cu3Sn and Cu6Sn5
Cu3Sn Cu3Sn
using two different fluxes
Cu/R 16 19
Cu3Sn/RMA 10-15 26 Cu6Sn5 Cu6Sn5
Cu3Sn/R 93-101 4
Cu6Sn5/RMA 10-17 23 RMA
0 sec
Cu6Sn5/R 180 0
Cu6Sn5
Side view shadowgraph of 20 sec
Note that: the areas spread tests on Cu6Sn5
RMA Activated rosin flux Cu6Sn5 after preoxidation at
R Non-activated rosin flux 80 sec
235oC for various times
Cu6Sn5
Conclusions:
1. The wetting of the Cu3Sn and Cu6Sn5 is poorer than Cu.
2. A strong degradation of the wetting of the intermetallic occurred with increased
oxidation (SnO2 and SnO was identified as a primary oxides formed on Cu3Sn and
Cu6Sn5 during storage in air)
The metallurgy – It’s science not hypothesis

Optical images of the cross sectioned board with HASL

The areas with thin coating would
have insufficient wettability after
aging due to exposed intermetallic
(IMC growth rate much slower at
room temperature compare to the
elevated temperatures, but still
reaction does not stop.

If solder layer was too thin, all tin

would be consumed by Sn/Cu
interfacial reaction)
BGA’s Co- Planarity – Device Supplier

Bad Good

Bad Bad
 What next ?
Alternate Finish ?
OSP ?
Verifying Most Probable Root Cause
Based on Alpha India’s CTS team’s recommendation Txxxx Electronics
procured 40K OSP finish PCBs. Processed these PCBs with our support in
the line.

Result:
Date Production BGA Failure_OSP Rejection %
18.12.2010 14545 2 0.0137
19.12.2010 14499 2 0.0138

With HASL finish PCB the BGA failure was - 0.1 % ( 1000 PPM ) Just the
process
And now in OSP PCB reported is - 0.0137% ( 137 PPM ). failures
excluding the
field failures

99.00 % Improvement in process

With this experiment , We zeroed the PCB Part Defect contribution

in Intermittent BGA Failure
Result
Lead-Free Solder Options

ALLOY COMPOSITION MELTING

SYSTEM RANGE
(oC)
Sn-Ag Sn-3.5Ag 221
Sn-2Ag 221-226
Sn-Cu Sn-0.7Cu 227
Sn-Ag-Bi Sn-3.5Ag-3Bi 206-213
Sn-7.5Bi-2Ag 207-212
Sn-Ag-Cu Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu ~217
Eutectic Sn-4Ag-0.5Cu ~217
Sn-4.7Ag-1.7Cu ~217
SAC305 Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu 218-219?
SACX0307 Sn~0.9Cu~0.17Ag~0.14Bi 217-228
Sn-Ag-Cu-Sb Sn-2Ag-0.8Cu-0.5Sb 216-222
Sn-Zn-Bi Sn-7Zn-5Bi 170-190

EUTECTIC ALLOYS
LEAD-FREE HAL (Hot Air Level)
Surface Finish Attributes

Courtesy: Randy Schueller, Ph.D. www.DfRSolutions.com

Final Plating Finish Comparisons:
HASL (SnPb) HASL Lead- Electroless Immersion Organic Immersion Electrolytic
Free Nickel Silver-IAg Solderable Tin - ISn Nickel Gold -
Immersion Coatings - NiAu
GOld - ENIG OSP
RoHS No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Compliant
Fabrication Low Low Medium Medium Low Medium High
Costs
Shelf Life 1 Year 1 Year 1 Year 9-12 9-12 9-12 1 Year
Months* Months* Months*
Assembly Multiple Multiple Multiple Multiple Multiple Multiple Multiple
Cycle
Capacity
Multiple Limited Limited Limited Yes No No No
Rework
Capacity
Solder Excellent Good Good Very Good Good Good Good
Wettability
Co-planarity Poor Good Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Good/Poor

Solder Joint Excellent Good Good Excellent Good Good Poor**

Integrity
Low No No No Yes N/A No No
Resistance/
High Speed
Aluminium No No No No Yes No Yes
Wire Bond
Surface Finishes Usability Based on Technology

1 Not Suitable for 1.0mm pitch or less.

2 Not the best or more robust choice.
3 EMI Shielding OK, but tarnish formed when left unsoldered / exposed

4 Electrolytic Ni-Au will embrittle solder paste due to excess gold plated in PCB high current density areas.

5 Not for aspect ratios > 8:1 due to poor throwing power
Examples of Best Fit SF

ENIG or ENEPIG

• SnPb medical and aerospace

• Small specialty electronics (not Pb-free that is susceptible to shock).

OSP (but must address ICT issues)

• Hand held electronics

• Notebook computers
• Basic desktop computers
• Basic consumer electronics & power supplies
• Pb-free Medical or aerospace (thin PCBs)
Examples of Best Fit SF

ImAg
• Fully enclosed hand held electronics
• Basic consumer electronics

ImSn
• Simple consumer electronics (not fully enclosed)
• Simple medical or aerospace applications (1 side)
• Low to moderate volume peripheral components

LF HASL
• Thick LF PCBs going into business environments
(servers, telecom equipment)
• Complex Pb-Free medical or aerospace?
Alternate Cost Effective Soldering
Materials
Wave Solder Materials

Alloys
 What are some key considerations for
companies considering next generation Pb-
Free alloys?
Same old story…
»Reliability
»Processing Parameters
»Soldering Performance
»Availability and Cost

(Assumes alloys have sufficient electrical conductivity)

Key Considerations

Reliability
Density / Specific Gravity •Silver improves the
fatigue resistance of
Thermal Conductivity Lead-Free alloys as it
forms IMC Ag3Sn with the
Coefficient of Thermal tin, these hard platelets
Expansion increase the fatigue
resistance.
Tensile Strength (M-Pa)
Elongation %
•Small amounts of
Hardness Bismuth (<3%) improves
the fatigue resistance of
Creep Strength (time to failure) Lead-Free solder alloys.
This is due to the solid
solubility of Bismuth in Tin
Stress Testing – joint strength that results in a hardening
of the alloy.
Stress Testing - thermal cycling
Tin Whiskers
Key Considerations

Reliability data
Charpy Impact Test
Silver contributes to alloy
strength while also helping to
keep it ductile – improving it’s
ability to absorb and recover
from mechanical stress

The Ag3Sn platelets also make the alloy hard

High Cycle Fatigue by Gunther Grossman

Key Considerations

Processing Parameters
Impurities
Alloy Stability

Liquidus / Solidus Temp

Silver and Bismuth lower the

Specific Heat
liquidus temperature. Copper Erosion Rate

Nickel lowers copper dissolution Drossing Rate

but increases the liquidus
temperature Pot Corrosion

Operating Temperature

Other additives reduce dross rates

Key Considerations

Copper Dissolution Data

• Cu, Ni and Co reduce
the erosion rate
• Ag increases Cu
erosion rate

Time required for 50µm

copper wire to dissolve
in 260ºC molten alloy
bath.
Key Considerations

Soldering Performance
Silver improves wetting speed
Wetting Speed and force by lowering the surface
tension of the SAC alloy. This
Wetting Force also lowers defects like bridging
and skips when soldering SMT
components.
Skips
Bismuth improves the wetting speed
Bridging and force thereby improving hole-fill
and spread. Additions of Bismuth
compensate for the reduction in
Solder Balls Silver in lower Silver SAC alloys to
maintain these strong wetting
Hole Fill properties.

Spread Nickel increases surface tension

– lowering wetting speed
Joint Finish and force.
 The effect of Bismuth and Silver
Test conducted at 250C

2.8
SnCu0.7%Bi 0.1%(Ag Increasing))
2.6
SnCu0.7% (Bi Increasing)
2.4
SnCu0.7%Ag0.3%(Bi Increasing)
Wetting Time (s)

2.2

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

0.8
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6

% Element (Bi, Ag)

Key Considerations

Alloy Availability and Cost

Alloy availability
Alloy cost Is the alloy available
everywhere you need it?
Sizes / Shapes
Markings
Packaging Silver content has big impact on
Manufacturing proximity / alloy cost. A 1% decrease in silver
results in a 10% decrease in cost.
capacity
Recycling
Regulatory Are all the alloys constituents
recyclable?
Intellectual Property
Trend of Silver (Ag) : 2000- 2013
• Excellent Soldering
Performance
• High Reliability
• Low Cost

Why
SACX?
 SACX exhibits higher
SACX0307
wetting force and faster
wetting speed than non
Ag bearing alloys

Wetting Speed and Force is directly

correlated to Hole Fill and Drainage
performance during wave soldering.

SACX0307
Bridging Performance

Ag bearing alloys,
with lower surface
tension, exhibit less
bridging
Companies that have transitioned to SACX

Over 1000
Companies building
nearly half a billion
PCB’s!
 SACX exhibits
equivalent or
better reliability
than all the
leading Pb-free
alloys

Sampling of results from customer thermal cycling tests

Test Type Lower Upper Cycles Results
Thermal Cycling -40 125 2000 No difference b etween SACX and SAC305
Thermal Cycling -40 85 1000 Lower failure rate that SAC305
Thermal Cycling -40 90 500 0 failures
Thermal Shock -40 80 300 Lower failures than Sn/Cu/Ni
Thermal Cycling 0 100 500 Passes requirements of PC manufacturer
Thermal Cycling -40 125 1000 Equivalent to SAC305 b etter than Sn/Cu/Ni
IMC and Test results
 SACX exhibits
Higher Strength vs.
SAC305 in a variety
of SMT Pull Tests
Overview of the SACX Family of
Alloys

• Each alloy contains constituents to

enhance specific areas of performance
• Alloys are fully cross compatible
Hole-Fill Comparison

SACX SN-C
ALPHA® SACX®0807
Introduction
ALPHA SACX® 0807 is a newly designed and tested lead free electronics soldering
alloy that uses the latest innovations to deliver best in class soldering performance
and reliability. It’s also easy to use and can be dropped in to most current SAC 305
wave soldering processes. ALPHA SACX® 0807 contains just the right amount of
additives to be the perfect choice for the most challenging assemblies while also
helping Assemblers lower their material costs.

3
High Performance Alloys for Every
Assembly
 Evaluation
of
Paste CVP390-SACX0807
in
A Major EMS in Western region

20 July 2011.

Rajeshwar Andurekar
CTS Engineer – West India 79
Background

Presently xxxxx a major EMS player in India is using Alpha OM-345 SAC305 RoHS
( 96.5% Sn, 3.0% Ag, 0.5% Cu) Composition for their OEM customers from
Automotive, Industrial, Telecom & Consumer Electronics Industry segments
The average consumption per month is 850 kg solder paste / month
Continuous pressure from their OEMs to reduce BOM cost was mounting
A meeting was organized for all vendors to review pricing
Cookson ( Alpha) proposed the availability of alternate low silver containing
solders like SACX0807, SACX037 & SACX0107 alloys in Solder Paste, Solder Bar &
wire.
So Cookson & the EMS company decided to promote Alpha CVP390-SACX0807
by conducting evaluation and measure the impact on quality
 SACX0807 Solder Paste Trials
• Trials were conducted for small & large batch sizes ranging from 10k
to 50K PCBs

• Boards were sent for reliability testing and the data was compared Vs
SAC 305 older paste alloy

• A comprehensive report on reliability of solder joints was prepared

and reviewed

• The results exceeded their expectation

Value Equation

US$ - 223K

Please note there is approximately 10% increase in CVP-390

price since then due to silver price increase correspondingly
with SAC 305.
 Proposal for XXX on Savings on RoHS Solder

• Average consumption of SAC305 ( SFO Cochin ) = 700 – 800 kg

• Current selling Price of SAC305 solder = Rs.3471

• Current selling price of SACX0307 solder (SFO Bangalore) = Rs.1757

• The difference = Rs.1714

• Your Savings per month = 1714 X 750 kg = 12.85 Lacs

• Savings per Annum = 12.85 X 12 = Rs.1.54 Crore

• The actual and projected data in terms of substrate area processed
clearly shows a significant bias towards OSP. That does not mean that
OSP should be used as a universal finish. Far from the truth.

• What this does mean is that there are a significant number of PCBs
assembled today with OSP as its final finish of choice. This includes
networking, computer mother boards, automotive electronics
including engine control and disk brake systems, mobile phones and
other handheld devices. So, contrary to sentiment in some circles,
OSPs are not just for low-end consumer electronics. But, again, there
are no free lunches. As with any surface finish, there will always be
limitations.
So it is appropriate to clearly frame up what the PCB fabricator must
do to insure a high-quality and solderable PCB for lead-free assembly
when using OSP
Summary

The surface finish you select will have a large influence on quality, reliability
and cost.

It is a complex decision that impacts many areas of the business.

Select a finish that optimal for the business (and not just one function).

Know that there are engineering tricks to improve on weak areas of each
finish.

Stay current in this field because new developments continue to be made.

Acknowledgements / Credits
 Cisco Systems, Inc.
 Multek
 SMT Magazine
 “A Study of Lead-Free Hot Air Leveling”, David Suraski, Circuits Assembly OCT 2004
 “Effects of Surface Finish on High Frequency Signal Loss using Various Substrate
 Materials”, Don Cullen, Bruce Kline, Gary Moderhock, Larry Gatewood - (*1)
 Atotech
 Florida CirTech, Inc.
 Nihon Superior Co., LTD (Osaka, Japan) SN100CL
 Iowa State University
 Senju/Matsushita
 Metal Finishing Industry
 NEMI
 CREEP CORROSION ON LEAD-FREE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS IN HIGH SULFUR ENVIRONMENTS
Randy Schueller, Ph.D.; Dell Inc., Austin, Texas, [email protected]
Randy Schueller, Ph.D., DfR Solutions
 CEMCO – FSL “The Newest Surface Finish Alternative
 LEAD-FREE HASL. It’s Development and Advantages”
 Circuit Connection Presentation (Florida CirTech, Inc. Dec-05-05)
 Chris Padilla (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
 Freeman 1995
 Special Thanks to the following individuals that have contributed to the slides and
animation in this presentation:
Dan Slocum, Craig Davidson, Brad Hammack, Mike Barbetta, Kim Hyland, Glenn Sikorcin