Dr. Mike Bixenman to Discuss Characterizing Materials at the Component Interface at SMTA Houston

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KYZEN is pleased to announce that it will present at the SMTA Houston Expo & Tech Forum, scheduled to take place Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at the Stafford Centre in Texas. Dr. Mike Bixenman will present the paper titled “Characterizing Materials at the Component Interface Can Improve Reliability.” 

Reliability test methods are performed during the Design for Manufacturing phase to validate process conditions, quality and product reliability. Once the process is signed off by the OEM, CMs do not have a simple test method they can use to verify that the product is being built to designed test levels. Ionic testers were commonly used as a process check, but with the emergence of highly dense interconnects and more complex flux designs, this process tool does not provide an accurate assessment. 

A new site specific test method has been designed to run a performance qualification on boards built with the specified soldering materials, reflow settings and cleaning methods in real-time. High impedance measurements are performed on break off coupons designed with component geometries used to build the assembly. This test method provides a gauge of potential contamination sources coming from the build process that can contribute to electrochemical migration. If the process is outside limit values, the CM can do a root cause analysis and correct the problem. 

Dr. Mike Bixenman, CTO of KYZEN, has more than 20 years of experience in the design of electronic assembly cleaning materials and process integration. He was the chair of the 2008 IPC/SMTA Cleaning Symposium and is the current chair of the IPC Cleaning Handbook Task Group. Dr. Bixenman holds four earned degrees including a Doctorate in Business Administration. 

About KYZEN

KYZEN is a global leader in providing environmentally responsible, RoHS compliant precision cleaning chemistries for industries ranging from electronics and advanced packaging to metal finishing and aerospace applications. Since its founding in 1990, KYZEN’s innovative cleaning technologies, scientific expertise and customer support have been repeatedly recognized with the industry’s most prestigious awards. For more information, click here.