Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1533339
8 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2025 Marcy's Musings Feature Column by Marcy LaRont, I-CONNECT007 The Golden Touch? Corrosion, adhesion, bonding—the com- prehensive issue of surface finish plating is primar y for PCB manufacturers and their assembly counterparts. Gold is the standard for many applications, but it is expensive and has its limits. is issue of PCB007 Magazine leads with a deep dive into the various iterations of gold plating by the engineering team at MKS Atotech. ey look at RF and high-speed appli- cations, including a discussion on the effect of using different types of gold electrolytes and corrosion through a case study on corrosion in plated holes across four different manufac- turing shops. "Future electronic devices will demand even higher performance from their components, requiring superior electrical per- formance, corrosion resistance, and durability from these coatings," they write. Yes, indeed. We can always count on Happy Holden to explore all aspects of PCB fabrication, so I'm happy to share a "throw-back": Happy's Tech Talk column in this issue "Next Generation Electroplating Systems." In complement to that, Happy also provides a comparative look at palladium as a surface finish. And featured in this issue is a paper excerpt by Kunal Shah of Lilotree, originally presented at IPC APEX EXPO 2023, on novel surface finishes for 5G-mm wave frequency PCB technology. Columnists Don Ball and Mike Carano weigh in on the surface finish discussion, with Don feeling nostalgic and taking us back to basics, and Mike focusing on the issue of organic addi- tion agents in electrolytic copper plating. In the broader context of surface finishes and metalli- zation, it is appropriate to at least touch upon the topic of alternate and additive metallization. In my interview with Mike Vinson of Electron- inks, he explains his new line of particle-free MOD inks, which, he says, is a game changer that will revolutionize UHDI manufacturing. Beyond the topic of surface finishes and plating, Manfred Huschka's article recounts