CLEARSignals

CLEARSignals
Published by . . .
UYEMURA INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
www.uyemura.com
Uyemura’s DC Acid Copper Baths at the Forefront Again
Uyemura has introduced its “High Aspect Ratio EPL bath” as the answer to the demand for 1:25
and up to 1:40 aspect ratio plated thru holes. This was achieved by optimizing the
organic additives, the solution agitation, the cell geometry and plating
current density. The 1:25 aspect ratio was plated with 64% throw
in the middle of the hole. The 1:40 gave 53% throw, with zero
dog-boning and no increase in surface plating. The first round of
plating was for a 6 mil hole in a 170 mil thick board; the second
round of plating was a 4 mil hole in 170 mil thick board.
The number of EVF-R “Via Fill” installations in the USA continues to
grow, as the industry recognizes the capability of the bath, its ease
of use and the “know how” of Uyemura’s technical staff.
ZERO DOG-BONING &
NO INCREASE IN SURFACE PLATING
CUSTOMER VIEWPOINT
We use the Uyemura EVF-R “Via Fill” DC
non-pulse acid copper bath. The bath was
set-up by Uyemura’s technical staff according
to the data sheet. The bath is easy to run and
has given consistent product quality since its
installation in 2007.
Recently, we called on Uyemura for very high
aspect ratio plating (25:1) in a 6 mil hole. They
re-designed the plating tank and delivered their
“High Aspect Ratio EPL” bath. The set-up hit
the ground running and delivered greater
than 60% throw, with zero dog-boning at the
entrance of the hole. We are impressed with
Uyemura’s products and more important with the
knowledge and support of its technical staff.
James Russel, President
R&D Circuits
South Plainfield, NJ
R&D Circuits:
R&D Circuits is a leading
manufacturer of technologically
advanced printed wiring boards
for the ATE industry.
R&D Circuits and its subsidiaries
offer advanced PWB engineering,
fabrication, assembly, socket and
interconnect services to leading
electronics OEMs and their
partners worldwide in the
semiconductor test industry.
ENIG:
Art and Science
Selling ENIG remains a complex
combination of art and science.
The science is strong, and we have
the documentation to support it –
along with exceptional products. The
“art” comes into play as we deal with
expectations, which are not always
realistic. In one recent example, a
current user of other Uyemura
products wanted to install our ENIG.
Their customer’s “spec” was for 10
microinches of gold. We pointed
out that without electroless gold
that expectation was ridiculous,
and obviously they were unfamiliar
with both black nickel issues, and
IPC specifications.
The other comments we hear regard
price. At $1600 gold, over 80% of
the chemistry cost of putting ENIG
on a board is the gold itself. So
when people are shopping for ENIG
suppliers, they are really only talking
about the remaining 20%—and how
different can we all be?
Well, very different, actually. Here are
some considerations:
a. Dummy plating of the nickel—
if it’s required, this generates a
tremendous added cost burden
in wasted chemistry, time, power,
labor, waste treatment, etc.
By Don Walsh,
Director of Operations
b. Yields—from our perspective,
this is the main misunderstood
component when comparing
ENIG performances.
c. The distribution of the gold on
the board—this factor affects the
total cost of the process as much
as the chemical cost. Getting the
distribution right will save more
than any other single factor.
d. The amount of gold in the
bath and the service life of
the bath—both are important,
but not as important as the
factors listed above.
e. The controller governing the
nickel—only the Uyemura system
can modify the calibration curve
to compensate for accumulation
of byproduct, and maintain
analytical records for SPC
charting – two huge advantages.
Uyemura’s substantial, ongoing
investment in R&D, and years of field
experience, have produced many
high-performance components for
an ENIG line—and more options for
gold baths than any supplier. We can
also tailor the process to a customer’s
needs (assuming their customer has
realistic specs).
For example, adding a palladium
bath to an ENIG line creates
ENEPIG – a finish that is far superior
in terms of performance, and lower
in cost vs. electrolytic nickel gold
or ENEG. The specific gold bath
however, must be tailored to work
with the palladium, and not all gold
baths play well with palladium.
Continued on Page 4
You’vHeeard
Probably
The world’s preeminent supplier
of laminate reinforced electronic
material, and the premier
manufacturer of Teflon laminates,
has tapped Uyemura as its ENIG
supplier. The switch from a
competitive chemistry follows
chronic problems with
background plating.
The company describes its
experience as “much improved,
with highly uniform plating results,”
thanks to UIC’s pre-dip and postdip chemistries. It also reports
greater bath versatility, specifically
the ability to make fine adjustments
in plating rate.
Separately, the manager of a final
finishing job shop that until recently
ran both UIC and the troubled
competitive chemistry reports
that his company conducted
an exhaustive study on those
laminates and determined that
only the UIC ENIG performs
consistently. He credits the strong
performance of UIC pre-dips and
post-dips for the superior results.
The products are ACL-634 and
ACL-738; both of these proved
critical for the dramatic improvement in plating PC laminate
material, particularly the more
challenging Teflon substrate.
Uyemura has partnered with
leading laminate producers
for more than a decade, with
significant R&D conducted at the
UIC Tech Center in Southington.
We deeply appreciate the
confidence they put in Uyemura
processes, and will continue to do
everything in our power to ensure
their success.
UIC is Vendor “Soloist”at IPC Midwest 2012
IPC Midwest is a highly focused conference that we’ve always recognized
as an excellent way to connect with customers and prospects throughout the
region, while supporting the important goals of IPC. This year, we were the only
chemical vendor exhibiting, providing a prized “solo” opportunity to discuss new
and emerging UIC products with customers and vendor partners.
The conference opened with a talk by Alan Rae, Ph.D. and CEO, NanoMaterials
Innovation Center, titled “Nanotechnology and Electronics Assembly.” Dr. Rae
outlined current and potential applications for nanotech in areas important to
IPC members, and discussed the evolving commercial structure that supports
the translation of inventions to practical products.
Other highlights of the 2-day event included a reception for IPC’s new President
& CEO, John W. Mitchell and the IPC Executive Summit, titled “Electronics in the
Fast Lane: How High Speed Technologies are Changing the Game.”
The greater the complexity of the
application . . . the more customers
depend on Uyemura. More than
any chemical supplier, we have the
technical resources to adapt our
chemistries to fit “hand-in-glove”
with advanced, proprietary materials.
In addition, we have specialized
pretreatments and cleaners that
enhance the compatibility of our
processes with advanced substrates.
With every wireless application –
and every specialized laminate –
Uyemura ENIG chemistry proves
its superiority. Why? Many
customers suggest it is our unique
4-component system, which allows
subtle, critical adjustments on four
axis.
Equally important, Uyemura pretreatment protocols facilitate the removal
of extraneous catalyst. The result:
there is no background plating.
The Uyemura process is fully
compatible with 6010, a laminate
widely favored by industry.
ENIG: Art & Science
George Gallager
is New “Tech Rep”
(Continued from page 2)
We are also experiencing increased
sales of ENIG, with our material preferred
for special laminate materials (avoiding
background plating) and for applications
where corrosion has occurred around
holes on FR4 boards.
In these cases, the issues have nothing to
do with cost, or expectations. The fact is,
we have the products that work.
Uyemura has appointed
George Gallager to the
position of Applications
Specialist. Gallager will
work with Uyemura customers and partners both in
the US and internationally, in both the Printed Circuit
and General Metal Finishing business units.
Gallager brings to Uyemura 34 years of experience
in finishing technology. He has extensive experience
in Europe and Asia, and was based in Singapore for
5 years.
“George has extensive knowledge of Uyemura’s
product line, and understands the demands and
unique challenges of this industry,” said Don Walsh.
“His knowledge and experience will be a great asset
to Uyemura customers.”
Gallager is based at Uyemura’s Connecticut
Tech Center.
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UYEMURA INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
Corp HQ: 3990 Concours, #425 • Ontario, CA 91764 • ph: 909.466.5635
Tech Center: 240 Town Line Road • Southington, CT 06489 • ph: 860.793.4011
www.uyemura.com
© The New Yorker Collection from cartoonbank.com. All Rights Reserved.
Mentioning ENEPIG makes us smile. Our
electroless palladium was our fastestgrowing product last year and is setting new
records this year. The concept of
ENEPIG was introduced almost 20
years ago. Since then, its chemistry
has improved and adapted, and it is
now the process of choice for all
assembly processes.