Surface Mount Technology Advancements

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ROHM Semiconductor GmbH

Looking Ahead

SMT will continue to push the competing technical boundaries of signal integrity, miniaturisation and increasing I/O counts. While devices with pad pitches in the range of 0.0076mm are already being assembled with automated surface mount equipment, this pad pitch cannot be commonly used for high pin count devices due to limitations in PCB technology (via escape) and package warp. Vacuum soldering, which eliminates voids, will likely become more mainstream. Vacuum assisted reflow soldering (vapour phase or modular reflow - which involves adding a vacuum zone) equipment currently costs 1.2 to 1.3 times more than more conventional equipment. As equipment prices drop, vacuum soldering is likely to become more common. Other challenges on the horizon are not unlike those the electronics industry has faced over the past 10 years. Solutions will continue to require more advanced process technology and equipment. The result will be new processes, PCB and PCBA technology that would have been viewed as unachievable just a few years ago.

* Mulugeta Abtew is working as Vice President of the Process Technology Development at Sanmina

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