Werner I am curious, how did you determine that the gold coating you observed was plated in a flash gold bath rather than a conventional electrolytic gold bath. The chemistry and plating current density are very different. Best regards Lee JLP Consultants LLC 804 779 3389 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Werner Engelmaier /*" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, October 03, 2008 5:05 AM Subject: Re: [TN] Electrolytic (Flash) Nickel Gold Finish If the flash gold is indeed thin, than there is no reliability difference. However, imAu is self-limiting, flash Au is not. The only true Au-embrittlement I have seen in recent history was with flash-Au plated too thick. Werner -----Ursprüngliche Mitteilung----- Von: Lee parker <[log in to unmask]> An: [log in to unmask] Verschickt: Do., 2. Okt. 2008, 16:01 Thema: Re: [TN] Electrolytic (Flash) Nickel Gold Finish Arnaud I have not seen any definitive side by side data comparing the reliability f ENIG and flash gold. Perhaps a vendor in Asia could make this comparison. have worked with OEMs using both coatings, but from different suppliers. lash gold was found to be a better choice (fewer quality issues). Process control is operating the process in a manner consistent with the uppliers specification. When I audit a shop I request a copy of the hemical suppliers specification for each bath. In cases, I have found that he PCB supplier did not have these instructions. In other cases the process as not being operated according to the suppliers specification. In the case f ENIG this can cause porous gold or even black pad. Unfortunately, uditing incoming product is a must to maintained a high quality product. he auditing frequency should be a function of the product's complexity and he OEMs long term experience with the PCB supplier. Initially the frequency hould be 100%. As confidence in the supplier increases, the frequency can sually be reduced. Best regards ee LP Consultants LLC 04 779 3389 ---- Original Message ----- rom: "arnaud grivon" <[log in to unmask]> o: "TechNet E-Mail Forum" <[log in to unmask]>; "Lee parker" <[log in to unmask]> ent: Thursday, October 02, 2008 5:05 AM ubject: Re: [TN] Electrolytic (Flash) Nickel Gold Finish ee, Could you elaborate on the kind of 'serious' problems we can have with l wedge wire bonding + flash Au plating? hat effects are you referring to and what shall be controlled in the Au rocess? have had one case where usual controls including pull tests were not ufficient to detect a 'serious' problem due to the flash Au finish. would echo Inge and say that ENIG is safer. Arnaud Grivon Lee parker a écrit : Anand Flash gold plating is widely available in Asia and is being used as a alternative to ENIG. This has been in place since early 2000s. The thickness is about 2 micro inches. I have worked with several OEMs using this coating for aluminum wire bonding and the results have been positive. Of course, if the process is not properly controlled, you may have serious problems. I always recommend continuing due diligence and incoming inspection with any supplier. Best regards Lee JLP Consultants LLC 804 779 3389 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Anand" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 5:02 PM Subject: [TN] Electrolytic (Flash) Nickel Gold Finish Hi All, I want to use Alluminum WEDGE wire bonding for COB. as the ENIG i s suitable only for Gold Wire Bonding .....! which i don't want. I thought about Electrolytic (Flash) Nickel Gold Finish. as alluminum wire bond can be used. but i don;t know the recommended thickness of nickel and Gold for A) Electrolytic ?????? I didn't found any ipc std for this ? B) Can any ONE please guide me for the thickness of this plating....! C) again as there is no phosphurus used in electrlytic process how can we prevent the corrosion for this plating ? thanks and eagerly waiting for the answer on above three questions ..... 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