iNEMI launches new collaborative efforts

“iNEMI’s roadmapping and gap analysis activities help us identify those technology and infrastructure gaps where it makes sense for industry to collaboratively develop common solutions,” said Jim McElroy, CEO of iNEMI. Pb-Free Alloy Alternatives This new iNEMI project is being organized to provide industry guidelines to help make the growing proliferation of Pb-free alloys easier to manage. Many BGA suppliers are changing the alloys used for Pb-free solder balls to improve mechanical shock performance. As a result, the variety of Pb-free alloys is increasing. The first phase of this project will focus on the analysis of existing knowledge and assessment of critical gaps, and on driving standards to help manage supply chain complexity and risk. Pb-Free Early Failure This new effort will determine whether a large sample size can reveal Pb-free early failures in accelerated thermal fatigue testing of Pb-free solder joints. The physical and metallurgical differences between SnPb and Pb-free solders have a direct effect on thermal cycle performance, and the properties and failure behavior of SAC solders are markedly different. The team plans to develop a unique test vehicle with a large sample size (256 each of three different component types) to test BGA solder joints. Testing will include two components that tend to fail relatively quickly and a third with a slightly longer life, and will cover four conditions: small sphere joints, large sphere joints, low strain rate and high strain rate. Boundary Scan Adoption This project will promote wider adoption of boundary scan throughout the industry, encourage semiconductor vendors to include the technology in their products, and promote the development of tools by ATE vendors to support boundary scan based board test. Solder Paste Deposition The project team proposes to: (1) investigate the keep-out distances of step stencils and output the design rules, (2) identify new paste deposition technologies for high-density layouts, and (3) compare and evaluate the feasibility of identified technologies, including the development of new manufacturing processes and equipment.