SME Initiative

Critical processes related to electronic materials

ESA SME Initiative Course D:Materials

Dr. Ton de Rooij Head of Materials Mechanics and Processes Section Materials and Processes Division Product Assurance and Safety Department

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Content of presentation

specifications pcbs manufacturing soldering processes crimping wire wrapping Repair and modification of PCB assemblies cleaning quality evaluations good solderjoints failure modes

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Specifications

ECSS-Q-70-08A

ECSS-Q-70-28A

Space product assurance - manual soldering of high-reliability electrical connections

ECSS-Q-70-10A

Space product assurance - repair and modification of printed circuit board assemblies - to be published (now ESA PSS-01-728)

Space product assurance - qualification and procurement of multilayer printed circuit boards (gold plated or tin-lead finish) - to be published ( now ESA PSS-01-710)

ECSS-Q-70-30A

Space product assurance - wire-wrapping of highreliability electrical connections

ECSS-Q-70-18A

ESA PSS-01-738

the preparation, assembly and mounting of RF coaxial cables

ECSS-Q-70-26A

Space product assurance - high-reliability soldering for surface mount and mixed technology printed circuit boards - to be published (now ESA PSS-01738)

Space product assurance - the crimping of highreliability electrical connections -to be published (now ESA PSS-01-726)

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Approved PCB manufcaturers

BOSCH Telecom GmbH, Germany CIT (ALCATEL), France LABTECH Ltd, England PRINTCA AS, Denmark SEXTANT Avionique, France SPEMCO Group Ltd, England STRASCHU Leiterplatten GmbH, Germany SYSTRONIC S.A.L, France VIASYSTEMS, div. CSI, Italy

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Soldering processes

Soldering processes Solder flux solder alloys cleaning accept/reject criteria conformal coatings thermal cycling operator training and certification

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Soldering processes, cont..

Hand soldering qualification machine soldering verification and approval surface mounting verification and approval

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Soldering processes, cont..

solder flux

rosin-based pretinning: mildly activated (fully activated in cases of poor solderability) assembly: pure rosin flux water-soluble acid flux only for pretinning when rosin-based fluxes are inadequate. (immediate cleaning after use is required)

solder alloy

63 tin solder (63 Sn, 37 Pb) 62 tin silver-loaded solder (62 Sn, 2 Ag, 36 Pb) 60 tin solder (60 Sn, 40 Pb) 96 tin silver solder (96 Sn, 4 Ag)

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Soldering processes, cont..

63 tin solder (eutectic) 62 tin silver loaded

183

183

175

189

60 tin solder 96 tin silver (eutectic)

183 221

188 221

Soldering PCBs where temperature limitations are critical and in applications where an extremely short melting range is required Soldering of components have silver-plated or paint (i.e. ceramic capacitor) finish. This solder composition is saturated with silver and prevents the scavenging of silver surfaces. Soldering electrical wire/cable harnesses or terminal connections and for coating or pre-tinning metals May be used for special applications such as soldering terminal posts

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Soldering processes, cont..

Cleaning

solvents shall be non-corrosive and non-conductive and shall not degrade parts or materials.

Acceptable solvents are:

ethyl alcohol (99.5% or 95% pure by volume) isopropyl alcohol (best commercial grade, 99% pure) deionized water at 40 oC maximum for certain fluxes (dry after use) any mixture of the above

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Principles of reliable soldered connections

Reliable soldered connections result from proper design, control of tools, materials and work environments, and careful workmanship basic deign concepts:

stress relief shall be inherent in the design where adequate stress relief is not possible, solder-joint reinforcement is necessary materials shall be so selected that the mismatch of thermal expansion coefficient is minimal materials and processes which the formation of brittle intermetallic shall be avoided the design shall permit inspection of the soldered joints

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Acceptance criteria

Clean, smooth, bright undisturbed surface solder fillets between conductor and termination areas as illustrated contour of wire sufficiently visible to determine presence of wire complete wetting as evidenced by a low contact angle proper amount and distribution of solder absence of defects as mentioned in the next sheet

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Rejection criteria

Charred, burned, or melted insulation of parts conductor pattern separation for board burns on base material discoloration which is continuous between two conductors excessive solder (peaks, bridging) flux residue, solder spatter, or other foreign matter dewetting insufficient solder pits, holes or voids, or exposed base metal in the solder connection granular or disturbed solder joints

fractured or cracked solder connections cut, nicked, gouged, or scraped conductors or conductor pattern improper conductor length or direction of clinch and lap termination repaired or damaged conductor pattern(rework if applicable) bare copper or base metal (except end of cut wire or leads) soldered joints made directly to goldplated terminals and conductors cold solder joints component moulding with solder fillet

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Conformal coating

Order of merit of conformal coating tested evaluated by: Cost, Process, Repair, Solvent resistance, humidity, life test, resistance to thermal cycling, outgassing, micro-vcm, flammability, offgassing, toxicity

coating type

nature

cost

process

repair

solvent humidity life test resistance to thermal cycling resistance

outgass manned ing spacecraft

total

7=dear 1=cheap

7=complicated 1=easy

7=difficult 1=easy

1=good 7=poor

1=good 7=poor

surface leaded microwire mount component bonds 1=good 1=good s

7=poor 1=best 7=poor 7=fail

1=good 4=fail

CV 1144-0 Mapsil 213 Uralane 5750 LV Sylgard 184 Conathane en11 Solithane 113 Scothcast 280

silicone silicone polyurethane silicone polyurethane polyurethane epoxy

7 6 3 5 1 4 2

2 1 3 6 5 4 7

1 2 5 3 6 4 7

5 6 1 7 1 1 1

1 3 6 3 7 2 5

1 4 1 5 7 6 1

1 1 1 1 1 6 7

1 1 4 1 5 7 6

1 2 4 3 5 6 7

1 6 4 7 1 1 4

1 1 4 1 4 4 4

22 33 36 42 43 45 51

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Thermal fatigue

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Verification of solder-joints not in ECSS spec.

No cracked solderjoints or part damage after 200 thermal cycles and vibration testing Thermal cycling

temperature cycling in air from RT to -55 oC to +100 oC and back to RT at a rate not to exceed 10 oC per minute. Dwell time at each temperature extreme should be 15 minutes.

Vibration testing
Vibration amplitude Frequency range Sweep Duration Frequency range Power spectral density Duration (Peak to peak) 10-70 Hz at 1.5 mm 70-2000 Hz at 15 g 1 octave per minute 1 cycle from 10-2000-10 Hz 20-2000 Hz at 15 g-rms 0.1 g2 Hz-1 10 minutes per axis
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Sine vibration

Random vibration

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Operator and inspector training and certification

Trained and competent personnel shall be employed for all soldering operations and inspections Trained personnel performing soldering operations and inspection shall be certified at a soldering school

ZVE, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany Highbury College, Portsmouth, England Italian Institute of welding (IIS), Genova, Italy IFE, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany Hytek, Aalborg, Denmark Institute de soudure, Paris, France

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Training programmes

Hand soldering to ESA PSS-01-708 inspection of solder joints repair and modification of pcbs to ESA PSS-01-728 RF cable assembly to ESA PSS-01-718 crimping and wire wrapping to ESA PSS-01-726/730 surface mounting techn. Ass. To ESA PSS-01-738 Instructor cat 1 to ESA PSS-01-748 fiber optic terminations to ESA-draft/NASA-std-8739.5

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Soldering of surface mount devices to pcbs

ESA PSS-01-738

Request for verification technology sample process identification document and process control sheet audit of assembly line verification programme smd assembly approval

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Soldering of surface mount devices to pcbs, cont..

Request for verification

The verification of any SMD assembly line will be restricted to those companies which have been selected for the fabrication of ESA sponsored projects.

Technology sample

the contractor will supply one sample from his SMD assembly process to ESTEC. This sample will be examined at ESTEC or a recognised test house no conformal coating workmanship cleanliness metallography of soldered interconnections

Audit of assembly process line

following acceptance of the technology sample the manufacturing facility will be audited by ESA findings of the audit remain as confidential to ESA

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Soldering of surface mount devices to pcbs, cont..

Verification programme

Details of verification programme will be discussed at the time of the audit acc. To ESA PSS-01-738 thermal cycling (500: -55 to +100 oC) vibration visual, electrical test, cleanliness test, microsection control the verification programme shall be established and approved by ESA the verification programme shall be funded and performed by the contractor or one or more independent test houses (test house require approval by ESA) summary table for SMD verified to ESA PSS-01-738 shall be compiled

SMD assembly approval

following the successful completion of the verification programme a letter of approval will be issued by ESA. ESA project approval by means of Project Declared Process List The summary table for SMDs will be attached to this letter The validation period is indefinite until change to PID history of supply, manufacturing defects and unauthorised change of materials and or manufacturing methods will require new verification

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Automatic machine wave soldering

ECSS-Q-70-07A verification tests to establish confidence in all automatic machine soldering lines technology samples

technology samples, cleanliness, documentation examination by recognised test house

line audit verification testing

testing according to ECSS-Q-70-70A: visual inspection, electrical tests, thermal cycling, vibration when design deviates from ECSS-Q-70-08 microsectioning pull testing of leads on board surface

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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high-reliability electrical connections

CRIMPING

Forms of crimps Crimping optimisation Workmanship examples

WIRE WRAPPING

wire types recommended insulations terminal posts examples

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Crimping of high-reliability electrical connections, cont..

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Crimping of high-reliability electrical connections, cont..

Typical plots showing variation in crimp termination characteristics with increasing indentation depth

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Crimping of high-reliability electrical connections, cont..

Unacceptable - undercrimp (tool setting-2 positions under optimum Voids greater than 10%, wire not deformed

Acceptable All wire strands deformed Voiding less than 10%

Preferred

Workmanship examples
Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM Sheet 25

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Wire-wrapping of high-rel. electrical connections

Wire used for wrapped connections shall conform to ESA/SCC No. 3903 or other approved national wire specification intended for wire wrapping

the wire shall be a single solid round conductor. Stranded conductors shall not be used Conductor size shall be between AWG 24 and AWG 30 soft annealed high-conductivity copper for AWG 28 and AWG 30 high strength high-conductivity copper for wire gauges AWG 28 and AWG 30 copper shall be silver plated (>2 micron)

Recommended wire insulations

outgassing according to ECSS-Q-70-02 ETFE (Tefzel), PFA (Perfluoroalkoxy), PVDF (Kynar), and Kapton poluimide over extruded PTFE

Terminal post

suitable grades of copper or nickel alloys (Copper-Zinc, Phosphor-bronze, copper-nickel-zinc, beryllium-copper,nickel-copper(Monel) and nickel-cclad copper(Kulgrid) 1 to 3 microns of Gold over min. 1 micron of copper or nickel (barrier plating). No Silver undeplating

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Wire-wrapping of high-rel. electrical connections, cont..

Satisfactory wire wrap cross-section of copper alloy wire wrapped onto a 0.64 mm square terminal post
Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM Sheet 27

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Repair and modification of PCB assemblies

ECSS_Q-70-28

example of method 11-1, wire-towire bonding

cut wire to correct length remove wire insulation per ESA PSS-01-708 if distrubed, the lay of stranded conductor shall be restored. Do not use bare fingers pre-tin wires per ESA PSS-01-708 place heat-shrink over wire insulation in readiness for slicing over the joined wire position wire into joined configuration and maintain position solder wire together (using heat shunt on each lead) to form a lap-type joint clean area with approved solvent to remove flux inspect joint per ESA PSS-01-708

position shrink sleeve over joint and shrink to size in accordance with manufactures instructions. At no time shall the shrink temperature be allowed to exceed to melting point of the solder position the extended wire on the board and bond to board using a suitable space-approved adhesive, with interval not more than 2.5 cm. The first spot not more than 1.5 cm from soldered joint Sheet 28

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Examples of solderjoints

Good quality solderjoints Good quality SMT solderjoints Cross section of smd devices soldering to gold No pretinning After thermal cycling whisker growth on Tin-plated brass

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Good quality joints

Good designed stress relief loop Few fatigue lines, but no failure after thermal cycling
Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM Sheet 30

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SMT solderjoints

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Good quality joints Cross section of smd devices

flatpack

J-lead
Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM Sheet 32

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Failures: soldering to gold

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Failures: No pretinning

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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Failures: After thermal cycling

Top view Cross section

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM Sheet 35

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Whisker growth

Occasionally, manufactures use pure tin finishes on their pcbs, as may be standard practice for their commercial products. It is the thermal cycling environment of the spacecraft that makes this option extremely dangerous, as it can promote the growth of tin whiskers from sites within pure tin plated through holes. Terminal posts for pcbs, grounding points, and wire terminals and lugs for crimping operations are frequently machined from either copper or brass and simply tin-plated to achieve a reasonable solderability and protection from surface corrosion. This occurs mainly with standard off-the-self items. Tin-plated brass shows a short nucleation period and produces whiskers with growth rates of 8m per day.

Materials and Processes Division ESA/ESTEC/TOS-QM

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