日前，环球仪器先进工艺实验室举办2009年第三届电子先进装配研讨会，来自业界多个公司的75人参与了为期两天的活动，并有更多人参与了此后的网络演示和交流。研讨会主题包括微连接的无铅焊接和加压印刷过程的可靠性。

Attending companies included industry leaders such as Alcatel-Lucent, Asymtek, BAE, Boston Scientific, Brocade, Celestica, Curtiss Wright, Dell, Ericsson, Harris, IBM, Indium, Lord Corporation, MIT Lincoln Labs, Motorola, Multek, Northrop Grumman, Plexus, Qualcomm, Rockwell Automation, Sun, Texas Instruments, and Textron.

The agenda format was consistent with previous meetings, featuring concise presentations with the opportunity for detailed follow-up discussions in a final poster session. The Wednesday session opened the event with a review of systematic results of thermal cycling of lead-free soldered assemblies and then progressed to a neural network analysis of this and previous thermal cycling data. This information revealed a systematic trend of considerable importance for assessment of acceleration factors to life in service. Other Wednesday morning topics included pad cratering research and new thermal interface materials (TIMs). Previous pad cratering research has led to protocols for choosing the most reliable among the many new printed circuit board materials.

The afternoon session on the opening day featured presentations on the reliability testing of various TIMs, as well as a discussion on new insights into lead-free metallurgy. Also examined was the evolution of lead-free solder microstructure.”The so-called Manhattan Project, headed by a team of deep subject matter experts from the military and aerospace community, has identified our current inability to account for the effects of long-term aging and combinations of different loads on lead-free solder reliability as particularly critical,” stated George Westby, Director of Universal’s Advanced Process Lab. “These issues and their consequences have therefore been the focus of in-depth research efforts in recent months, and we were delighted to see technical leaders from across the industry travel to our meeting to learn and discuss our results,” continued Westby. Further analysis of these results will improve the ability to measure and predict reliability and make our military and aerospace vehicles safer. Low-Ag SAC alloys and the minimization of reflow temperatures were other topics rounding out the day-one session.

Day two of the event kicked off with updates on edge and corner bonding, a topic of ongoing interest to many, and efforts to define a practical, safe screening test for the identification of inferior electrolytic Ni, i.e. Ni/Au coatings that may give ‘missing balls’ and/or brittle failure of the inter-metallic bond right after reflow. Current screening tests are now suspected of doing more damage than previously thought, presenting a safety issue. Other day two topics included flux dipping of flip chips, reballing, ENEPIG coatings, and an overview of all past consortium reports and how to effectively use them for reference. The event was concluded with the poster session, including in-depth discussions of the major projects with the researchers, as well as networking opportunities.