Just a comment on the cost of ENEPIG. Using palladium after nickel and before gold, limits the gold deposition to normally about two microinches as opposed to about four microinches in normal ENIG. If you look at metal pricing, palladium is currently selling for about $230 per oz and gold is selling for about $920 per oz. The ENEPIG process averages about 5 microinches of palladium. By the self limiting nature of the palladium with the gold you are saving around 2 microinches of gold (at $920 per oz) and replacing it with 5 microinches of palladium (at $230 per oz) the cost difference is very small, in fact I have talked to some manufactures using this process and they have stated the process cost less. I believe the perception of the high cost is from the late 90's early 2000 when palladium went as high as $1300 per oz. ENEPIG was gaining popularity in the late 90's when the price of palladium went through the roof. Because of the huge impact of the palladium, it effectively killed this process. In recent years with the cost of palladium stabilizing back down to reasonable levels, we are seeing increased interest in this process. With cost no longer a factor and the enormous benefits using palladium between the nickel and gold layer, I expect you are going to see significant growth in this process. Regards, Bob Metcalf Atotech Western Regional Manager Cell 714-334-7667 E-Mail [log in to unmask] This e-mail and any attachments hereto are business documents of Atotech USA Inc. and may contain CONFIDENTIAL OR PROPRIETARY BUSINESS INFORMATION. Unauthorized disclosure and/or use of information contained in this email is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not read, use, disseminate or copy this message or any other files transmitted with it. Victor Hernandez <[log in to unmask]> Sent by: TechNet <[log in to unmask]> 07/08/2009 06:31 AM Please respond to TechNet E-Mail Forum <[log in to unmask]>; Please respond to [log in to unmask] To [log in to unmask] cc Subject Re: [TN] Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold (ENEPIG) Dave, Can you share the reference material that you state in this note concerning the above stated topic. I want to be knowledgeable of the process versus hard gold and pure ENIG for commercial use. Victor, -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David D. Hillman Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 10:41 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold (ENEPIG) Hi Lee - ENEPIG is a very good finish - look up the 1996 SMI conference proceedings where Rockwell published a paper on the topic. One of the big drawbacks of the finish is its cost. There are a couple of good reference books that talk about ENEPIG. When I get back off business travel, I can send your the exact references. Dave Hillman Rockwell Collins [log in to unmask] Lee Whiteman <[log in to unmask]> Sent by: TechNet <[log in to unmask]> 04/23/2009 01:11 PM Please respond to TechNet E-Mail Forum <[log in to unmask]>; Please respond to [log in to unmask] To [log in to unmask] cc Subject [TN] Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold (ENEPIG) Does anyone have any opinions of using Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold (ENEPIG) as a board finish for high reliability aerospace applications? You can contact me off line if necessary... Thanks again. 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] --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------