Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/881969
October 2017 • SMT Magazine 63 ADDRESSING VOIDS TO ACHIEVE GOOD SOLDER JOINTS when you extend the time above liquidus a lit- tle, your voiding level comes down. That's the kind of information we give to our customers. Las Marias: Educating your customers is criti- cal. Sjoberg: Yes, it is. It shows our customers that we know more than just selling the solder paste. Customers now are knowledgeable, and they want more information, and we as a company want to be a partner, not as a supplier. Doing that, we get to know what the customers need. If we don't have seminars, if we don't sit down with them face to face, we have no idea what we should develop. Las Marias: Tell us some of the latest innova- tions at Indium that target these particular chal- lenges. Sjoberg: We just launched a new solder paste, and we've had two materials that have been market leaders before, which is 9.1 and 8.9HF; these are what we were typically pushing to au- tomotive. And this is what you see in our slo- gan, "Avoid the Void." Right now, we are just about to release 10.1HF, which is the next step in voiding. It's not going to be a huge change, but it is going to be a solder paste that might be able to take us down to the single digits without doing it in vacuum soldering. We also have the material called 10.8HF, which is more targeted to the head-in-pillow and the non-wet issues. Las Marias: When I was walking around the ex- hibition hall, I saw reflow ovens saying no void- ing or reduced voiding. Sjoberg: Some of them are starting to promote vacuum soldering. Vacuum soldering, tradition- ally, is used in the semiconductor industry. Now, the more traditional SMT equipment suppliers are putting in a vacuum chamber in the reflow oven. So, part of the reflow is vacuum and the other part is normal air reflow. With vacuum, yes, you will be able to get almost down to zero percent voiding—depending on the paste and the product. Las Marias: Are there applications wherein there is acceptable level of voiding that you just can make do with, and are there applications where voiding should be at a certain level only? Sjoberg: The area where we get the most pres- sure from is, I would say, automotive, because it is all related to safety and security—we don't want those components to overheat. Automo- tive is the one pushing the hardest—they want certain specifications, for instance, they are specifying that they have to be only 10% void- ing. In the solar industry—solar inverters, typi- cally would be below 20%. In the consumer, we see anywhere between 30% and 50%, but it is coming down. As mobile phones get hotter, I foresee that they will be specifying lower than that as well. It is kind of segment driven, but automotive is the one driving it down, and of course, aerospace. Las Marias: Is there anything else you think we should be talking about? Sjoberg: I'd just like to emphasize that we try to do as a company, which I think is very im- portant, is become a partner, because the cus- tomers expect us to know more than the sol- der paste. For our engineers, it is important to understand total costs, because it must be win- win. Of course, I would like to sell a Type 6 SG powder to everyone, because it can do so much more, but it must be a win-win. So, if the cus- tomer doesn't need it, we give them what they need. That's one key thing in today's market. For customers to have higher yields in their process, from a soldering standpoint, it is very important to be able to discuss this with the solder provider. If you start out with the wrong material, it's very difficult to change. So, it is very important that we work with our custom- ers and give them the right materials, and the right expectations—which is why we want to be a partner, not just a supplier. Las Marias: Thank you very much. Sjoberg: Thank you. SMT