The SURFACESCAN® QC-100: A Sequential Electrochemical Reduction Analysis (SERA) Analyzer

The potential to solder and wire bond is a crucial factor during the manufacture of reliable semiconductor packaging components and PCBs. Every miss-bonded component falls on the reject pile, either at the manufacturers’ plants or at their customers’ facilities.

Conventional methods, such as ESCA/Auger, SEM, Dip and Look, XRF, etc., tend to be costly, subjective, time intensive and are generally unreliable. Using the patented method, called Sequential Electrochemical Reduction Analysis (SERA), the SURFACESCAN® QC-100 from ECI Technology quantifies the adhesion properties of the surface. Users can check if they are ready for bonding and if not, they will know why.

The SURFACESCAN® QC-100 is a quick and low cost process and quality control tool that reveals the four significant reasons for rejects.

Key Features

  • Can analyze Ag, Cu, Co, Ni, Au, In, Sn, Bi, Pb and Sb
  • Includes a corrosion-resistant test stand
  • Excellent for gold, copper, immersion tin and solder
  • Examines boards up to 15″x24″ (bigger sizes are optional)
  • Maintenance is low
  • A sealed reservoir is available for test solutions
  • Beam alignment for SMT or PHT pad positioning on the stand
  • Pre-programmed applications for numerous alternative surface finishes
  • Live surface fingerprint data-driven decision assists tools for review and troubleshooting of any abnormalities

Key Benefits

Coating Contamination

  • Detects possible issues on surface mount pads (SMT), plated through holes (PTH), lead frames and components
  • Non-destructive method eliminates sample preparation

Coating Uniformity

  • Exhibits coating thickness down to approximately 15Å
  • Detects and helps avoid oxidation to the underlying substrate
  • Immersion gold, copper oxide, tin, silver, nickel, or organic solderability preservative (OSP) coating porosity

Sn-Cu Intermetallic

The Tin Copper intermetallics are naturally brittle, causing a fracture in the solder. The QC-100 can identify and quantify the thicknesses of both Cu3Sn and Cu6Sn5

Technical Specifications

  • Conforming standards: NFPA and CE
  • Dimensions: 330 (13″) width x 445 (18″) height x 419 mm (17″) depth
  • Data communication: Multiple communication protocols such as Serial, RS-232, TCP/IP, and SECS/GEM

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