I have always had an interest in gaining laboratory experience in a real, professional work setting. This goal has been fulfilled as I joined Indium Corporation as the Soldering Application Intern this summer. Working under the SAFI-Tech group in research and development (R&D), I enjoy the opportunity to familiarize myself with the lab and the technologies involved.
The primary focus of the SAFI-Tech group is developing supercooled liquid metal solder products. What sets them apart is that the solder powder remains in a liquid state even at room temperature, all thanks to the supercooling process. “Supercooled” is a strange state in physics where a material stays in its liquid phase even below their freezing point, in which they normally would become solid. Many practices and equipment need to be leveraged to achieve supercooling, most of which I have been lucky to learn about from the experts here at Indium Corporation.
The very first thing I learned was the creation of bismuth crystals, which are critical as supplies to this development. R&D requires a large volume of highly pure materials to work with, so under my supervisor’s guidance, I assisted in producing a whole kilogram of highly pure bismuth! In retrospect, bismuth crystallization was the simplest experiment during my time in the lab. Things only got more advanced as I moved onto using highly advanced equipment and dived deeper into the material science behind it.
What followed was the training on three incredible pieces of technology: Netzsch differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), The Keyence digital microscope, and Microtrac laser diffractor (LD). The DSC, as the backbone of the SAFI-Tech wing, is a device that uses thermoanalytical methods to examine samples. It leverages the differences in the amount of heat to increase the temperature of a sample and a reference to plot as a function of temperature. I was trained not only to run the machine itself but to also fabricate samples for it, which is another delicate and precise process itself.
I then learned about the use of the Keyence microscope, which has the powerful ability to seamlessly view high-resolution images in complete focus. The craziest part about the machine is that it can automatically magnify from 20x to 2,500x, way beyond the magnification of any microscope I have used before! The LD, on the other hand, is a tool that uses the angle of deflection from a laser beam and scattering angles to characterize the particle size of a solution. Like the DSC, the LD requires specific procedures and set-ups to be used properly. It is normally used to check the particle sizes of solder powder batches as the goal is to make them a certain dimension.
What good are the technologies if there is nothing to apply them to, so after learning all the equipment, I finally got to make supercooled liquid metal powder myself. I was able to shadow my supervisor first as they performed the experiment, critically observing the steps and rehashing them in my head. When it was my turn, my supervisor was there to guide me through the entire process, from start to finish, offer help when needed, and answer any questions I had. Besides lab work, I used my downtime to learn more about the soldering industry and the science behind what I was doing. I also kept a notebook to thoroughly log down my experiments with steps performed, materials, remarks, etc.
I had a great time familiarizing myself with the laboratory setting and feel motivated to continue improving my skills and knowledge in SAFI-Tech. As much as I enjoy growing my engineering skills here, I am also deeply impressed by Indium Corporation’s values of respect, appreciation, and achievement. Witnessing the Indium Way and how that played out in a professional setting first-hand was an eye-opening experience, and it reinforced my positive view on the company prior to interning. I hope that by the end of this internship, I can walk away knowing that I have contributed meaningfully to my team and the company besides gaining valuable experience for my career.