It’s Only Common Sense: Build Your Business on Reputation, Not Neglect
The Marketing Minute: If Your Marketing Budget Gets Cut in Half, Then What?
Punching Out: How Are the Big Boys in Electronics Doing?
American Standard Circuits Now Offers ENEPIG Surface Finish
September 18, 2023 | American Standard CircuitsEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Illinois-based PCB fabricator, American Standard Circuits, is now offering in-house ENEPIG surface finish. ENEPIG is the solution to multiple surface finish requirements within one multi metal plating operation.
Utilizing nickel as the traditional barrier layer, the Electroless Palladium creates a buffer between the nickel and the gold. This prevents the interaction of the corrosion of the nickel to allow the ion exchange necessary for the Immersion gold. In a traditional ENIG process the nickel is corroded in order to exchange the nickel surface for the immersion gold reaction (reduction). This can lead to intergranular corrosion of the nickel, particularly where the phosphorous and the nickel meet within the co-deposition of nickel and phosphorous (6-9%).
Using Electroless Palladium, the gold is deposited in a partial immersion process (corrosion) which becomes autocatalytic after the initiation of plating of the gold. This removes any corrosion of the nickel and the subsequent risk of Black Pad. In addition to the obvious risk mitigation, it also provides a highly solderable and wire bondable surface without the use of multiple plated thicknesses of electrolytic soft gold. Typically, a thinner gold for solderability (<10µ”) and a thicker deposit for wire bondability (>50µ”).
The ENEPIG process provides the best of both worlds in a single process sequence as well as complete encapsulation of all copper features.
Educational titles from American Standard Circuits:
- The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to…?Fundamentals of RF/Microwave PCBs
- The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to… Flex and Rigid-Flex Fundamentals
- The Companion Guide to Flex and Rigid-Flex Fundamentals
- The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to… Thermal Management: A Fabricator's Perspective
-
Visit I-007eBooks.com?to download these and other free titles.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Your magazines are a great platform for people to exchange knowledge. Thank you for the work that you do."
Simon Khesin - Schmoll MaschinenSuggested Items
I-Connect007 Releases The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to… Direct Metallization: A Guide to Complex PCB Fabrication
05/15/2026 | I-Connect007As PCB complexity continues to accelerate, fabricators and OEMs are reevaluating long-standing manufacturing processes to meet the demands of AI, HDI, advanced packaging, and next-generation electronics. To address these evolving challenges, I-Connect007 is proud to announce the release of The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to… Direct Metallization: A Guide to Complex PCB Fabrication, authored by MacDermid Alpha Solution’s Carmichael Gugliotti.
Driving Innovation: Selecting the Right Laser Source
04/28/2026 | Simon Khesin -- Column: Driving InnovationWhen I first joined Schmoll Maschinen, I brought experience from almost every PCB process, except for laser. As I immersed myself in laser processing, I realized why it can seem so daunting to a newcomer. The complexity arises from three intersecting factors: A vast variety of laser sources: CO2, UV-nano, green-pico, UV-pico, IR-pico, and others; a diverse range of applications: Drilling, cutting, ablation, and more; and an extensive list of materials: These have vastly different absorption rates. Choosing the right machine or laser source is rarely trivial. Even for experienced engineers, answering "Which source is best?" requires examining the business's specific goals.
Institute of Circuit Technology Spring Seminar 2026: A Bright Future in Europe
04/23/2026 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007Through the leafy lanes and spring flowers of Warwickshire and back to Meridan, the traditional centre of England, and now officially part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the county of the West Midlands, I attended the Annual General Meeting and Spring Seminar of the Institute of Circuit Technology (ICT) on April 14. Out of the AGM came notable changes in leadership at the top of the Institute: the retirement of Mat Beadel as chair and Emma Hudson as technical director. Effective May 1, Steve Driver is the new chair, and Alun Morgan is the new technical director.
ACCM Unveils Negative and Near-zero CTE Materials for Large-Format AI Chips
04/21/2026 | Advanced Chip and Circuit MaterialsAdvanced Chip and Circuit Materials, Inc. (ACCM) has launched two new materials: Celeritas HM50, with a negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of -8 ppm/°C to offset the positive CTE and expansion of copper with temperature on circuit boards, and Celeritas HM001, with near-zero CTE and the low-loss performance needed for high-speed signal layers to 224 Gb/s and faster in artificial intelligence (AI) circuits.
Fresh PCB Concepts: Designing PCBs for Harsh Environments—Reliability Is Engineered Upstream
04/23/2026 | Team NCAB -- Column: Fresh PCB ConceptsWhen engineers hear the phrase “harsh environment,” they usually think of the extreme temperature swings, vibration and shock, pressure changes, or radiation in aerospace. However, aerospace is not the only harsh environment where electronic assemblies must survive. Automotive power electronics, downhole oil and gas tools, marine controls, rail systems, defense platforms, and industrial automation equipment all expose PCBs to environments that are equally unforgiving. The stress mechanisms may differ, but the physics does not.