ENIG will in general terms return higher Ionic Contamination levels than properly cleaned HASL products. Years ago early in the ENIG development process, the contamination results - among a laundry list of disasters - were poor with ENIG. The Reflow and early HASL processes had better results, but this was a factor of much work done with post-process cleaning to obtain levels required by Bellcore. With capabilities to 6 ugm NACL eq/inch2 on solder boards, the first ENIG parts processed at 15-20 were shocking. This issue was also related to the soldermask and here also many improvements were made in mask chemistry as well. Dryfilm mask for example had very poor results in testing, while some flat liquids also had heightened levels. With many improvements in processing and ENIG chemistries, we have been able to maintain all products to a standard level, which for us still remains the fairly low some where in the 2 ugm area for all parts ready to ship. Is it possible you requirement is to low? Jeffrey Bush Director, Quality Assurance and Technical Support VERMONT CIRCUITS INCORPORATED 76 Technology Drive - POB 1890 Brattleboro, Vermont 05302 Voice - 802.257.4571 ext 21 Fax - 802.257.0011 <http://www.vtcircuits.com/> -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Chris Ball Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2006 8:16 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] bareboard cleanliness related to surface finish Hello Inge- I asked because we are changing over to a new bareboard supplier for several different products. Actually, several different divisions within the company are moving a single product each to the new supplier. These are all mature, already in production parts. The previous shops either had no problem meeting the spec., or didn't meet it but we didn't know. The new shop is asking for exceptions to the requirement, and all the requests funnel back here. I see that they request different levels for different products. Sometimes different levels for the same product on different days, but that's another email.... When I showed them an earlier request for a lower level they told me it was due to the different surface finish. That was a new thing to me, so I checked with the experts. So, not trying to split a whisker, and not even a psuedo-academic. Some of the other questions, concerns, and exceptions from the shop have made me generally suspicious. Maybe these are delay tactics. Just checking. And trying to get a little smarter at the same time. Reading this forum is pretty educational, IMHO. I appreciate the responses and apologize for not taking the time to research the archives first, but as a not-even-psuedo-academic, I usually follow the easiest path to enlightenment. ;-/ Best Regards, -Chris "Ingemar Hernefjord \(KC/EMW\)" To: "TechNet E-Mail Forum" <[log in to unmask]>, Chris <ingemar.hernefjord@ericss BALL/AuburnHills/VSDS/VALEO@VALEO on.com> cc: Subject: RE: [TN] bareboard cleanliness related to 09/14/2006 02:52 AM surface finish Chris, Why do youi put the question? I've never heard about practical in-field-use problems based on ionic level diff between the two treatments. Never. Academics can always find hair cleaving topics, but we working with design production and marketing are more interested in the question "do they work?" Inge -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Chris Ball Sent: den 12 september 2006 20:19 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] bareboard cleanliness related to surface finish Hello Gurus- Is it fair to expect a higher contamination on a HASL finished bareboard than, say ENIG? I would have expected the same level of cleanliness when receiving the bareboards, but new supplier says they have different levels for different finishes. We specify tighter than std. IPC levels and never varied the spec due to surface finish. Requests for exceptions have been rare and not related to surface finish. Any comments appreciated, -Chris "This e-mail message is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s). The information contained therein may be confidential or privileged, and its disclosure or reproduction is strictly prohibited. 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