Additional testing: This deviation is considered as a reliability concern and additional tests must be conducted to check the system performance. From the point of view of the SAM inspection, such deviations do not comply with the acceptance criterion
Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (C-SAM) inspection has been used for the comprehensive inspection of the lead-frame in a horizontally stacked capacitor. This non-destructive inspection reveals minor anomalies at the interface with capacitor terminals which may impair the electrical response.
The use of new packages on space market has come hand in hand with the introduction of commercial of the shelf (COTS) parts in the business and even more with the New Space needs.
Ultrasonic Examination of Ceramic Capacitors by Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM) has proved to be the most effective tool for the non-destructive detection of very thin (even below 200 nm of thickness) internal anomalies (delamination, voids, cracks, and foreign material) within ceramic capacitors and other EEE parts
Package crack/void between non-connected terminals is a critical anomaly in plastic encapsulated parts. This is so as these can turn into a conductive path and lead to catastrophic failures. In this regard, Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM) is the most effective non-destructive approach for the sensitive detection of such deviations within plastic packages.
Among the test flow where SAM microscopy is used, other tests are carried out in which Alter Technology also has extensive experience, giving its customers the possibility of doing all the necessary tests with our expert engineers, offering support and follow-up at all times thanks to Virtual Lab; where immediate access is generated and in real time to all the information on the parts examined.
General construction of Tantalum, Aluminum electrolytic, Multi-layer Ceramics, Film, and Super capacitors and Common Mode Choke and Surface Mount inductors are explained.
The introduction of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts in the military industry paved the way for the use of plastic encapsulated systems in spacecraft systems. Thus, nowadays such components are experiencing a growing use in space applications. However, there are severe risks inherent to these types of packages. These are mainly related to the lack of hermeticity and the CTE mismatch with the internal inorganics parts and can lead to catastrophic failures such as popcorn cracking, metallic smearing on die surface, corrosion, wire bond cuts, and others. Such anomalies are typically related to the presence of interface delamination, voids in the moulding compound, and cracks within the system.
In this context Scanning Acoustic Microscopy has proved to be a very effective way for the non-destructive inspection, screening and failure analysis of plastic encapsulated EEE part. The present communication will report on the critical role that this this tool play to assure the suitable performance of the system and to early detect future functional failures.