Hello Technetters,

I'm relaying a problem as described by our Incoming Inspection Department:

Board is a Hybrid constructed of Arlon CLTE and FR-4 material.   (2) top and
bottom .020" Arlon CLTE layers are laminated to an FR-4 core .01933" thick, 4
LAYER.  The surface finish is an immersion gold over (3-10 micro inches) over
200 micro inches of stress free nickel.  Approximately 90 % of the board edges
are plated making connecting top and bottom side.  Board is used for RF
applications.

Board is double sided SMT and uses fixtures for placement and reflow.   We have
exhibited delamination (~ quarter in size) which is consistent with open end of
the fixture.  Delamination
was located with in the Arlon Ply material itself and not the FR-4 or copper
foil.

PCB vendor tested the raw material by thermal stressing and found no evidence of
delamination.
The PCB vendor also ran 70 bare boards through SMT Reflow facility and found no
delamination failures.   We ran 10 bare boards in our operations and experienced
a 60 % failure.  Delam was visible, once again, at the open end of the SMT
fixture.   Machine profiles were reviewed by Process Engineers and found both
sites compatible.   Differences that appear to stand out are that the PCB
vendor's screen did not use a fixture.

Questions:

Has anyone had a considerable amount of experience with Arlon CLTE material and
experienced similar problems when processing?

Can moisture play a role in Arlon material - hygroscopic issues?  PCB vendor is
located in
Southern CA.   (Our assembly operations is located in New England.)

Thanks in advance,

Al Kreplick
Sr. Mfg. Eng.
Teradyne, Inc.
Boston, MA
617-422-3726

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