Dave & Co. I noticed it too. I have no information on what the boards saw before testing. My initial impressions was that this was a "virgin" board that did not see any thermal or mechanical stresses. So I kind of flying in the dark on this one. I'm confident that it is not Black Pad - I've seen that and this does not register. A possible thought was that there was some contamination in the Ni bath - I've seen that here too - but the cross-sections did not show any. Assuming that it was mechanically stressed, the pads in question were not at the edge of the board but 2-3 rows into the board. There were mounting screws holes in the area, but did the hardware mounting process cause the problem - it is conceivable but there is not sufficient information to clearly identify the root cause. Like I told someone earlier, what you see is what I got... Thanks for all the inputs. (NTC) Spring training and the Daytona 500 starts Sunday... Lee Whiteman, PMP Senior Member Engineering Staff L-3 Communications East Telephone: (856) 338-3508 FAX: (856) 338-2906 E-Mail: [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David D. Hillman Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 5:33 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] CRACKED ENIG PADS Hi folks! Hey Lee, in one of the pictures, there looks to be mounting hardware for a connector on the left side of the picture. Did you notice that the cracks shown in the pth close-up are on the pth left side (the side closest to that mounting hardware) and that there are nearly no cracks on the pth right side (the side that is away from the mounting hardware)! Humm, ya might want to see what the mounting hardware torque requirements are and what tooling is being used. Just a guess. Dave Hillman Rockwell Collins [log in to unmask] "Stadem, Richard D." <[log in to unmask]> Sent by: TechNet <[log in to unmask]> 02/11/2009 03:31 PM Please respond to TechNet E-Mail Forum <[log in to unmask]>; Please respond to "Stadem, Richard D." <[log in to unmask]> To [log in to unmask] cc Subject Re: [TN] CRACKED ENIG PADS Vladimer is correct. They are cracks in the nickel/gold layer that extend down to the copper and stop there. The reason is that the nickel is a much more brittle or non-ductile material than either the gold or the copper. The copper will bend somewhat if the board is stressed, but the nickel will not, it cracks. The gold is so thin on true ENIG (3-5 uinches) that when the nickel cracks the gold is literally torn apart. The copper does not crack easily. So the board was subject to some type of flexural stress that caused the nickel to crack, and the direction of the flexure determines the portion of the annular ring upon which the hard nickel is going to crack. That is why in this particular picture the cracks are concentrated on one side of the annular ring. -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Vladimir Igoshev Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 2:41 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] CRACKED ENIG PADS Lee, Without seeing the actual cross-sections it's impossible to say what is the root cause. If you are not happy with the lab report, you can send me the part and I'll do it. Regards, Vladimir SENTEC 11 Canadian Road, Unit 7. Scarborough, ON M1R 5G1 Tel: (416) 899-1882 Fax: (905) 882-8812 www.sentec.ca -----Original Message----- From: Lee Whiteman <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:41:46 To: <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: [TN] CRACKED ENIG PADS Victor, George, Vladimir, and Company Steve should be attaching the cross-section photograph. Since I did not supervise the cross-sectioning activity, I will not vouch on the quality of the cross-section. I do see a layer (crack?) between the ENIG plating and the copper surface, but the report that I received indicated that there was "no evidence of a lack of bonding" - the lab reports words. That layer (crack?) seems more pronounced than similar ENIG cross-sections I have seen. Lee Whiteman, PMP Senior Member Engineering Staff L-3 Communications East Telephone: (856) 338-3508 FAX: (856) 338-2906 E-Mail: [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Victor Hernandez Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 2:23 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] CRACKED ENIG PADS Can you share the photos of the cross section? -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Wenger, George M. Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 12:51 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] CRACKED ENIG PADS Lee, When you say "Evidently" that you have done cro Lee, When you say "Evidently" that you have done cross sectioning and see that the cracks are only in the Ni and Au and not in the Cu? Since you said "There was no evidence of a lack of bonding between the copper and the ENIG finish" that implies to me that you did cross section but since I wasn't sure I thought I'd ask. Regards, George George M. Wenger Andrew Wireless Solutions Senior Principal FMA/Reliability Engineer 40 Technology Drive, Warren, NJ 07059 (908) 546-4531 (Office) (732) 309-8964 (cell) [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steve Gregory Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 1:42 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] CRACKED ENIG PADS Hi Lee! Have your pictures posted. They are here: http://stevezeva.homestead.com/files/THROUGH_HOLE_CRACKS-1.jpg http://stevezeva.homestead.com/files/THROUGH_HOLE_CRACKS-2.jpg I have to let those that know more about plating than I do answer this one... Steve -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lee Whiteman Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 12:20 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] CRACKED ENIG PADS I have asked Steve to put up a pair of pictures I received. They are of cracks within the ENIG finish of a PWB. I know that the board failed, based on IPC-6011 and IPC-6012. My question is what would cause the cracking? Evidently, it is in the Nickel layer and the copper layer was not compromised. There was no evidence of a lack of bonding between the copper and the ENIG finish. These boards are fresh from the supplier. Just curious... Thanks in advance. 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