Printed Circuit Design & Fab Online Magazine - Current

Products

Argentomerse NC is a nitrate-free immersion silver process for use as a solderable finish on PCBs and other electronic devices. Said to operate at a slightly alkaline pH and produce a thin, uniform deposit that meets the requirements of IPC-4553. Reportedly has high tolerance for contaminates like chloride and copper. When coupled with Tarniban 60 Post Dip (metallic anti-tarnish protection), said to provide 12 months of shelf life under normal storage conditions.

Technic, www.technic.com

Pantheon PCB layout software and the Quantum-SI product family have been integrated. Is said to allow users to quickly determine interface operating margins and achieve High-Speed Timing Closure. Provides a tool set for advanced signal integrity analysis, coupled with printed circuit board layout. Is available to customers on Sun Solaris, Linux, and Windows platforms.

Intercept Technology Inc., www.intercept.com

SiSoft, www.sisoft.com

PlanAhead v. 9.2 is an analysis design tool said to promise a full speed grade advantage; features expanded functionality of PinAhead technology, which provides FPGA designers with the ability to assign interface I/O groups to I/O pins by dragging into a graphical representation of the FPGA. Reportedly simplifies the complexities of managing the interface between the designer's target FPGA and the PCB with the ability to import and export I/O port information through VHDL or Verilog headers. Offers support for the latest Spartan-3A DSP platform FPGA. Supports the entire line of Xilinx Spartan-3 generation FPGAs.

Xilinx, www.xilinx.com

ROGERS, Conn. - Rogers Corporation introduces a halogen-free, transparent epoxy polyimide laminate system. The material is environmentally friendly and designed for use in flexible circuits. The new R/flex JADE™ A epoxy adhesive system is ideal for a wide range of applications including hard disk drives, cellular phones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants and semiconductor packaging applications.

The R/flex JADE A series products are RoHS compliant and are UL 94 V-0 classified for flame retardant performance. According to Rogers, they have outstanding thermal stability enabling withstand multiple passes through a lead-free soldering process. In addition the materials are reported to have excellent dimensional stability and adjustable squeeze-out control results in increased yields and better results in fine-line, tight tolerance design applications. The R/flex JADE A series features a transparent adhesive system that simplifies optical inspections. The material is available in bonding film, coverlayer and copper clad laminate constructions.

FREUDENSTADT, Germany – Ormecon introduces a new nanofinish. It is 50 nm in thickness, and consists of less than 10% Silver and over 90% of Ormecon’s Organic Nanometal, according to company sources. The performance is said to be superior to any metal or OSP finish. The company cited several external test results generated by companies including a report from Flextronics. The new process will consume less energy compared to other metal finishes, and will save over 90% of (expensive and partially noble) raw materials, according to Ormecon.

SAN JOSE, CA – EMS company Sanmina-SCI Corp. announced the production of what the company believes is the world's first PCB with embedded ESD protection, covering 100% of the components on the board.

Sanmina-SCI's PCB division collaborated with Viking InterWorks and Shocking Technologies to manufacture Viking VLP DDR2 memory modules with Sanmina-SCI's eESD embedded electrostatic discharge protection technology.

Reportedly, testing by a third party indicated improvement in ESD resistance of the sensitive memory devices mounted on the PCB. Multiple 6,000-volt discharges were directly injected into the modules without any damage or drop in performance recorded, said the company. This was said to represent a 200% improvement in the energy protection level provided to the modules.