Hi Bob, 

Andy's correct that XRF is a very good method to measure gold thickness. What kind of gold plating are you trying to measure? Is it ENIG gold or electroplated gold? If you are trying to measure the immersion gold plating thickness on an ENIG PCB you will have difficulty doing it by cross section because the gold is typically thinner than 5 microinches and unless you have an excellent cross sectioning capability you can't get a very accurate gold plating thickness measurement. 

George 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Andy Giamis" <[log in to unmask]> 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2016 9:38:28 AM 
Subject: Re: [TN] Measuring Gold Thickness 

Hi Bob, 
We use XRF for most plating thickness analysis (PCB and other plated parts). We cross-section and verify either optically or with SEM/EDS when we can. Most of the time, we're within about 5%. We use several Fischer Technologies systems. 
http://www.fischer-technology.com 

We've had positive experience with these tools in the NJ lab and have since implemented this tool as part of our global IQC. 



-----Original Message----- 
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bob Wettermann 
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2016 8:29 AM 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Subject: [TN] Measuring Gold Thickness 

Outside of x-sectional measurements for QA. can someone please share their favorite method/instrument for measuring gold thicknesses on PCBs? 

Thanks 

Bob/BEST