Dow Electronic in agreement with Polymer Kompositer

Dow Electronic Materials introduces Silveron MF 100 autocatalytic silver and Aurolectroless SMT immersion gold for ASIG (autocatalytic silver immersion gold) final finish process for the PCB (printed circuit board) industry. The company has signed an agreement with Polymer Kompositer AB to become the global distributor for the ASIG final finish process, excluding UK and Scandinavia. Silveron MF 100 autocatalytic silver and Aurolectroless SMT immersion gold offer board fabricators, assemblers and OEMs improvements in solderability, shelf life, wire bonding and reliability due to the unique, dense, pore free silver deposit. Silveron MF 100 autocatalytic silver can be used for reflow or wave solder assembly, and with Aurolectroless SMT gold for wire bonding. Due to the autocatalytic nature of the silver bath, any thickness of silver can be achieved with a dense, crystalline, pore free deposit, showing better shelf life and solderability due to prevention of copper migration to the surface through pores. The fast intermetallic formation during soldering brings improved reliability due to lower soldering temperatures and time compared to nickel based final finishes, as well as avoiding potentially brittle intermetallic compounds formed with nickel based finishes when used with lead free solders. The conductivity of the silver makes this a choice for high frequency applications, whilst gold or aluminium wire bonding shows exceptional bond strengths when using the complete ASIG process. “Driven by changes to board design, component design and pitch, lead free assembly and many other evolving variables, the demand for improved multifunctional, high reliability finishes is very real. The introduction of Silveron ™ MF 100 aims to satisfy such demand.”, said Bob Ferguson, Global General Manager in Dow Electronic Materials. “The innovative silver technology created by Polymer Kompositer coupled with the global reach and market position of Dow Electronic Materials creates exciting opportunities in the evolving PCB final finishes market.”