We recently changed some of our PWB's soldermask from a glossy to matte finish.
Since then, we have had problems with contamination
on the surface of the PWB's due to poor cleaning.  To fix the problem the finish
was changed back to a glossy.  There is an effort to change all
of our boards to a glossy soldermask.  I believe it is not an issue of matte vs
glossy but rather the porosity of the specific soldermask being used.
Our boards are high density surfacemount with frequencies above 1 GHz running
through the circuitry.  I prefer the matte finish for ease of inspection
and reduction in solder balling.  We use an OA flux in manufacturing the PCA.
Can someone give me the Pros and Cons of matte and Glossy soldermasks?
Also, am I correct in stating that whether the finish is matte or glossy has
nothing to do with whether or not we will have ionic contamination after
cleaning?
Thank you.

Best Regards,

Mike

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