MERIX CORPORATION

YOUR COMPLETE CIRCUIT BOARD SOLUTION

IPC Board Designers Mtg

1/20/2010

Agenda

3:30-4:00 Registration, Snacks, Voting 4:00-4:30 Merix Presentation 4:30-6:30 Plant Tour

Table of Contents
Specifications & Drawing Communications (slide 3) Common Errors (slides 4-12) Copper Foil & Plating Thickness Requirements (slides 13-17) Balanced Circuitry (slide 18) Clearance Rings (slide19) Laser Drilling (slides 20-23) Electrical Test: IPC Definitions (slide 24)

PCB Specification & Drawing Communications

Identify default tolerances on prints. Need instructions for soldermask edits on prints for tented vias. Encroach or fill? Need to identify soldermask defined pads to avoid accidental enlargement. Keep data files separated for different parts. Should not combine print notes on one print for sister parts if they do not apply. Send only one set of data files. Customers are often sending in ODB++ and Gerber files but they differ in content. Datum points need to be tangible not an arbitrary point outside of the image. Identify intentional net-list errors. Surface finish should be on the print not buried in the spec. Prefer to have customer supply the array drawings.

Common Errors
IPC 4552 Specification for Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold (ENIG) Plating for Printed Circuit Boards
Merix commonly sees a misinterpretation of the Immersion Gold thickness spec As written, the gold thickness spec is 0.05um (1.97 uin) minimum. No maximum value is specified.

Common Errors
ENIG Spec (Continued)
Paragraph 3.2.2 Immersion Gold Thickness The minimum immersion gold thickness shall be 0.05 m [1.97 in] at four sigma (standard deviation) below the mean; the typical range is 0.075 to 0.125 m [2.955 to 4.925 in]. We see a lot of callouts for a gold thickness spec of 2-5 or 3-5 uin based on this paragraph Statistics reminder: Range = Max Min Specs of 2-5 or 3-5 uin are nearly impossible to meet and exceed not only the capability of the process but also the verification equipment. Merix typical process capability for immersion gold is 2 8 uin, which has a range of 6 uin

Common Errors
ENIG Spec (Continued)
Paragraph 3.2.2 Immersion Gold Thickness The minimum immersion gold thickness shall be 0.05 m [1.97 in] at four sigma (standard deviation) below the mean; the typical range is 0.075 to 0.125 m [2.955 to 4.925 in]. We see a lot of callouts for a gold thickness spec of 2-5 or 3-5 uin based on this paragraph Statistics reminder: Range = Max Min Specs of 2-5 or 3-5 uin are nearly impossible to meet and exceed not only the capability of the process but also the verification equipment. Merix typical process capability for immersion gold is 2 8 uin, which has a range of 6 uin

Common Errors
Specifying Plated Conductor Layers Or How Thick is an Ounce?
What is 1 oz copper? A square foot of 1 oz thick copper will weigh 1 oz. According to IPC 4562 the nominal equivalent thickness for 1 oz copper 34.3 um (.00135)
1.35 mils 1 oz Foil

Common Errors
Specifying Plated Conductor Layers Or How Thick is an Ounce?
IPC 4562 and 4101 allow purchased foil to be 10% below nominal. This means the 1 oz foil Merix buys may be as low as 30.9 uin (.00122)
1.22 mils 1 oz Foil

Common Errors
Specifying Plated Conductor Layers Or How Thick is an Ounce?
IPC 6012 allows 1 oz foil in finished board to be as thin as 24.9 uin (.00098)

0.98 mils

1 oz Foil

10

Common Errors
What does this have to do with plated conductor layer thickness?
Merix commonly sees plated layer callouts using oz for thickness For example
0.5 oz plated with 1.0 oz 1.5 oz finished

No industry standard for converting weight to thickness for plated layers (1.4, 1.2 or 1.0?) Are the specified values min, nominal, max?

11

Common Errors
IPC 6012 to the Rescue
Table 3.8 specified minimum external conductor thickness after plating based on specified starting foil

12

Common Errors
IPC 6012 to the Rescue
Caveats:
Table specifies external thickness does it apply to plated inner layers? Assumes copper in hole is also plated on the surface. This isnt necessarily compatible with some HDI plating strategies filled vias, button plate, etc.

13

Copper Foil / Plate Thickness

Preferred dimension in inches. Specify dimension as a minimum or a nominal with a tolerance. Do not use copper weights [oz/in2 or g/M2]
There is no industry standard for conversion of copper weight to thickness.

14

Preferred Foil Thickness Dimension

Spec Drawing/Stack-up Callout Finished copper thickness on the surface layers to be .002 inch minimum Final copper thickness 1.9+/- 0.40 mil Where Plated OL Plated IL

OL OL

0.002 inch minimum 0.0015 to 0.0023 inches

15

Confusing Foil Thickness Dimension

Spec Drawing/Stack-up Callout 0.5 oz + Plating (2.0 mils thick) 0.5 oz copper callout + 1.9 mils finished thickness in stack-up 0.5 oz (.0024" thick after plating) Where OL OL or IL OL Plated OL Plated IL

1/2 oz plated with 1oz 1oz plated up to 2oz, finished external copper thickness: 2oz Outer layers shall be produced by starting with 1/2 oz. copper and plate up to a nominal finish of 2 oz. copper. 1 oz copper clad/1 oz copper plating

OL OL

OL OL

16

Confusing Foil Thickness Dimension

Spec Drawing/Stack-up Callout 1 oz after plating 1 oz copper finished Copper weight: 1.5 oz finished 305g/M2 finished. Unless indicated otherwise. Electroplate copper on outer layers to 1.5 oz., nominal. 0.5 oz (0.0007) copper clad (1oz. Minimum after plating) outer layers Where OL OL and unplated IL OL OL OL Plated OL Plated IL

OL

1/2 to 1 oz 1.5-2 oz. copper after fabrication on external layers 0.5 oz copper foil plated to 1 to 1.5 oz

OL OL OL

17

IPC-6012B, Am. 1

18

IPC-2221 Coupon Design Segments A and B

Purpose
Inspect the structural integrity of the plated features in the board. Examples of plated features are component PTH, via holes, buried vias, blind vias, and microvias. An attribute inspected during structural integrity inspection is internal annular ring.

19

IPC-2221 Coupon Design Segments A and B

Annular ring / registration inspection

Inspection done on IPC-2221 coupons. Coupon represent the smallest pad diameter for each layer. Coupon located where the greatest material movement occurs on the panel.
20

IPC-2221 Coupon Design Segments A and B

21

Plane Layer Smallest Pad Diameter

The smallest pad diameter on plane layers tends to be thermal relief pads.
The antipad diameter is the same as other locations on the plane layer. The thermal relief pad diameter is reduced to fit within the antipad with adequate clearance.
AntiPad Diameter 0.033"

Pad Diameter 0.018"

The smaller thermal relief pad diameter is used in the coupon pattern used for annular ring inspection. This results in a pad diameter that exceeds the registration tolerance for manufacturing. Product is non-compliant for annular ring failures on IPC Class 3 product. When this condition is evident, some design have a larger pad diameter for holes connected to traces.

Pad Diameter 0.024"

22

Thermal Relief Pad Tolerance

What is the effect on functionality of the circuit board for the following conditions?
A

Condition A Condition B
B

23

Balanced circuitry and/or use of thieving on plated layers

Isolated circuitry

Thieving applied

24

Minimum 8.0 mil clearance rings for plated layers

The small surface area of a clearance ring is difficult to hold good Resist adhesion. 8.0 mils give a good bond area to with stand any plating conditions and possible handling damage

25

Hitachi Dual (UV+CO2) Laser drilling machine Model: LUC-2F21E(C)

System Specifications:
UV Laser system (1) Model : C-10FA (2) Type of laser : LD pumped UV (3) Wavelength : 355 nm (5) Pulse frequency : 25,000 to 70,000 Hz (6) Average Output : 10W at 50KHz CO2 Laser system (1) Model : Super Pulse 12A (2) Type of laser : CO2 gas laser (3) Wavelength : 9,400 nm (4) Pulse width : 0.001 to 0.030 msec (5) Pulse frequency : 100 to 6000 Hz <Pulse period 0.167 to 10.000 msec> (6) Average Output : 200W max.

26

Hitachi Dual (UV+CO2) Laser drilling machine, Model: LUC-2F21E(C)

System Options Laser power meter (Built into machine) To measure laser output power and pulse energy. Power measurement software and hardware integral to machine. Automatic machine setup function 1) Automatic machine warm-up, power measurement and galvano compensation function 2) LOG function a) Production control data file b) GCOMP/GCHK data file c) Laser power measurement data file
27

Laser in action

28

Micro-via design considerations

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Aspect ratio Depth : Diameter 0.8 : 1 Via shape: Bottom dia. > 50% top dia. Glass styles should be limited to finer glass when possible 1080, 106, 2113 Top dia. from 3.5 mils to 13.5 mils Registration can be assessed by the panel targets or when needed internal fiducials can be used. Buried micro-vias should be epoxy filled, copper filled

6.

1-3 micro-via connection in one lamination process!

29

Electrical Test
IPC-9252 Vs IPC-9252A Class III 10 Ohm 9252A Class III 20 Ohm 9252 Concerns that the industry is designing product under the Class III category but copper lengths within the layout exceed 10 Ohms. By referee modeling, any net with any point-to-point length of ~20 may violate Class III. This is creating a hybrid type of design as requests are being made to allow the Class II nets to be accepted. This requires double testing and manual programming as CAM software has not adapted to this new scenario. IPC has not addressed on what appears to be emerging as Class 2.5. Indirect Continuity/Isolation Testing by Signature Comparison Concern on Class III, AABUS. Difficulty for manufactures to revisit customers to allow Flying Probe (Capacitive Discharge) on Class III product. Not addressed in 9252. Adjacency (for isolation testing) Concern on Class III, AABUS. Same difficulty as noted above IPC-9252A Table 4-1 Quick reference table does not address Class 3/A Exceptions for Space and Military Avionics (IPC-6012B w/Amendment 1)

30

Thank You

31