Standard of Excellence: Delivering Excellence—A Daily Goal
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Tin Whisker Mitigation in Aerospace Applications, Part 3
The Knowledge Base: Building the Workforce of Tomorrow With EMAC
Averatek to Present ‘Surface Treatment for Soldering Aluminum PCBs to Conventional Copper PCBs' at IPC APEX EXPO
December 23, 2021 | AveratekEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Averatek is pleased to announce that VP of Manufacturing Divyakant Kadiwala will present the paper entitled, “Surface Treatment for Soldering Aluminum PCBs to Conventional Copper PCBs” during the IPC APEX EXPO Technical Conference, scheduled to take place Jan. 22-27, 2022 at the San Diego Convention Center in California. The paper was co-authored by Nazarali Merchant, Ph.D., Senior Materials Scientist for Averatek.
Soldering is the preferred method for mounting SMDs and connecting circuit boards. But that brings in processing challenges. Soldering to aluminum requires an additional surface treatment or the use of conductive epoxy. These are cost-prohibitive and have reliability challenges and existing products like solders, fluxes, tack agents, cleaners etc. are formulated for Cu-PCBs and do not work on aluminum.
An advanced surface treatment technology will be presented that addresses all these constraints. Once printed on aluminum using conventional printing techniques such as screen, stencil etc., it is cured thermally in a convection oven at low temperatures, leaving a non-conductive deposit on the pads. This is followed by conventional process i.e. print solder over the treated pads, place components and then reflow resulting in finished Al-PCBs. It can also be used to solder Al-PCBs to flexible and rigid Cu-PCBs.
This is a paradigm shift in the industry which opens up many new applications, including those in the RFID, LED, and automotive industries. We will show solder cross-sections and shear data on the soldered joints, including Al-PET to Cu-PCB, Al-PET to Cu-Polyimide using aluminum metallization with low temperature Bi-Sn-Ag solders.
Kadiwala is a process development and project management leader in developing innovative products from laboratory concepts to large-scale manufacturing. He has 15+ years of multi-national experience with utilizing emerging technologies in strategic roles.
Kadiwala holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Mumbai, and a Master’s degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.
Merchant has 20 years of successful deliverables in PCBs, semiconductor packaging, metallurgy, welding consumables and processes, superconductors, fuel cells, batteries, solar cells, and failure analysis. His work has resulted in six US patents, three US patent applications under review, and 25 technical publications.
Merchant holds Doctorate and Master’s degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Illinois, and a Bachelor of Technology in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT of Bombay.
About Averatek
Averatek is a technology innovation company that develops and manufactures key chemistries, and licenses their associated advanced processes, for: very high-density printed circuit boards, semiconductor packaging, RF and millimeter-wave passive components, simplified assembly to aluminum. For more information, visit www.averatek.com.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Driving Innovation: Direct Imaging vs. Conventional Exposure
07/01/2025 | Simon Khesin -- Column: Driving InnovationMy first camera used Kodak film. I even experimented with developing photos in the bathroom, though I usually dropped the film off at a Kodak center and received the prints two weeks later, only to discover that some images were out of focus or poorly framed. Today, every smartphone contains a high-quality camera capable of producing stunning images instantly.
Hands-On Demos Now Available for Apollo Seiko’s EF and AF Selective Soldering Lines
06/30/2025 | Apollo SeikoApollo Seiko, a leading innovator in soldering technology, is excited to spotlight its expanded lineup of EF and AF Series Selective Soldering Systems, now available for live demonstrations in its newly dedicated demo room.
Indium Corporation Expert to Present on Automotive and Industrial Solder Bonding Solutions at Global Electronics Association Workshop
06/26/2025 | IndiumIndium Corporation Principal Engineer, Advanced Materials, Andy Mackie, Ph.D., MSc, will deliver a technical presentation on innovative solder bonding solutions for automotive and industrial applications at the Global Electronics A
Fresh PCB Concepts: Assembly Challenges with Micro Components and Standard Solder Mask Practices
06/26/2025 | Team NCAB -- Column: Fresh PCB ConceptsMicro components have redefined what is possible in PCB design. With package sizes like 01005 and 0201 becoming more common in high-density layouts, designers are now expected to pack more performance into smaller spaces than ever before. While these advancements support miniaturization and functionality, they introduce new assembly challenges, particularly with traditional solder mask and legend application processes.
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Tin Whisker Mitigation in Aerospace Applications, Part 3
06/25/2025 | Nash Bell -- Column: Knocking Down the Bone PileTin whiskers are slender, hair-like metallic growths that can develop on the surface of tin-plated electronic components. Typically measuring a few micrometers in diameter and growing several millimeters in length, they form through an electrochemical process influenced by environmental factors such as temperature variations, mechanical or compressive stress, and the aging of solder alloys.