Aug 13, 2021 
Five Indium Corporation experts will participate in the SMTA South China Conference, Aug. 25-27, Shenzhen, China. This event is held in conjunction with NEPCON Asia 2021 at the Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center.
Leo Hu, senior area technical manager,Area Technical Managers Seven Liang and Geoff Wang, and Evan Yin, assistant manager for Indium Corporation’s Process Simulation Lab in Suzhou, will share their industry knowledge and insights. Jimmy Que, area technical manager, will be chairman of SMTA South China.As part of Que’s responsibilities, he will be moderating the conference on Aug. 25.
Bondline control, which is the use of spacers or standoffs applied to a power module’s baseplate to achieve a homogenous solder layer, is a well-understood technology employed by most power semiconductor manufacturers. It is understood that an inhomogeneous solder layer can lead to early device failure caused by cracking and delimitation of the solder during thermal cycling, and that spacer technology—such as stitched wire bonds for A1SiC baseplates or stamped “bumps” on copper baseplates—can inhibit this behavior and increase joint lifetime. Hu will discuss a novel alternative method of achieving bondline control on AlSiC baseplates while offering a drop-in solution with no additional manufacturing steps or capital investment costs.
Voiding is a key concern for components with thermal planes because interruptions in Z-axis continuity of the solder joint will hinder thermal transfer. When assembling components with solder paste, there is a high propensity for voiding due to the confined nature of the solder paste deposits under the component. Once reflowed, many factors contribute to the amount of voiding in a solder joint, such as the reflow profile; designs of the component, board and stencil; and material factors. In Voiding Performance with Solder Pastes Containing Modified SAC Alloys for Automotive Applications in Bottom Terminated Component Assemblies, Liang will examine the solder paste alloys within the range of compositions suggested for automotive applications in combination with different paste fluxes. The results will compare voiding with various alloys and common board surface finishes.
When soldering LEDs to a circuit board, voiding can be a critical issue. Just as with other bottom terminated components, the thermal pad is used to transfer heat away from the part, allowing it to function at a cooler temperature. Voiding within the solder joint will interfere in heat transfer, causing the component to run hotter and shortening the working life of the LED. In A Unique Heating/Reflow Technique to Minimize Solder Paste-Induced Voiding Under LEDs, Wang will discuss a novel heating/reflow process designed to minimize these voids. Numerous aspects of the printing and reflow process are considered in the process.
The demand for product miniaturization, especially in the handheld device area, continues to challenge the board assembly industry as board design is pushed to its limit. It is not uncommon to find boards with castle-like components right next to miniature components as designers try to incorporate more functionality and make the product smaller. This type of board poses a special challenge to the board assemblers as it requires a wide range of paste volume to satisfy both small and large components. One way to address the printing challenge is to use creative stencil design to meet the solder paste requirement for both large and small components. The recent introduction of a new technology—nanocoating for both stencil and squeegee blades—has drawn the attention of many researchers. In Effect of Nanocoated Stencil on 01005 Printing, Yinwill evaluate nanocoated stencils for passive component printing including 01005. The results of various print experiments will be examined.
Que provides technical support for select Indium Corporation materials for customers in southern China. Priorto joining the company, he held many engineering-related positions, with focus on production,equipment, and process. Que has experience in ISO9001, TS16949, ISO14001, OHSAS18001, and Environmental Health and Safety certifications.He earned his degree at the WuhanVocational Technical School.
Hu joined Indium Corporation in 2016 and is based in Suzhou, China. He has nearly 15 years of experience in semiconductor packaging and is a veteran in advanced assembly technology development, process improvement, and assembly materials applications. Hu has served in many roles at industry-leading outsourced assembly and test (OSAT) companies, including process engineer, project engineer, senior R&D engineer, and chief engineer. He has a master’s degree in IC engineering from the Chinese Academy of Science and a bachelor’s degree in electronic information science and technology from Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
Liang is an area technical manager based in Shenzhen, China. He provides technical support for Indium Corporation’s electronics assembly materials, advanced assembly materials, engineered solders, and thermal management materials for customers in southern China. He has more than a decade of surface mount technology experience. Prior to joining Indium Corporation, Liang worked for KEC, Kingpo, Flextronics, TDI, and Leyard.
Wang is an area technical manager in China covering Zhongshan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Jiangmen. He is based in Zhongshan, Guangdong. His focus is on surface mount technology and he has more than a decade of experience in this field. Prior to joining Indium Corporation, he served as SMT section manager at Zhongshan Wistron. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Guilin University of Technology in Guangxi, China.
Yin joined Indium Corporation in 2017. He is responsible for equipment engineering at Indium Corporation’s Suzhou Process Simulation Lab. He provides technical support and services, such as product and process recommendations, troubleshooting, and conducting product evaluations and qualifications. Before joining Indium Corporation, Yin worked in the surface mount technology field for more than 15 years. He has a degree in computer information management from Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
Indium Corporation is a premier materials refiner, smelter, manufacturer, and supplier to the global electronics, semiconductor, thin-film, and thermal management markets. Products include solders and fluxes; brazes; thermal interface materials; sputtering targets; indium, gallium, germanium, and tin metals and inorganic compounds; and NanoFoil®. Founded in 1934, the company has global technical support and factories located in China, Germany, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.
For more information about Indium Corporation, visit www.indium.com or emailjhuang@indium.com. You can also follow our experts, From One Engineer To Another® (#FOETA), at www.linkedin.com/company/indium-corporation/ or @IndiumCorp.
SMTA South China Conference, held in conjunction with NEPCON Asia 2021, will be themed around 5G. The exhibition floor will feature new technologies and products from across the field of electronics manufacturing. These will include: printed circuit boards, circuit board assembly machinery, automatic assembly solutions, and testing devices. This year, NEPCON Asia will focus on the core needs of the electronics manufacturing industry. Digital manufacturing, lean production, product reliability and other topics, as well as communication, automotives, new energy, and intelligent cities, will give visitors a first-hand look into the diverse array of available industry solutions.
