Enthone Awarded Patent on ENTEK PLUS Organic Solderability Preservative

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West Haven, Conn. — Enthone Inc., a Cookson Electronics company, has been awarded U.S. Patent 6,524,644 for its ENTEK PLUS CU-106A organic solderability preservative (OSP).

The OSP is part of the ENTEK PLUS Gold copper protective coating system that is used as an alternative to hot air solder leveling and other metallic printed wiring board (PWB) final finishes. The process is specifically formulated for mixed metal finishes, such as selective nickel-gold features on PWBs.

As part of the ENTEK PLUS Gold copper protective coating system, the ENTEK Precoat PC-1030 preconditioner is applied to the copper surface prior to applying the ENTEK PLUS CU-106A OSP to the PWB. The final aqueous coating is said to provide excellent solderability and withstands exposure to multiple heat cycles during SMT and mixed technology PWB assembly. The surface finish offers no-clean assembly compatibility, co-planarity and superior bond strength for flip chip applications.

PWBs with mixed metal surfaces contain designs with copper features for soldering and secondary metals such as gold (e.g. edge connectors, key contacts or wire bonding pads). The ENTEK PLUS Gold system is specifically engineered to selectively deposit on copper while ensuring that the secondary metal surface remains contaminate-free. The process eliminates expensive masking and cleaning of selective metals.

Enthone Inc. is a business of Cookson Electronics PWB Materials & Chemistry. The company is a leading supplier of high performance specialty chemicals and coatings used in the electronics and surface finishing industries. For more information, visit www.cooksonelectronics.com.