US20130126590A1 - Wave soldering of surface-mounting electronic devices on printed circuit board - Google Patents
Wave soldering of surface-mounting electronic devices on printed circuit board Download PDFInfo
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- US20130126590A1 US20130126590A1 US13/655,555 US201213655555A US2013126590A1 US 20130126590 A1 US20130126590 A1 US 20130126590A1 US 201213655555 A US201213655555 A US 201213655555A US 2013126590 A1 US2013126590 A1 US 2013126590A1
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- holes
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- gluing
- electronic board
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K3/00—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits
- H05K3/30—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor
- H05K3/32—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits
- H05K3/34—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits by soldering
- H05K3/3457—Solder materials or compositions; Methods of application thereof
- H05K3/3468—Applying molten solder
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K3/00—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits
- H05K3/30—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor
- H05K3/32—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits
- H05K3/34—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits by soldering
- H05K3/341—Surface mounted components
- H05K3/3431—Leadless components
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K1/00—Printed circuits
- H05K1/02—Details
- H05K1/0201—Thermal arrangements, e.g. for cooling, heating or preventing overheating
- H05K1/0203—Cooling of mounted components
- H05K1/0204—Cooling of mounted components using means for thermal conduction connection in the thickness direction of the substrate
- H05K1/0206—Cooling of mounted components using means for thermal conduction connection in the thickness direction of the substrate by printed thermal vias
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K1/00—Printed circuits
- H05K1/02—Details
- H05K1/11—Printed elements for providing electric connections to or between printed circuits
- H05K1/111—Pads for surface mounting, e.g. lay-out
- H05K1/112—Pads for surface mounting, e.g. lay-out directly combined with via connections
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to printed circuits covered by H05K1/00
- H05K2201/09—Shape and layout
- H05K2201/09818—Shape or layout details not covered by a single group of H05K2201/09009 - H05K2201/09809
- H05K2201/09836—Oblique hole, via or bump
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to printed circuits covered by H05K1/00
- H05K2201/10—Details of components or other objects attached to or integrated in a printed circuit board
- H05K2201/10007—Types of components
- H05K2201/10166—Transistor
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K2203/00—Indexing scheme relating to apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits covered by H05K3/00
- H05K2203/04—Soldering or other types of metallurgic bonding
- H05K2203/044—Solder dip coating, i.e. coating printed conductors, e.g. pads by dipping in molten solder or by wave soldering
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K3/00—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits
- H05K3/30—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor
- H05K3/303—Surface mounted components, e.g. affixing before soldering, aligning means, spacing means
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
- Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
Definitions
- the solution according to one or more embodiments refers to the electronics field. In more detail, the solution according to one or more embodiments relates to the wave soldering technique.
- any electronic device comprises one (or more) chip of semiconductor material on which an electronic component (or an electronic microcircuit) is integrated.
- the chip is encapsulated in a package of insulating material to be isolated and protected from the external environment.
- the package exposes conductive pins, which are coupled to corresponding terminals of the conductive chip.
- the pins of the package are soldered to the conducting tracks formed on the electronic board. This allows the interaction between the electronic component, encapsulated in the package, and other electronic devices mounted on the electronic board in a similar way, through the conducting tracks properly connected to each other.
- soldering between the pins of electronic devices and tracks the electronic board should be performed homogenously to ensure proper operation and/or performance of the electronic system. At the same time, the soldering should ensure a stable mechanical connection between the electronic devices and the electronic board.
- a known soldering technique is the wave soldering technique.
- the electronic devices are initially glued on the electronic board by means of an adhesive paste, so that the pins of the electronic device correspond to soldering areas on the electronic board.
- the assembly thus obtained is placed over a bath of molten soldering paste, with a gluing surface of the electronic board (on which electronic devices are glued) facing downward.
- the assembly is then flooded with a wave of molten soldering paste, which laps the electronic board so as to bind to the soldering areas of the electronic board soldering the pins of electronic devices. In this way, the electronic devices are mechanically and electrically coupled to the electronic board.
- the wave soldering technique described above may be problematic with certain types of electronic devices. For example, this may occur in the case of Surface-Mounting Technology (SMT) electronic devices having, instead of pins protruding from the package, pins consisting of areas of exposed metal on a mounting surface of the package of the electronic device on the electronic board—devices known in the art as “No-Lead” or “Micro-Lead”—especially if small sized.
- SMT Surface-Mounting Technology
- a gap that is formed after the gluing of the package, between the pins of these “No-Lead” or “Micro-Lead” devices and the soldering areas may be too narrow for allowing the wave of soldering paste to enter therein in an optimal way—in particular, in the case of pins with a relatively extended surface.
- the electronic devices result positioned with the mounting surface not perfectly parallel to the electronic board due to a reduced number and/or a sub-optimal allocation of disposition sites at which the most common adhesive pastes are dispensed on the mounting surface of the electronic devices.
- the scaling of the electronic device accordingly reduces its mounting surface, while the size of the pins remain essentially unchanged to ensure the same current density delivered by the device, thereby reducing the available space on the mounting surface for the gluing points—for example, space for gluing points may not be available in some locations at the perimeter of the mounting surface. Therefore, due to the imperfect positioning of the electronic devices on the electronic board, during wave-soldering the soldering paste may be distributed not homogenously. For these reasons, it may happen that the coupling between the pins and soldering areas of the card is not satisfactory or is not achieved at all. The electronic system so assembled would have both performance and a useful life lower than expected, up to the limit being completely broken.
- the solution according to one or more embodiments aims to improve the wave soldering.
- the electronic system comprises at least one electronic device of surface-mounting type, with an insulating package provided with a mounting surface and at least one pin contact exposed on the mounting surface.
- the electronic system also comprises an electronic board having an insulating substrate to support electronic devices.
- the insulating substrate comprises a gluing surface and a surface opposite to the gluing surface.
- the method comprises the steps of forming a plurality of through holes in at least one contact region on the gluing surface of the electronic board, gluing on the gluing surface of the electronic board at least one electronic device (aligning the at least one contact pin with the at least one contact region), placing an assembly comprising the at least one electronic device glued to the electronic board in a bath of soldering paste, and wave-soldering the at least one electronic device to the electronic board.
- the step of wave-soldering comprises hitting the surface of the electronic board opposite to the gluing surface with a wave of soldering paste to form, by capillary ascending of the soldering paste in the through holes up to the overflow on the gluing surface, at least one conducting contact that contacts the at least one pin of the electronic device by soldering it to the electronic board.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic plan view of a portion of an electronic board according to an embodiment
- FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional side view according to the plan II-II of an electronic assembly comprising the electronic board of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3A illustrates a cross-sectional view similar to that of FIG. 2 , with schematized a wave of soldering paste;
- FIG. 3B shows a detail of FIG. 3A on an enlarged scale
- FIG. 4 illustrates, in a view similar to that of FIG. 2 , an electronic system at the end of a wave soldering
- FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic plan view of a portion of an electronic board according to another embodiment
- FIG. 6A illustrates a schematic plan view of a further electronic board according to another embodiment
- FIG. 6B illustrates a schematic side view in section according to the plan VIB-VIB of the electronic board shown in FIG. 6A .
- FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a portion of an electronic board 100 according to an embodiment.
- the electronic board 100 is, for example, a Printed Circuit Board or PCB.
- the electronic board 100 comprises an insulating substrate 105 formed of an insulating material (e.g., comprising FR-4 fiberglass and epoxy resin), which is designed to support one or more electronic devices—for example, in plan-size (identified by the reference 110 ) in FIG. 1 of an electronic device to be mounted on board 100 is drawn with a dashed line.
- the substrate 105 is provided with a gluing surface 115 , on which the electronic device may be glued via an adhesive paste disposed in at least one disposition site, for example, two disposition sites 117 represented in FIG. 1 with a dashed line.
- gluing surface 115 On the gluing surface 115 is defined a plurality of contact regions 120 S, 120 D and 120 G, also shown with dashed lines, for forming contacts (not shown in the figure, described later in the present description) designed for corresponding to respective pins of the electronic device to be mounted on the electronic board 100 .
- the electronic device to be mounted to the electronic board is a power MOS transistor
- a gate contact region 120 G, a source contact region 120 S and a drain contact region 120 D are formed.
- the electronic board 100 also comprises conducting tracks (not shown in the figures for simplicity), which electrically connect together multiple electronic devices mounted on the electronic board 100 .
- each contact region 120 S, 120 D and 120 G is formed a plurality of through holes 125 that pass through the electronic board 100 .
- the quantity of through holes 125 provided in each one of the contact regions 120 S, 120 D and 120 G is preferably, although not exhaustively, proportional to an extension thereof.
- FIG. 2 there is illustrated a schematic cross-sectional side view according to the plan II-II of an assembly 200 comprising the electronic board 100 of FIG. 1 .
- the electronic assembly 200 further comprises an electronic device 205 of the No-Lead (or Micro-Lead) SMT type glued on the electronic board 100 .
- the electronic device 205 comprises a package 210 made of an insulating material (e.g., plastic, epoxy or ceramic); the package 210 has for example a substantially parallelepiped shape with two main surfaces, namely, a mounting surface 215 M (for mounting on the PCB 100 ) and a free surface 215 F opposed to the same.
- an insulating material e.g., plastic, epoxy or ceramic
- the package 210 houses inside one (or more) chip of a semiconductor material, not visible in the figures, in which an electronic component is integrated—from a single element, for example, a transistor (of any type known such as MOSFET, IGBT, BJT, etc.), up to a complete circuit, for example, a central processing unit.
- a transistor of any type known such as MOSFET, IGBT, BJT, etc.
- a complete circuit for example, a central processing unit.
- the package 210 comprises a plurality of conductive pins, in the example here considered a source pin 220 S, a gate pin 220 G and a drain pin 220 D; each of the pins 220 S, 220 G, 220 D is electrically connected to corresponding terminals of the chip (e.g., by connecting wires, or “wire bonds” in jargon, comprised in the package 210 , not shown in the figures).
- the pin 220 D is connected to a drain terminal
- the pin 220 S is connected to a source terminal
- the pin 220 G is connected to a gate terminal of a power MOS transistor integrated in the chip.
- the pins 220 S, 220 G are generally rectangular in shape and extend partly on the mounting surface 215 M and partly on a side surface 225 L of the package 210 .
- the pin 220 D is fully exposed on the mounting surface 215 M with a generally rectangular shape, and covers about half of the mounting surface 215 M; the pin 220 D also acts as a heat sink (i.e., the chip is mounted on said drain pin 220 D).
- the drain pin may extend partly on one or more side surfaces of the insulating package.
- the electronic assembly 200 of FIG. 2 is formed by gluing the electronic device 205 to the electronic board 100 .
- an adhesive paste 230 is disposed on the electronic board 100 in available disposition sites 117 previously described, which are located preferably, although without limitation, between the source and gate contact regions 120 S, 120 G, and the drain contact region 120 D.
- FIGS. 3A and 3B together the electronic assembly 200 is hit by a wave of soldering paste at a bottom surface 315 of the insulating substrate 105 of the electronic board 100 , bottom surface 315 that is opposite to the gluing surface 115 (in contrast with what is known in the art, in which, as explained in the introduction, the gluing surface of the electronic board is hit by the wave of soldering paste).
- the electronic assembly 200 is placed in a bath of soldering paste (not shown) with the gluing surface 115 facing upwards, i.e., opposite to the free surface (not shown) of the bath of soldering paste.
- the wave of soldering paste touches the bottom surface 315 of the electronic board 100 , thanks to the known phenomenon of capillary action, it occurs that the soldering paste ascends in the through holes 125 filling them, up to emerge on the gluing surface 115 of electronic board 100 .
- the diameter 2r of the holes 125 is predetermined in relation with the density p of the molten soldering paste (used in the wave-soldering) and the thickness h of the insulating substrate 105 of the electronic board 100 (to ensure that the soldering paste will emerge on the gluing surface 115 ) by capillary action relationship:
- ⁇ is the surface tension (measured in N/m) of the soldering paste (molten, i.e. in liquid phase)
- ⁇ is the angle between the tangent to the surface of the soldering paste at the point of contact with the inner wall of the through holes 125 and the inner wall itself (taking into account the known surface tension effect)
- g is the gravity acceleration constant (about 9.81 m/s 2 ).
- the insulating substrate 105 has a thickness h between 1 mm and 1.6 mm holes with a diameter 2r preferably between 0.3 mm and 1.5 mm may be provided using common soldering pastes.
- the soldering paste wets and binds to the pins 220 S, 220 G and 220 D arranged aligned above contact regions 120 S, 120 D and 120 G, respectively. Thanks to the plurality of through holes 125 formed in the contact regions 120 S, 120 D and 120 G of the electronic board 100 , the wave of soldering paste can reach every portion of the surfaces of the pins 220 G, 220 S and 220 D of the electronic device 205 substantially without encountering obstacles.
- the surfaces of the pins 220 G, 220 S, and 220 D can be reached in a sufficiently homogeneous manner even if their distance from the gluing surface 115 of the electronic board 100 is reduced (e.g., in an electronic assembly 200 made with small quantities of adhesive paste 230 ), or in the case in which the mounting surface 215 M of the electronic device 205 is not perfectly parallel to the gluing surface 115 of electronic board 100 (e.g., due to a reduced number and/or a sub-optimal distribution of the disposition sites).
- FIG. 4 it illustrates (in a cross-sectional view similar to those of FIGS. 2 and 3A ) an electronic system 400 obtained from the electronic assembly 200 of FIG. 2 at the end of the wave soldering.
- the soldering paste forms a source contact 405 S, a gate contact 405 G and a drain contact 405 D; these contacts 405 S, 405 D and 405 G create an electrical, mechanical and thermal coupling robust and efficient between the pin 220 G, the pin 220 D and pin 220 S, respectively, and the electronic board 100 —in order to obtain the electronic system 400 .
- thermal vias 410 S, 410 G, 410 D allows transferring more effectively in the outside the heat transferred from the chip (encapsulated in the insulating package 210 ) to the pins 220 S, 220 G and 220 D, respectively, and effectively disperse the same into the environment surrounding the electronic system 400 (advantageously reducing an operating temperature of the electronic device 205 ).
- the source 410 S, gate 410 G and drain 410 D thermal vias are formed integral with the respective source 405 S, gate 405 G and drain 405 D contacts.
- FIG. 5 therein it is schematically illustrated a plan view of a portion of an electronic board 500 according to another embodiment.
- the electronic board 500 differs from the electronic board described above in the following.
- a drain contact region 520 D (corresponding to the drain pin 220 D of the electronic device to be mounted on the electronic board, characterized by an area substantially greater than the pins 220 S and 220 G) two additional disposition sites 505 are defined, conceptually identified by dashed lines in the figure.
- the disposition sites 505 are areas of the contact region 520 D deprived of holes 125 ; in this way, it is possible to dispose adhesive paste in the disposition sites 505 . Thanks to the additional disposition sites 505 , it is possible to have three or more disposition sites not aligned one another, thus able to define a geometric plane. Indeed, the additional disposition sites 505 are added to the disposition sites 117 already available between the contact regions 120 S, 120 G, and the contact region 520 D. As a result, it is possible gluing an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 205 above described in relation to FIG. 2 ) to the electronic board with the mounting surface 215 M substantially parallel to the gluing surface of the same with greater precision.
- an electronic device e.g., the electronic device 205 above described in relation to FIG. 2
- FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematically illustrated a plan view and a cross-sectional side view according to plan VIB-VIB, respectively, of an electronic board 600 according to another embodiment.
- the electronic board 600 differs from the electronic board described above as follows.
- the through holes 605 are formed titled with respect to the gluing surface 115 and to the bottom surface 315 .
- the through holes 605 have an angle with the surfaces 115 and 315 , preferably between 0° and 90°, more preferably between 30° and 60°, for example, 45°.
- the through holes 605 are formed tilted so as to facilitate the leaking of the soldering paste wave therein during the wave-soldering, i.e. they are tilted in the propagation direction of the wave (in the example at issue, an opening on the bottom surface 315 of the through holes 605 is shifted to the left compared to a corresponding opening on the gluing surface 115 thereof).
- the tilted through holes 605 allow to use (in addition to the capillarity action) the kinetic force associated with the wave of soldering paste for the ascending of the soldering paste along the same.
- the through holes 605 of the same contact region may be formed with a mutual variable distance d.
- the distance d between two consecutive through holes 605 may be decreasing in the propagation direction of the wave of soldering paste during the wave soldering.
- the through holes 605 may be formed in a more spaced positions near a source point of the wave of soldering paste (at the left in the example at issue), becoming progressively thicker going away therefrom. In this way, the soldering paste reaches more easily the bonding surface even far from the source point of the wave of soldering paste, countering a fading of the kinetic energy associated with the propagation of the soldering paste.
- the through holes might be formed at a variable distance even in the case of the electronic board described in relation to FIG. 1 (i.e. with through holes formed perpendicular to the gluing and bottom surfaces).
- embodiments may be configured to operate with different electronic devices of the SMT-type, for example, with pins protruding from the side surfaces of the insulating package. Furthermore, embodiments may be configured for operating with different elements other than pins of an electronic device such as exposed pads for the heat dissipation.
Abstract
Description
- This application claims priority from Italian Application for Patent No. MI2011A002084 filed Nov. 17, 2011, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
- The solution according to one or more embodiments refers to the electronics field. In more detail, the solution according to one or more embodiments relates to the wave soldering technique.
- In the prior art numerous assembly processes for electronic systems adapted to large-scale production are diffused. Basically, every assembly process involves mounting one or more electronic devices on an electronic board (for example, a Printed Circuit Board or PCB). Generally, any electronic device comprises one (or more) chip of semiconductor material on which an electronic component (or an electronic microcircuit) is integrated. The chip is encapsulated in a package of insulating material to be isolated and protected from the external environment. The package exposes conductive pins, which are coupled to corresponding terminals of the conductive chip. The pins of the package are soldered to the conducting tracks formed on the electronic board. This allows the interaction between the electronic component, encapsulated in the package, and other electronic devices mounted on the electronic board in a similar way, through the conducting tracks properly connected to each other.
- The soldering between the pins of electronic devices and tracks the electronic board should be performed homogenously to ensure proper operation and/or performance of the electronic system. At the same time, the soldering should ensure a stable mechanical connection between the electronic devices and the electronic board.
- For example, a known soldering technique is the wave soldering technique. In this case, the electronic devices are initially glued on the electronic board by means of an adhesive paste, so that the pins of the electronic device correspond to soldering areas on the electronic board. Subsequently, the assembly thus obtained is placed over a bath of molten soldering paste, with a gluing surface of the electronic board (on which electronic devices are glued) facing downward. The assembly is then flooded with a wave of molten soldering paste, which laps the electronic board so as to bind to the soldering areas of the electronic board soldering the pins of electronic devices. In this way, the electronic devices are mechanically and electrically coupled to the electronic board.
- The wave soldering technique described above, however, may be problematic with certain types of electronic devices. For example, this may occur in the case of Surface-Mounting Technology (SMT) electronic devices having, instead of pins protruding from the package, pins consisting of areas of exposed metal on a mounting surface of the package of the electronic device on the electronic board—devices known in the art as “No-Lead” or “Micro-Lead”—especially if small sized.
- In fact, a gap that is formed after the gluing of the package, between the pins of these “No-Lead” or “Micro-Lead” devices and the soldering areas may be too narrow for allowing the wave of soldering paste to enter therein in an optimal way—in particular, in the case of pins with a relatively extended surface. Moreover, it may happen that, after the gluing, the electronic devices result positioned with the mounting surface not perfectly parallel to the electronic board due to a reduced number and/or a sub-optimal allocation of disposition sites at which the most common adhesive pastes are dispensed on the mounting surface of the electronic devices. Furthermore, the scaling of the electronic device accordingly reduces its mounting surface, while the size of the pins remain essentially unchanged to ensure the same current density delivered by the device, thereby reducing the available space on the mounting surface for the gluing points—for example, space for gluing points may not be available in some locations at the perimeter of the mounting surface. Therefore, due to the imperfect positioning of the electronic devices on the electronic board, during wave-soldering the soldering paste may be distributed not homogenously. For these reasons, it may happen that the coupling between the pins and soldering areas of the card is not satisfactory or is not achieved at all. The electronic system so assembled would have both performance and a useful life lower than expected, up to the limit being completely broken.
- In general terms, the solution according to one or more embodiments aims to improve the wave soldering.
- In particular, one or more aspects of the solution according to specific embodiments are set out in the independent claims, with advantageous features of the same solution that are set out in the dependent claims, whose wording is herein incorporated verbatim by reference (with any advantageous features provided with reference to a specific aspect of the solution according to an embodiment which apply mutatis mutandis at any other aspect thereof).
- More specifically, one aspect of a solution according to an embodiment provides a method for producing an electronic system. The electronic system comprises at least one electronic device of surface-mounting type, with an insulating package provided with a mounting surface and at least one pin contact exposed on the mounting surface. The electronic system also comprises an electronic board having an insulating substrate to support electronic devices. The insulating substrate comprises a gluing surface and a surface opposite to the gluing surface. The method comprises the steps of forming a plurality of through holes in at least one contact region on the gluing surface of the electronic board, gluing on the gluing surface of the electronic board at least one electronic device (aligning the at least one contact pin with the at least one contact region), placing an assembly comprising the at least one electronic device glued to the electronic board in a bath of soldering paste, and wave-soldering the at least one electronic device to the electronic board. In the solution the step of wave-soldering comprises hitting the surface of the electronic board opposite to the gluing surface with a wave of soldering paste to form, by capillary ascending of the soldering paste in the through holes up to the overflow on the gluing surface, at least one conducting contact that contacts the at least one pin of the electronic device by soldering it to the electronic board.
- A solution according to one or more embodiments, as well as additional features and its advantages will be better understood with reference to the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, given purely by way of a non-restrictive indication and without limitation, to be read in conjunction with the attached figures (wherein corresponding elements are denoted with equal or similar references and their explanation is not repeated for the sake of brevity). In this respect, it is expressly understood that the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale (with some details that may be exaggerated and/or simplified) and that, unless otherwise specified, they are simply intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein. In particular:
-
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic plan view of a portion of an electronic board according to an embodiment; -
FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional side view according to the plan II-II of an electronic assembly comprising the electronic board ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3A illustrates a cross-sectional view similar to that ofFIG. 2 , with schematized a wave of soldering paste; -
FIG. 3B shows a detail ofFIG. 3A on an enlarged scale; -
FIG. 4 illustrates, in a view similar to that ofFIG. 2 , an electronic system at the end of a wave soldering; -
FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic plan view of a portion of an electronic board according to another embodiment; -
FIG. 6A illustrates a schematic plan view of a further electronic board according to another embodiment; and -
FIG. 6B illustrates a schematic side view in section according to the plan VIB-VIB of the electronic board shown inFIG. 6A . -
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a portion of anelectronic board 100 according to an embodiment. - The
electronic board 100 is, for example, a Printed Circuit Board or PCB. Theelectronic board 100 comprises aninsulating substrate 105 formed of an insulating material (e.g., comprising FR-4 fiberglass and epoxy resin), which is designed to support one or more electronic devices—for example, in plan-size (identified by the reference 110) inFIG. 1 of an electronic device to be mounted onboard 100 is drawn with a dashed line. Thesubstrate 105 is provided with agluing surface 115, on which the electronic device may be glued via an adhesive paste disposed in at least one disposition site, for example, twodisposition sites 117 represented inFIG. 1 with a dashed line. - On the
gluing surface 115 is defined a plurality ofcontact regions electronic board 100. In the example at issue, where the electronic device to be mounted to the electronic board is a power MOS transistor, agate contact region 120G, asource contact region 120S and adrain contact region 120D are formed. - Typically, the
electronic board 100 also comprises conducting tracks (not shown in the figures for simplicity), which electrically connect together multiple electronic devices mounted on theelectronic board 100. - In the solution according to an embodiment, at each
contact region holes 125 that pass through theelectronic board 100. The quantity of throughholes 125 provided in each one of thecontact regions - Turning now to
FIG. 2 , there is illustrated a schematic cross-sectional side view according to the plan II-II of anassembly 200 comprising theelectronic board 100 ofFIG. 1 . - The
electronic assembly 200 further comprises anelectronic device 205 of the No-Lead (or Micro-Lead) SMT type glued on theelectronic board 100. Theelectronic device 205 comprises apackage 210 made of an insulating material (e.g., plastic, epoxy or ceramic); thepackage 210 has for example a substantially parallelepiped shape with two main surfaces, namely, a mountingsurface 215M (for mounting on the PCB 100) and afree surface 215F opposed to the same. Thepackage 210 houses inside one (or more) chip of a semiconductor material, not visible in the figures, in which an electronic component is integrated—from a single element, for example, a transistor (of any type known such as MOSFET, IGBT, BJT, etc.), up to a complete circuit, for example, a central processing unit. In the following, purely by way of example, let assume that within thepackage 210 is housed a power MOS transistor. - In order to achieve an electrical path between the chip and elements external to the
electronic device 205—thereby allowing to connect electronic component to other electronic components, not shown in the figures—thepackage 210 comprises a plurality of conductive pins, in the example here considered asource pin 220S, agate pin 220G and adrain pin 220D; each of thepins package 210, not shown in the figures). For example, thepin 220D is connected to a drain terminal, thepin 220S is connected to a source terminal and thepin 220G is connected to a gate terminal of a power MOS transistor integrated in the chip. - The
pins surface 215M and partly on aside surface 225L of thepackage 210. In the example at issue, thepin 220D is fully exposed on the mountingsurface 215M with a generally rectangular shape, and covers about half of the mountingsurface 215M; thepin 220D also acts as a heat sink (i.e., the chip is mounted on saiddrain pin 220D). In other embodiments (not shown in the figures), even the drain pin may extend partly on one or more side surfaces of the insulating package. - The
electronic assembly 200 ofFIG. 2 is formed by gluing theelectronic device 205 to theelectronic board 100. In detail, anadhesive paste 230 is disposed on theelectronic board 100 inavailable disposition sites 117 previously described, which are located preferably, although without limitation, between the source andgate contact regions drain contact region 120D. - Turning now to
FIGS. 3A and 3B together theelectronic assembly 200 is hit by a wave of soldering paste at abottom surface 315 of the insulatingsubstrate 105 of theelectronic board 100,bottom surface 315 that is opposite to the gluing surface 115 (in contrast with what is known in the art, in which, as explained in the introduction, the gluing surface of the electronic board is hit by the wave of soldering paste). In other words, theelectronic assembly 200 is placed in a bath of soldering paste (not shown) with the gluingsurface 115 facing upwards, i.e., opposite to the free surface (not shown) of the bath of soldering paste. - When the wave of soldering paste (which is conceptually illustrated in the figure by arrows) touches the
bottom surface 315 of theelectronic board 100, thanks to the known phenomenon of capillary action, it occurs that the soldering paste ascends in the throughholes 125 filling them, up to emerge on the gluingsurface 115 ofelectronic board 100. Preferably, the diameter 2r of theholes 125 is predetermined in relation with the density p of the molten soldering paste (used in the wave-soldering) and the thickness h of the insulatingsubstrate 105 of the electronic board 100 (to ensure that the soldering paste will emerge on the gluing surface 115) by capillary action relationship: -
- where γ is the surface tension (measured in N/m) of the soldering paste (molten, i.e. in liquid phase), θ is the angle between the tangent to the surface of the soldering paste at the point of contact with the inner wall of the through
holes 125 and the inner wall itself (taking into account the known surface tension effect) and g is the gravity acceleration constant (about 9.81 m/s2). For example, when the insulatingsubstrate 105 has a thickness h between 1 mm and 1.6 mm holes with a diameter 2r preferably between 0.3 mm and 1.5 mm may be provided using common soldering pastes. - Once ascended up to the gluing
surface 115, the soldering paste wets and binds to thepins contact regions holes 125 formed in thecontact regions electronic board 100, the wave of soldering paste can reach every portion of the surfaces of thepins electronic device 205 substantially without encountering obstacles. - It should be noted that the surfaces of the
pins surface 115 of theelectronic board 100 is reduced (e.g., in anelectronic assembly 200 made with small quantities of adhesive paste 230), or in the case in which the mountingsurface 215M of theelectronic device 205 is not perfectly parallel to the gluingsurface 115 of electronic board 100 (e.g., due to a reduced number and/or a sub-optimal distribution of the disposition sites). - Subsequently, the soldering paste is cooled in order to harden. Turning to
FIG. 4 , it illustrates (in a cross-sectional view similar to those ofFIGS. 2 and 3A ) anelectronic system 400 obtained from theelectronic assembly 200 ofFIG. 2 at the end of the wave soldering. - Once hardened, the soldering paste forms a source contact 405S, a
gate contact 405G and adrain contact 405D; thesecontacts pin 220G, thepin 220D and pin 220S, respectively, and theelectronic board 100—in order to obtain theelectronic system 400. At the same time, the soldering paste hardened inside the through holes producessource 410S,gate 410G and drain 410D thermally conductive paths (thermal vias); suchthermal vias pins source 410S,gate 410G and drain 410D thermal vias are formed integral with the respective source 405S,gate 405G and drain 405D contacts. This continuity—from a structural and used material point of view—between the thermal vias 410S, 410D and 410G, and therespective contacts electronic system 400 and at the same time improves the heat sinking from the chip of theelectronic device 205 to the external environment (since, the thermal resistance results substantially lower than in the case where contacts and thermally conductive paths are formed separately and/or of heterogeneous materials). - It should be noted that, thanks to the solution according to an embodiment, it is possible to form a sufficiently uniform coupling between the
pins electronic board 100—from a mechanical, electrical and heat point of view—even when the electronic device 205 (of the “No-Lead” or “Micro-Lead” STM-type) is small sized; this allows to obtain optimal, or at least improved, performance and useful life for theelectronic system 400. - Turning now to
FIG. 5 , therein it is schematically illustrated a plan view of a portion of anelectronic board 500 according to another embodiment. - The
electronic board 500 differs from the electronic board described above in the following. - In contact regions preferably, although without limitation, corresponding to pins of biggest extension more additional disposition sites of the gluing paste are defined. With reference to the example at issue, a drain contact region 520D (corresponding to the
drain pin 220D of the electronic device to be mounted on the electronic board, characterized by an area substantially greater than thepins additional disposition sites 505 are defined, conceptually identified by dashed lines in the figure. - In detail, the
disposition sites 505 are areas of the contact region 520D deprived ofholes 125; in this way, it is possible to dispose adhesive paste in thedisposition sites 505. Thanks to theadditional disposition sites 505, it is possible to have three or more disposition sites not aligned one another, thus able to define a geometric plane. Indeed, theadditional disposition sites 505 are added to thedisposition sites 117 already available between thecontact regions electronic device 205 above described in relation toFIG. 2 ) to the electronic board with the mountingsurface 215M substantially parallel to the gluing surface of the same with greater precision. - In the
FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematically illustrated a plan view and a cross-sectional side view according to plan VIB-VIB, respectively, of anelectronic board 600 according to another embodiment. - The
electronic board 600 differs from the electronic board described above as follows. - In the electronic board through holes 605 are formed titled with respect to the gluing
surface 115 and to thebottom surface 315. In other words, the through holes 605 have an angle with thesurfaces bottom surface 315 of the through holes 605 is shifted to the left compared to a corresponding opening on the gluingsurface 115 thereof). The tilted through holes 605 allow to use (in addition to the capillarity action) the kinetic force associated with the wave of soldering paste for the ascending of the soldering paste along the same. - In addition, although not necessarily, the through holes 605 of the same contact region may be formed with a mutual variable distance d. For example, the distance d between two consecutive through holes 605 may be decreasing in the propagation direction of the wave of soldering paste during the wave soldering. In other words, the through holes 605 may be formed in a more spaced positions near a source point of the wave of soldering paste (at the left in the example at issue), becoming progressively thicker going away therefrom. In this way, the soldering paste reaches more easily the bonding surface even far from the source point of the wave of soldering paste, countering a fading of the kinetic energy associated with the propagation of the soldering paste. It should be noted that the through holes might be formed at a variable distance even in the case of the electronic board described in relation to
FIG. 1 (i.e. with through holes formed perpendicular to the gluing and bottom surfaces). - Although in the present description reference is made to electronic devices of the “No-Lead” SMT-type, further embodiments may be configured to operate with different electronic devices of the SMT-type, for example, with pins protruding from the side surfaces of the insulating package. Furthermore, embodiments may be configured for operating with different elements other than pins of an electronic device such as exposed pads for the heat dissipation.
- In addition, although the devices in the figures have been represented with pins protruding from the mounting surface, still further embodiments may be configured to operate with electronic devices having the pins coplanar with the mounting surface thereof.
- Naturally, in order to satisfy local and specific requirements, a person skilled in the art may apply to the solution described above many logical and/or physical modifications and alterations. More specifically, although this solution has been described with a certain degree of particularity with reference to one or more embodiments thereof, it should be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form and details as well as other embodiments are possible. Particularly, different embodiments may even be practiced without the specific details set forth in the preceding description to provide a more thorough understanding thereof; conversely, well-known features may have been omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the description with unnecessary particulars. Moreover, it is expressly intended that specific elements and/or method steps described in connection with any embodiment of the disclosed solution may be incorporated in any other embodiment as a matter of general design choice.
- For example, although in the above description reference has continuously made to through holes having constant diameter, nothing prevents having the diameter of the holes to vary along their extensions (having flared holes for example), and/or different through holes having different diameters (e.g., diameter that decreases progressing towards in the propagation direction of the wave of soldering paste, for facilitating the ascending by capillarity action).
Claims (22)
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
IT002084A ITMI20112084A1 (en) | 2011-11-17 | 2011-11-17 | WAVE WELDING ON PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD OF SURFACE MOUNTED ELECTRONIC DEVICES |
ITMI2011A002084 | 2011-11-17 | ||
ITMI2011A2084 | 2011-11-17 |
Publications (2)
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US20130126590A1 true US20130126590A1 (en) | 2013-05-23 |
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US13/655,555 Active US8453917B1 (en) | 2011-11-17 | 2012-10-19 | Wave soldering of surface-mounting electronic devices on printed circuit board |
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IT (1) | ITMI20112084A1 (en) |
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US20140301042A1 (en) * | 2013-04-05 | 2014-10-09 | Stmicroelectronics S.R.L. | Manufacturing of a heat sink by wave soldering |
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US9615444B2 (en) * | 2013-04-05 | 2017-04-04 | Stmicroelectronics S.R.L. | Manufacturing of a heat sink by wave soldering |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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ITMI20112084A1 (en) | 2013-05-18 |
US8453917B1 (en) | 2013-06-04 |
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