Surface Resistivity Characterization of New Printed Circuit Board Materials for Use in Spacecraft Electronics

• Published in: IEEE transactions on electronics packaging manufacturing Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 115 - 122
• Main Authors: Bulletti, A., Capineri, L., Materassi, M., Dunn, B.D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.04.2007; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Aerospace electronics; Aircraft manufacture; Applied sciences; Circuit boards; Conductivity; Corona discharge; Design. Technologies. Operation analysis. Testing; Dielectric materials; Dielectric substrates; electrical insulation testing; Electronic equipment and fabrication. Passive components, printed wiring boards, connectics; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Flux; flux contamination; High speed; Integrated circuits; Mechanical factors; Polyimides; printed circuit boards (PCBs); Printed circuits; Relative humidity; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Spacecraft; Surface contamination; Surface discharges; Surface resistivity; Relative humidity; High density; Dielectric materials; Spacecraft; Mechanical properties; printed circuit boards (PCBs); Printed circuit board; Electrical insulation; Integrated circuit bonding; Discharge current; surface resistivity; Electronic component; Soldered joint; Corona discharge; Printed circuit; Corona effect; electrical insulation testing; Electrical characteristic; Electrical test; flux contamination
• ISSN: 1521-334X; 1558-0822
• DOI: 10.1109/TEPM.2007.899075

New dielectric materials have been introduced for printed circuit board applications, such as Thermount and polyimide with the aim to match the requirements for high speed and high density of electronic devices that are planned for new spacecraft electronic boards. Before these newer substrate can fully replace the well-known space-approved material epoxy FR-4, it is necessary to investigate more deeply their electrical and mechanical properties. The scope of this study is to report quantitative characterization of the surface resistivity for the different material samples under various testing conditions that include relative humidity, temperature, solder flux contamination, and corona discharge. The surface resistivity results are reported for sets of samples measured under a combination of testing conditions.