What Are Vias And Why Do You Need Them?

Just as a printed circuit board (PCB) is a means to allow interconnection of different components, vias are means to interconnect different layers on and within the multilayered PCBs. Also, just like there are various types of PCBs, there are multiple types of vias with their own functionality. Simply put, vias are Plated-Through Holes (PTHs) passing through one or more layers in a PCB, connecting traces on its way. IPC defines seven types of vias in IPC-50M, Terms and Definitions for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits. These are:

Type I: Tented Vias—vias that have a mask material applied, bridging over them, with no additional material inside the holes.

Type II: Tented and Covered Vias—type I vias with a secondary covering of mask material over and above the tented vias.

Type III: Plugged Vias—vias with material partly penetrating into the via holes.

Type IV: Plugged and Covered Vias—type III vias with a secondary material covering the vias.

Type V: Filled Vias—vias with material fully penetrating and encapsulating the via holes.

Type VI: Filled and Covered—type V vias with a secondary material covering the vias.

Type VII: Filled and Capped—type V vias with a secondary metalized coating covering the vias.

                                                            Fig. 1: Close-up of a Via

Although small and sometimes very small, vias are extremely important parts of the circuit board landscape. In fact, in the world of surface mount components, vias are the only means to interconnect copper traces on different layers on a PCB, where earlier, leads of components would do the job when soldered on both sides of a two-layer PCB. The only difference between plated-through holes and vias is no component lead will ever pass through the hole of a via.

                                                        Fig. 2: Different Types of Vias

Each of the seven types of vias classified above may be further subdivided into three types depending on their functionality—blind or hidden vias, buried vias, and through hole vias. As the name suggests, through hole vias travel through the board, connecting traces on the outermost layers, and if required, on the inner layers as well. Blind vias start on the surface on one side of the board, but do not extend to the other side, finishing on one of the internal layers instead. Buried vias remain completely encapsulated within the board, and none of their ends extend to any of the outer surfaces of the board.

Most vias in high-density boards have very small-diameter holes, and are called micro-vias. Manufacturers use different tools such as ultrasonic beams and lasers to drill these holes. Usually, micro-vias are filled with a conductive material to facilitate connecting with the pad on the other layer. However, this can lead to issues with unequal expansion as explained later.

Tented Vias

                                                                  Fig. 3: Tented Vias

The word “tenting” in the PCB industry originally meant the solder mask would enclose the via fully in the form of a skin or tent over the hole. This was difficult for manufacturers to achieve with liquid photo-imageable (LPI) solder mask, as the success of the process was dependent on the diameter of the hole and surface tension of the LPI. With the introduction of dry film solder mask, manufacturers achieved tenting easily, but the process was more expensive.

With LPI, tenting caused the mask to cover the pad and enter the hole partly. However, this was not consistent, as some vias remained unplugged, and others had the tent broken over the hole, covering only the annular ring or pad. Therefore, as per requirement, manufacturers resorted to plugging vias with conductive or non-conductive materials before tenting with LPI.

Tenting is useful for reducing the number of exposed conductive pads present on the PCB, and helps in reducing the likelihood of shorts from solder bridging during the assembly process. In the case of SMT pads, tenting helps to reduce paste migration away from the pads of SMD components when vias are placed either on the ends of their pads or on the dog-bones meant for BGAs.

Additionally, tenting is helpful whenever vias are placed close to SMT pads, especially in areas within the BGA package, where shorts can easily happen under the component during reflow, making rework difficult and time-consuming. Covering the tented via with a secondary coating of solder mask often helps,

Disadvantages of Incomplete Tenting

                                                             Fig. 4: Incomplete Tenting

Although tenting of vias by primary LPI solder mask is advantageous as it is only a single step process, the process cannot guarantee complete tenting, resulting in long-term reliability issues. Successful tenting by screen coating depends on the size of the hole, surface tension of the liquid mask, and the board thickness. As no surface finish is applied to the via barrel before tenting, incomplete tenting may cause entrapments. Usually, this is chemical entrapment from preclean lines when enhancing surface finish.

Preclean lines subject surface finishes to a micro-etching process, allowing micro-etchants to be trapped in the open vias, where the chemical crystallizes rapidly to generate copper-sulfate crystals. Over time, these crystals etch away the copper in the barrel, causing long-term reliability issues. For instance, the gold of the ENIG finish could form a galvanic cell with the exposed copper near the top of the via in the presence of the micro-etchant chemical, thereby accelerating the process of etching.

Incomplete tenting may also cause solder paste to wick into the via, leaving insufficient paste to complete the actual soldering. In the case of BGAs, localized thermal energy may cause the LPI solder mask to lift between the ball and the via capture pads, as the distance between them is very short, causing solder shorts.

Above issues with incomplete tenting has led to manufacturers plugging vias with solder mask or some other non-conductive or even conductive materials. The plugged via does not require surface finish to be applied to the via barrel, but does ensure that subsequent application of the LPI mask leaves all the vias fully tented.

Vias Plugged with Non-Conductive Fill

For vias plugged with solder mask or similar non-conductive epoxy material, the manufacturer has to ensure the via is completely plugged and sealed, and its annular ring is fully covered. This is a common practice when using BGA SMD pads to prevent solder wicking into the via creating poor or non-existent solder joints.

                                                               Fig. 5: Active Pad

However, with BGA packages becoming tighter, it is becoming increasingly difficult placing vias on standard ‘dog-bone’ land patterns for transferring signals to other layers. This difficulty has led to vias being drilled directly into the pads of the BGA footprint. The process is known as via-in-pad, and allows much simpler routing. Although this requires the via hole to be fully plugged, it also requires the surface of the plugged via to be plated over with copper, and subsequently flattened and planarized to be even with the surrounding copper features. Therefore, with the application of the final finish, there is a solderable surface mount pad, also called an active pad, capable of passing signals to inner layers, eliminating the need to place vias on the surface layer for the purpose.

Vias Plugged with Conductive Fill

Some chips generate a lot of heat, which must be conducted away to prevent the chip from overheating. Placing thermal vias plugged with conductive fill under the chip helps in the process, as the metallic nature of the fill naturally wicks the heat away from the chip to the other side of the board, just as a radiator does. This technique is helpful even in cases where a chip draws high currents, as multiple vias plugged with conductive fill reduce the resistance of the track, thereby lowering the voltage drop between the voltage source and the pins of the chip.

Drawbacks of Conductive Fills

Vias filled with conductive fill generally present a different coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the surrounding laminate and the metallic fill. With heat, metals expand much more rapidly than the surrounding laminate does, leading to a possible fracture between the pads and the hole wall. Therefore, where the purpose of the fill is only to reinforce the copper pad plated over the hole, designers using via-in-pad do not recommend the conductive filling process.

Conclusion

Designers often try to match the CTE of the conductive fill for vias with that of the surrounding material. This is important in the view of the board living out its life in a heating/cooling state, where the expansion and contraction of the materials can lead to stress fractures in vias and possible electrical opens in the worst cases. However, this consideration generally favors the non-conductive epoxies for via filling as their CTE matches that of the laminate more closely, making the PCB a more reliable product.

Fore More Details:

Url : https://www.pcbpower.com

Email: pcb@pcbpower.com

Phone: +91 7600012414

How Reliable your PCBs are – Laminates Using High Tg Material

Construction methods of Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are essentially similar, although their constituent materials and the intrinsic quality of their surfaces may differ. These differences affect the durability and functionality of the PCB throughout its life and this may be critical to the application.

Essentially, the PCB should exhibit a reliable performance, whether it is in the manufacturing stage, in the assembly process, or in actual use. Apart from the additional costs incurred for correcting defects in the assembly process, there may be failures in actual use, resulting in claims. From this point of view, the cost of a high-quality PCB may be considered negligible.

Over the years, there has been considerable progress in the development of laminates used in the industry, leading to an improvement in the reliability of PCBs. Introduction of lead-free soldering, very high layer count, environmental issues, and electrical concerns have led to placing greater attention to the PCB materials.

To address the above issues, the laminate industry has introduced several products in the market. However, they all come with their own trade-offs, and there is no one perfect laminate to address all the issues. Users need to look at the pros and cons of each PCB laminate, and select the product that best fits their requirements.

Reliability of the PCB actually depends on the proper selection of the material for the laminate. Three parameters are crucial here—the glass transition temperature (Tg), Coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and the decomposition temperature (Td).

Glass Transition Temperature (Tg)—This is an important parameter for the base material, as it determines the temperature at which the resin matrix changes over from a firm, non-elastic condition to a soft, elastic one.

                                               Fig. 1: Glass Transition Temperature

The TG value for the base material actually sets an upper temperature boundary, where the resin matrix starts to decompose and subsequently the PCB delaminates. Therefore, Tg is not the maximum operational temperature for the PCB, but rather one the material can endure for only a very short duration.

Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE)—this parameter shows the thermal expansion of the base material of the laminate, especially the absolute expansion in its z-direction. This value is of importance for the stability of vias. With a low CTE-z value, several reliability issues are reduced, such as cracks within the via, corner cracks, and pad lifting. Mostly, materials with a high Tg value also have a low CTE-z.

                                                 Fig. 2: CTE Before and Beyond Tg

                                         

                                          Fig. 3: CTE with Low Tg and High Tg Materials

Decomposition Temperature (Td)—this parameter depends on the energy of binding within the polymers in the resin system of the laminate, rather than on the laminate’s glass transition temperature. In the industry, this characteristic is usually indicated at one of two temperatures 260°C or 288°C, and expressed as the time to delamination of the tested material at either temperature. The time to delamination at a certain temperature is a very important indicator of the heat resistance of the lamination, considering the temperature profile for the lead-free solder reflow process often maximizes at 260°C.

Td indicates the temperature at which the base material loses 5% of its weight and is an important parameter of the thermal stability of the base material. Exceeding this temperature causes irreversible degradation and damages the material by decomposition.

Interrelation between the Parameters

Although knowing the individual numbers for each of the three parameters for a laminate is a good reference, their interdependence is more important. Although it is preferable to have a laminate with a higher Tg, a thermal expansion curve of the laminate offers a better understanding. If the thermal expansion curve shows an extremely high CTE beyond the Tg temperature, it reverses the benefits of a high Tg value.

                                                    Fig. 4: Materials with Different Tg

To understand this, consider the parts of the laminate where metals join the epoxy resin, such as copper traces and vias on the PCB. If the difference in the CTE between the two materials is high, there is a danger of the copper peeling away, and vias developing a crack in their barrels, once the temperature crosses Tg.

During lead-free soldering, the reflow temperature is typically 240-260°C, which is well beyond the Tg of most PCB materials. With very high CTE, even high Tg PCB materials will be unable to survive a soldering process. Therefore, a reliable material well suited to lead-free soldering must have a high Tg value along with a minimal transition of CTE values through Tg, followed with a relatively low CTE beyond the Tg value.

It is also important to look at the CTE value of the material in the x-y plane. Ideally, this value should match that of copper, but considering the complexities of laminates, it is much higher. Practically, a CTE value of 70 ppm/°C is satisfactory, although a lower number is better.

Although not much importance is placed on the Td value of a laminate, it can be a good indicator for the performance of a lead-free soldering process. As the temperature rises during the reflow process and approaches the Td, the resulting mass loss can develop stresses within the PCB material, and this can contribute to delamination. Therefore, materials with Td near the lead-free soldering temperatures may be a reliability concern. Although the material may not actually be losing enough mass for decomposition, the loss may be enough to cause a significant stress build-up.

Practical studies indicate materials with Td of 300°C often have problems with lead-free soldering, whereas materials with a Td of 400°C did not. At the same time, materials with lower Td also demonstrate a higher CTE, aggravating the issue at lead-free soldering temperatures.

Conclusion

Understanding Tg, CTE, and Td for a material and their interactions is very important for the reliability of lead-free soldering for a PCB, especially as it also involves the peel strength issues of the PCB at lead-free soldering temperatures.

Fore More Details:

Url : https://www.pcbpower.com

Email: pcb@pcbpower.com

Phone: +91 7600012414

Trends in Surface Mount Technology and Its Relevance with PCB Surface Finish

It is necessary to mass-produce electronic circuit boards in a highly mechanical manner for ensuring the lowest cost of manufacturing. Traditional through-hole electronic components with leads did not lend themselves to this approach. Therefore, since the 1980s, virtually all electronics hardware is being mass-produced using surface mount technology (SMT). Compared to the through-hole technology (THT) used earlier, the surface mount devices (SMD) associated with SMT offer several advantages in terms of manufacturability and performance.

Trends in Surface Mount Packaging

Almost all electronic components are available in forms suitable for surface mounting. SMDs do not have long leads that necessitates passing through the printed circuit board (PCB). Rather, they have very short leads that can be soldered directly to the copper pads on the PCB. Manufacturers use different types of SMD packaging, with the evolution tending towards increasing package and pin densities.

                                               Fig. 1: Trends in Surface Mount Packaging

The popular dual in line (DIP) packaging for ICs with two rows of pins for soldering has now diverged into the PGA, QFP, and TSOP type SMD packages. Compared to DIP, these packages have improved on the packaging density enormously. However, modern electronic equipment design demands even higher densities. As a consequence, we now see extremely dense SMD packaging in the form of BGAs, LQFPs, and TCPs. Now, SMD packages are converging towards chip scale packaging (CSP) types, offering better heat dissipation, higher package densities, and increased flexibility.

This trend towards miniaturization is visible for other passive components as well. All types of resistors, capacitors, and inductors are now available in small SMD packages. For instance, although the 0603 and 0402 packages are most commonly used, smaller sizes of 0201 are also available.

Trends in Soldering Techniques for SMT

Most countries have realized the hazards of using the element Lead in electronic equipment, and as a result, the use of lead and tin combination for production and use of solder has almost stopped. Instead, the industry now uses various forms of lead-free solder, although these have more stringent process requirements.

With the advent of new types of SMD packages, the trend in soldering techniques is also evolving. From the commonly used wave soldering for through-hole devices, the trend is towards use of non-contact soldering using infrared and hot gas reflow methods for SMDs.

Trends in Machinery for SMT

Mass production and high mechanization has replaced manual insertion of through-hole components with sophisticated pick-and-place machines for SMD components. These take the form of precision nozzles, intelligent feeder systems, multi-functional mounters, and 3-D molded interconnect devices.

Apart from advances in automated machinery used for SMT, the introduction of special SMD packages such as BGAs has necessitated use of specialized equipment for inspection of PCBs after assembly. Since it is visually impossible to inspect the underside of a BGA chip after it has been soldered, it is necessary to use X-rays to inspect the soldering. With high volumes of production and miniaturization, it is nearly impossible to inspect PCBs manually after assembly. Therefore, the current trend is towards in-circuit testers (ICT) and computerized automated test equipment using high-resolution digital cameras and special algorithms.

Relevance of Surface Finish of PCBs with SMT

The solderable surfaces of a PCB need protection from oxidation while the PCB moves from manufacturing to assembly. Oxidization of the copper surface prevents formation of a good solder joint. Quality of the surface finish affects first pass yield (FPY) and the final product reliability. Primary reasons for this involve non-uniform surface finish and poor solderability. Although there are other known factors for poor FPY, but surface finish issues are the main.

Typical surface finishes manufacturers use are:

• Hot Air Solder Leveling (HASL)
• Organic Solderability Preservatives (OSP)
• Immersion Silver (ImAg)
• Immersion Tin (ImSn)
• Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold (ENIG)
• Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold (ENEPIG)

Hot Air Solder Leveling (HASL) is the most common PCB finish, for both lead and lead-free compositions of solder. The process involves application of molten solder to the exposed pads in a vertical or horizontal panel orientation, with excess solder being blown away with a forced hot air knife. The typical thickness of HASL solder on the copper pad ranges from 0.3-1.5 mil, melting at 183°C for lead solder and at 228°C for lead-free solder, with a typical 12-month shelf life.

                                                      Fig. 2: Hot Air Solder Leveling

However, for HDI applications, the HASL process presents a highly variable topography, or inconsistent surface planarity because of the formation of solder beads/balls not conducive to SMT, especially for QFP and BGA packages. In addition, depending on the alloy used for lead-free solder, the HASL process may be aggressive on copper, reducing the shelf life. While the thermal shock may cause warping of the PCB, there can be PTH diameter issues and bridging of fine pitch traces with solder mask residue preventing HASL from flowing. In addition, contamination on the surface of the copper or resin residue on the laminate may cause poor bonding.

Organic Solderability Preservatives (OSP) is a low-cost transparent coating of organic material, which preserves the copper surface from oxidation until assembly. The process involves application in a dip tank with the PCB in a vertical position, or the use of a conveyorized chemical process, which leaves a very thin coating of the material, typically 100-4000 Angstroms thick. Although OSP is a flat, reliable planar surface, well suited to BGA and QFP packages, the shelf life is rather low, being typically 6 months or lower.

                                              Fig. 3: Organic Solderability Preservatives

OSP is difficult to inspect, and does not stand multiple reflows very well. This raises questions of reliability of exposed copper pads after assembly. As OSP is not conductive, ICT test pads need to be soldered.

Immersion Silver (ImAg) is a metallic solderability preservative, and the process deposits 8-15 micro inches of nearly pure silver on the copper surface. Although it provides a flat, planar surface, excellent solderability, and about 6-12 months of shelf life, immersion silver is sensitive to handling, packaging, electrical tests, and suffers from creep corrosion from salt and sulfur in the environment.

                                                            Fig. 4: Immersion Silver

Immersion Tin (ImSn) forms an intermetallic joint with copper to provide a uniform, dense coating with excellent hole-wall lubricity. As it is possible to engineer immersion tin to be non-porous and with very fine grain, it is the top choice for backplane panel assemblies requiring press-fit pin insertions.

However, immersion tin has a shelf life of 6 months, and is sensitive to handling. In addition, processing of immersion tin requires using Thiourea, a carcinogen with environmental issues.

                                                               Fig. 5: Immersion Tin

Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold (ENIG) is a complicated chemical process, involving nickel plating over the copper pad and subsequent gold plating over the nickel. The gold layer prevents the nickel from oxidizing during storage, while also providing low contact resistance, good wetting for solder, and excellent shelf life of typically 12 months. The flat planar surface is well suited for fine pitch devices such as BGA and QFP. Being conductive, ENIG offers good ICT contacts.

                                              Fig. 6: Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold

However, ENIG is an expensive process, with non-wetting issues if the process has not been executed properly. Slow intermetallic growth can result in poor joint reliability and strength.

Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium immersion Gold (ENEPIG) is another complicated chemical process, involving depositing electroless nickel on the copper surface, followed by a coating of electroless palladium layer, topped with a layer of immersion gold. The triple layer helps to form a superior solder joint with lead-free solder. As the process allows a thinner layer of gold, the process is less expensive when compared to ENIG, although the extra process step offsets this. The flat planar surface suits fine pitch devices such as BGA and QFPs. As the shelf life is typically 12 months, ENEPIG is the fastest growing surface finish.

                            Fig. 7: Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold

Conclusion

PCB manufacturers prefer ENIG and ENEPIG to others because of the relative advantages the two techniques offer, although between the two, their advantages vary. ENIG is suitable for SMT, especially for BGA and other fine pitch components. The technology works well for lead-free soldering, and is highly reliable, which is why the flex PCB market prefers ENIG.

On the other hand, ENEPIG has a much wider acceptance and is suitable for multiple types of packages including THT, SMT, wire bonding, press fit, and more. Apart from being suitable for fine-pitch SMD components such as BGA and QFPs, ENEPIG is applicable to PCBs with different manufacturing technologies, requiring higher densities and reliability.

Fore More Details:

Url : https://www.pcbpower.com
Email: pcb@pcbpower.com
Phone: +91 7600012414