Electrical and thermal bonds are such an integral part of electronic and semiconductor construction that they may often be taken for granted. Modern electronic assembly methods employ a myriad of bonding processes, each one a vital step in the manufacture of the final product.

The wafer level chip scale package (WLCSP) is gaining popularity for its performance and for its ability to meet miniaturization requirements of certain electronic products, especially handheld devices like cell phones.

There is no doubt about it: automated machine processes are the most efficient methods for electronics assembly. That does not mean that there are not still occasions when hand soldering of individual components or assemblies is necessary.

This paper details a breakthrough technology for automatic test equipment (ATE) fixtures. These new fixtures address the current market needs for faster delivery times, lower cost and access to finer pitch and smaller test targets.

Traditional SMT assembly is a two dimensional process. Each component is placed on the same horizontal plane in different X and Y locations. In package on package (PoP) assembly, components are placed on successively higher layers. Since components are stacked on top of each other, traditional solder paste printing cannot be used.

Pressure indicating film can immediately produce an image of pressure variations across an entire surface area, allowing significant differences in bond pressure across wafer bonder surfaces to be identified and corrected.

In order to control and minimize damage caused to sensitive electronic devices, the Industry has come up with four important models of damage: The Human Body Model, The Charged Device Model, The Field Induced Model and the Machine Model.

This paper will share current results of Amkor’s WLCSP board level reliability testing for both larger package size and smaller pitch.

Head-in-pillow (HIP) or head-on-pillow (HOP) is the phenomena that can occur when incomplete wetting of a solder joint occurs after solder paste coalesces around, or near to, a ball grid array (BGA) solder ball after reflow but does not inter-mix, resulting in an open joint.

The quality of the circuit board‘s pad is a critical factor in the reliability of the solder joint attaching the BGA.

When COB is merged within mainstream SMT, the choice of metallization has to serve both the SMT process and bonding—that choice can be a make or break factor.

Ever since the Human Body Model was suggested in order to explain the cause of mining disasters, the fact that electrostatic discharges can cause serious problems of safety has been recognized.

Merging COB into mainstream surface mount processes significantly improves footprint efficiency and cuts cost and lead-time.

The use of lead-free alloys in commercial electronics has been underway for almost a decade, but the use of lead-free solder in high-reliability applications is still very limited.

The UK Electronics Alliance (UKEA) organised a seminar in a hotel near London Heathrow airport in October 2009 to discuss the problems the global electronics industry faces with component counterfeiting.

Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the rate of head-in-pillow component soldering defects across a broad segment of industries, including consumer, telecom and military.

The Ecstasy of Indian Electronics is the galloping market for its products while its Agony is the exasperatingly slow pace of growth in Electronics Manufacturing.

During a successful soldering operation to a copper surface, a small amount of copper is dissolved to form a reliable interconnection and is perfectly normal.

Moore’s Law infers that the number of transistors on a chip doubles approximately every two years. Consistent with Moore’s Law, high reliability electronic devices build faster processing speed and memory capacity using increasing smaller platforms.

IMEC presents a unique microchip with microscopic nail structures that enable close communication between the electronics and biological cells.