Folks,
SMTA’s Electronics in Harsh Environments Conference in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, was a big success. Over 60 people attended from all over Europe, the Americas, and Asia. It was held from May 24-25. See Figure 1.
With Indium Corporation colleague Karthik Vijay, I spoke on “Recent Developments in Low Temperature Solders and the Challenge of Harsh Environments.” Our conclusion was that, although much work has been performed on tin-bismuth solder, it really is not suitable for the potentially high temperature harsh environments that are the focus of the conference.
We then discussed Durafuse®. Durafuse® is a solder containing a low-melting indium-based alloy which initiates joint fusion, while the high-melting SAC alloy provides enhanced strength and durability. This patented mixed alloy system allows reflow at 210oC or less, about 30oC lower than typical SAC305 reflow temperatures. These lower reflow temperatures will reduce or eliminate defects such as burned components, MSD issues, graping, head-in-pillow and other temperature related defects.
Durafuse® is also a low voiding alloy. The good wetting with the lower-melt alloy and the time delta between lower & higher melt alloys allows for better volatile outgassing. These features of the alloy system minimize voiding.
In addition to all of these benefits, Durafuse® has superior -40 to 125oC thermal cycling and drop shock performance to SAC305. All of these properties make Durafuse® an ideal solder for typical as well as harsh environments.
Cheers,
Dr. Ron