Best Papers from SMTA International Announced

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The SMTA is pleased to announce the Best Papers from SMTA International 2023.  The winners were selected by members of the conference technical committee. This year awards were given for the "Best of Proceedings" category but also for a new designation of "Best Practical and Applications-Based Knowledge." A plaque is given to primary authors of all winning papers for these exceptional achievements.

The following paper was selected for the “Best of Proceedings” award:

"A Collaborative Consortia Project to Assess the Effect of Thermal Cycling Dwell Time on the Reliability of High-Performance Solder Alloys." Richard Coyle, Ph.D., Nokia Bell Labs, and Joint Chair of the iNEMI and HDP 3rd Generation Solder Alloy Project accepts the award on behalf of the Collaborative iNEMI and HDP Consortia Teams.

The following three papers received honorable mention in this category:

"Study of the FCBGA Package Interfaces Reliability Under Monotonic and Fatigue Loads after Sustained High Temperature" by Pradeep Lall, Ph.D., Aathi Pandurangan, Padmanava Choudhury, and Madhu Kasturi, Auburn University.

"A Path to Ductile Low Temperature Solders for Mass production of Electronic Assemblies" by Keith Sweatman, P.E., Nihon Superior; Xin Fu Tan, Qichao Hao, Stuart D. McDonald, Michael Bermingham, Kazuhiro Nogita, The University of Queensland; Qinfen Gu, ANSTO; and Tetsuro Nishimura, Nihon Superior.

"Comparison of Electromigration in Tin-Bismuth Planar and Bottom Terminated Component Solder Joints." Prabjit Singh, Ph.D., IBM Corporation, and Technical Leader of the iNEMI Electromigration Project accepts the award on behalf of the iNEMI project team.

The following paper was selected for the “Best Practical and Applications-Based Knowledge” award:

"Managing Thermomechanical Behaviour in Automotive Electronics" by Maurice Dore, Valeo.

The following two papers received honorable mention in this category:

"Intermetallic Compounds in Solder Alloys: Common Misconceptions" by David Hillman, Hillman Electronic Assembly Solutions; Tim Pearson, Collins Aerospace; and Richard Coyle, Ph.D., Nokia Bell Labs.

"Performance Comparison of Contemporary Stencil Coatings and Under Wipe Solvents on 0.4mm BGA Packages" by Chrys Shea, Shea Engineering Services; Debbie Carboni, KYZEN Corporation; and John Hanerhoff, Garmin International.

The authors will receive their awards during a ceremony at SMTA International 2024.  The SMTA International Conference and Exhibition (SMTAI) 2024 will be held October 21 - 24, 2024 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, USA. Details on participating in the 2024 SMTA International Conference are posted on the event website.