Dr. Jennie Hwang to Present at IPC APEX EXPO 2022

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Dr. Jennie Hwang to address “Preventing Manufacturing Defects and Product Failure” and “Reliability of Electronics - the Role of Intermetallic Compounds” at IPC APEX on Monday, January 24, 2022, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., respectively.

Under today’s manufacturing and market environment, the effort to maximize production yield, reduce cost and assure product reliability is becoming increasingly critical to a company’s competitiveness. Considering the new and anticipated developments in packaging and assembly and with the goal of achieving high yield and reliability in mind, the “how-to” prevent prevailing production defects and product reliability issues through an understanding of potential causes is a necessity.

Dr Hwang leverages decades of extensive real-world experiences and deep and comprehensive knowledge to address “Preventing Manufacturing Defects and Product Failure” (PDC17) on Monday, January 24 from 8:00AM to 11:00AM; and “Reliability of Electronics - the Role of Intermetallic Compounds” (PDC27) on Monday, January 24 from 3:30PM to 6:30PM at IPC APEX be held at the San Diego Conference Center.

Mon, Jan 24, 2022 - 8 to 11 a.m.

PDC17: Preventing Manufacturing Defects and Product Failure

Focusing on preventing prevailing production defects and product reliability issues that affect yield, cost and performance through an understanding of potential causes and plausible solutions, PDC17 provides a holistic overview of product reliability - the roles of materials, processes, testing/service conditions, and crucial principles behind the product reliability.

One selected area related to product failure (tin whisker) and five selected defects (PCB pad cratering vs. pad lifting, BGA head-on-pillow, open or insufficient solder joints, copper dissolution issue and lead-free through-hole barrel filling) will be discussed. Specific defects associated with the reliability of BTC, PoP and BGA assembly will be highlighted. The root causes and preventive measures for each of the five prevalent production defects will be outlined. From practical perspectives, tin whisker with emphasis on risk mitigation through understanding the factors that affect tin whisker growth, and its testing challenges will be outlined. The practical tin whisker criteria for reliability implications in the lead-free environment and the relative effectiveness of mitigating measures will be ranked.

The course addresses the most prevalent production issues and defects that affect yield, cost and reliability, suitable to all who are involved with or interested in SnPb and Pb-free manufacturing including designers, engineers, researchers, managers and business decision makers; also, is designed for those who desire the broad-based information. Please join your industry colleagues in this course. The main topics to be covered in this course are listed below. And attendees’ questions and comments are warmly welcomed.

Main Topics:

• Premise of production defects and product failure prevention
• Common production defects and issues
• PCB pad cratering (vs. pad lifting)
• Open or insufficient solder Joints
• BGA head-on-pillow defect
• Copper dissolution
• Lead-free through-hole barrel filling
• Defects of BTC and PoP solder joints - prevention and remedies
• Tin whisker - concerns, practical criteria, testing challenges; growth phenomena
• Tin whisker - contributing factors, risk mitigation, practical remedies

Summary

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Mon, Jan 24, 2022 - 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

PDC27: Reliability of Electronics - Role of Intermetallic Compounds

Intermetallic compounds (IMCs) play an increasingly important role to the performance and reliability of solder interconnections in the chip level, package level and board level of lead-free electronics.

With the goal to produce reliable products while achieving high yield production, this course focuses on one of likely product failure processes that are induced or aggravated by time, temperature and/or stress - intermetallic compounds.

PDC27 covers the relevant and important aspects of intermetallic compounds ranging from scientific fundamentals to practical application scenarios. Intermetallic compounds before solder joint formation, during solder joint formation and after solder joint formation in storage and during service will be examined. Intermetallics at-interface and in-bulk, as well as the role of PCB surface finish/component coating in relation to intermetallics, in turn, to reliability will be discussed. The difference between SnPb and Pb-free solder joint in terms of intermetallic compounds, which affects production-floor phenomena and the eventual field failure, will be outlined. The course will also address the relevant aspects of “newer” Pb-free alloys that were recently introduced to the market. The course emphasizes on practical, working knowledge, yet balanced and substantiated by science. Attendees are welcome to bring their own selected systems for deliberation.

Please join your industry colleagues in this course.

Main Topics:

• Intermetallic compounds " definition, fundamentals, characteristics
• Phase diagrams of Pb-free solders in contrast with SnPb
• Intermetallic compounds in the intrinsic material- Pb-free vs. SnPb
• Formation and growth during production process and during product service life
• Intermetallic compounds - at-interface vs. in-bulk
• Effects from substrate compositions (hybrid module thick film pads, PCB surface finish, component surface coating)
• Gold embrittlement
• Different types of intermetallic compounds " effects on solder joint reliability (Ni/Au, Ni/Pd/Au, Ni/Pd, Cu)
• SAC alloys incorporated with various doping elements " characteristics, performance
• “Low-Temperature” solder alloys " critical areas to product reliability
• Effects on failure mode
• Effects on reliability.

Register here.