Dear Mike,

While I am not sure of silver finishes in Japan I do know that Alpha Metals 
has a process call AlphaLEVEL which was developed Europe.  AlphaLEVEL is an 
Immersion Silver which is processed in a horizontal conveyorized line.  The 
surface finish is a bright Silver, which is FLAT, highly solderable and wire 
bondable.

Currently there are three or four locations in the UK / Europe which have 
installed this process line.  Also there is one location in USA, Japan and one 
starting up in Taiwan later this month.

Testing has shown that the Silver finish can be electrically tested.  100 
boards were electrically tested, run through the AlphaLEVEL process and 
electrically tested again, testing results were the same.

Costs is slightly higher that HASL but less expensive that Electroless Nickel 
and Immersion Gold.

Hope this answers some of your questions.

Best Regards,

Frank Kurisu
SolderMask, Inc..  

----------
From: 	Mike Buetow
Sent: 	Tuesday, December 10, 1996 9:33 AM
To: 	[log in to unmask]
Subject: 	FAB: silver vs. HASL/OSPs

Is anyone using silver as an alternative to HASL or OSPs? I've heard this 
is being done in Japan, and that the primary reasons are: 1. lower cost 
2. flatter finish than HASL, and 3. eases probing compared to OSPs.

Can someone verify/expand on this process?

Mike Buetow
IPC Technical Staff
2215 Sanders Road
Northbrook, IL 60062
P: 847-509-9700, ext. 335
F: 847-509-9798
[log in to unmask]

***************************************************************************
* TechNet mail list is provided as a service by IPC using SmartList v3.05 *
***************************************************************************
* To unsubscribe from this list at any time, send a message to:           *
* [log in to unmask] with <subject: unsubscribe> and no text.        *
***************************************************************************
* If you are having a problem with the IPC TechNet forum please contact   *
* Dmitriy Sklyar at 847-509-9700 ext. 311 or email at [log in to unmask]      *
***************************************************************************


***************************************************************************
* TechNet mail list is provided as a service by IPC using SmartList v3.05 *
***************************************************************************
* To unsubscribe from this list at any time, send a message to:           *
* [log in to unmask] with <subject: unsubscribe> and no text.        *
***************************************************************************
* If you are having a problem with the IPC TechNet forum please contact   *
* Dmitriy Sklyar at 847-509-9700 ext. 311 or email at [log in to unmask]      *
***************************************************************************