Printed wiring board fabrication and lead elimination via single-bath electrodeposition
Abstract
Printed wiring board (PWB) fabrication, an operation performed both at LLNL and throughout the electronics industry, generates considerable quantities of hazardous waste, notably lead-bearing materials used for soldering, tinning, and finish coating the circuits of the board. Hot-air solder leveling (HASL), the most common method of finishing is one of the main sources of hazardous lead-bearing wastes in traditional PWB manufacturing. The development of a safer finishing method will lead to employee health and environmental benefits. In addition, there is a production advantage to eliminating HASL, for it provides a fairly uneven surface that is problematic for mounting very small components. In this project, we developed ''single-bath electroplating'' as a potential HASL replacement technology for many applications. Single-bath electroplating involves alternating deposition of one or the other metal component of a bimetal bath, through control of plating potential and mass transport. It employs a nickel layer as both etch resist and finish coat and has the potential for lowering environmental and human-health risks associated with PWB manufacture--while at the same time reconfiguring the process for greater efficiency and profitability.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 15005413
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID-142542
TRN: US200322%%423
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- Resource Type:
- Technical Report
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 21 Feb 2001
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE; BIMETALS; COATINGS; DEPOSITION; ELECTRODEPOSITION; ELECTROPLATING; FABRICATION; MANUFACTURING; NICKEL; PERSONNEL; PLATING; PRODUCTION; SOLDERING; TRANSPORT; WASTES
Citation Formats
Meltzer, M P, and Steffani, C P. Printed wiring board fabrication and lead elimination via single-bath electrodeposition. United States: N. p., 2001.
Web. doi:10.2172/15005413.
Meltzer, M P, & Steffani, C P. Printed wiring board fabrication and lead elimination via single-bath electrodeposition. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/15005413
Meltzer, M P, and Steffani, C P. 2001.
"Printed wiring board fabrication and lead elimination via single-bath electrodeposition". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/15005413. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/15005413.
@article{osti_15005413,
title = {Printed wiring board fabrication and lead elimination via single-bath electrodeposition},
author = {Meltzer, M P and Steffani, C P},
abstractNote = {Printed wiring board (PWB) fabrication, an operation performed both at LLNL and throughout the electronics industry, generates considerable quantities of hazardous waste, notably lead-bearing materials used for soldering, tinning, and finish coating the circuits of the board. Hot-air solder leveling (HASL), the most common method of finishing is one of the main sources of hazardous lead-bearing wastes in traditional PWB manufacturing. The development of a safer finishing method will lead to employee health and environmental benefits. In addition, there is a production advantage to eliminating HASL, for it provides a fairly uneven surface that is problematic for mounting very small components. In this project, we developed ''single-bath electroplating'' as a potential HASL replacement technology for many applications. Single-bath electroplating involves alternating deposition of one or the other metal component of a bimetal bath, through control of plating potential and mass transport. It employs a nickel layer as both etch resist and finish coat and has the potential for lowering environmental and human-health risks associated with PWB manufacture--while at the same time reconfiguring the process for greater efficiency and profitability.},
doi = {10.2172/15005413},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/15005413},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Feb 21 00:00:00 EST 2001},
month = {Wed Feb 21 00:00:00 EST 2001}
}