UK first for GSPK Circuits

Yorkshire based PCB manufacturer, GSPK Circuits Ltd, announces that they are the first PCB Manufacturer in the UK to install a new line to produce the new EPAG finish.

EPAG Electroless Palladium Autocatalytic Gold is a new direct palladium surface finish process with an optional gold layer. Atotech has developed the PallaBond process, which allows the direct deposition of palladium on copper, without using any nickel and offers two to three times more production capacity because of shorter deposition times compared to ENEPIG (Electroless Nickel / Electroless Palladium / Immersion Gold). PallaBond, an autocatalytic palladium final finish, is a high end finish with excellent solderability as well as high frequency and low signal loss attributes, a press release reads. “It has excellent wire bonding credentials, providing very good bonding capability with gold- and silver- wires, as well as proven bonding capabilities with copper- and copper-palladium wires. The process is suitable for high frequency and key press applications, providing maximum fine feature resolution and definition,” the company states in the release. The finish is also phosphor free and bio-compatible, consuming less energy and water than ENIG (Electroless Nickel / Immersion Gold), ENEPIG and Immersion Tin finishes. EPIG and EPAG are basically the same finish, but with the Auto-catalytic Gold you can get a higher Gold thickness on the Electroless Palladium – so it can be used for more assembly techniques such as gold wire bonding as well as soldering therefore it is a more universal finish. GSPK Circuits Ltd. and Atotech are effectively working together for 20 years and made some major developments together.

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