Publications Details
How clean is clean: Non-destructive/direct methods of flux, residue detection
The feasibility of three different non-destructive and direct methods of evaluating PCB (printed circuit boards) cleanliness was demonstrated. The detection limits associated with each method were established. In addition, the pros and cons of these methods as routine quality control inspection tools were discussed. OSEE (Optically Stimulated Electron Emission) was demonstrated to be a sensitive technique for detection of low levels of flux residues on insulating substances. However, future work including development of rugged OSEE instrumentation will determine whether the PCB industry can accept this technique in a production environment. FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) microscopy is a well established technique with well known characteristics. The inability of FTIR to discriminate an organic contaminant from an organic substrate limits its usefulness as a PCB line inspection tool, but it will still remain a technique for the QC/QA laboratory. One advantage of FTIR over the other two techniques described here is its ability to identify the chemical nature of the residue, which is important in Failure Mode Analysis. Optical imaging using sophisticated pattern recognition algorithms was found to be limited to high concentrations of residue. Further work on improved sensor techniques is necessary.