I've been following this oxide alternative thread with some interest,
and can add the following comments.
A number of our board suppliers have either implemented these
alternatives, or are considering it & seek our approval. We can't accept
the light color of the Durabond or other tin process  for our
applications, which effectively rules them out (for us anyway.) Another
list subscriber mentioned dendritic growth, we didn't get that far but
it could be a valid concern. As far as the peroxy-sulfuric type
alternatives go there only seem to be 2 players right now, Alpha &
MacDermid, with very similar looking products. Performance is similar,
with the peel strength #'s being slightly higher on the Alpha Prep
samples. As a general comment we find time to delamination is improved
with these oxide alternatives. Alpha claims to have a greater installed
base of customers, whch makes us as an end user feel slightly more
comfortable when accepting product built with new technology.

Dr. Thomas Peters


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