Rochester Institute of Technology and KIC to present lead-free paper at Assembly Technology Expo

KIC has announced that Professor S. Manian Ramkumar, Rochester Institute of Technology, will present a joint paper on the effects of deviating from the thermal process window for lead-free assembly at the upcoming Assembly Technology Expo/SMTA International.

The lead-free thermal process window is significantly tighter than the previously standard tin-lead application. Additionally, there are indications that the lead-free process limits are much less forgiving in that an out-of-spec reflow or wave solder application will quickly result in defects. The paper, "Effect of Deviating from the Reflow Process Window for Lead-free Assembly," has been researched and developed  by Professor S. Manian Ramkumar, Professor Scott J. Anson, Manivannan Sampathkumar and Santhakumar Rajesnayagham, of Rochester Institute of Technology; in cooperation with Bjorn Dahle and Miles Moreau of KIC.

The goal of the paper is to understand the effect of deviating from the standard reflow process window for lead-free assembly and to characterize the solder joint quality. The objective is to determine the influence of the deviation of reflow process parameters, specifically the peak temperature and time above liquidus, above and below the standard reflow process window, on solder joint quality, using visual inspection, shear testing, and microstructure analysis.

The paper, to be presented on Wednesday, September 28 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in Room 7, is within the Lead-Free Process Control session tract.