FEATURES

• Cover Story
  Underfills in Pb-Free Assemblies
  Increased stresses on assemblies – the result of lead-free soldering – raise the possibility of underfills as reliability enhancers.
  Dr. Brian Toleno

• Virtual Nails
  The Boundary Scan Infrastructure
  What, exactly, is JTAG, and why do I need it for my boards?
  David Bonnett

• Pb-Free Processing
  Pb-Free Solder Processing and Reliability
  Metallurgical and process considerations of would-be replacements for tin-lead.
  Frank Liotine, Jr.

• Nepcon Shanghai
  In China, Volume Reigns Supreme
  Westerners continue make life difficult for Chinese equipment suppliers looking for sales.
  Mike Buetow

• Atmospheric Pressures
  Impact of Inerting on Wetting and Solderability
  Nitrogen offers the same level of wetting performances as low-activated pastes without the effects of residues.
  Helene Daniel, Marc Leturmy, Sylvie Lazure, Thomas Vukelic and Daniel Muller

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Going mobile.
  Mike Buetow

• Letters

• Talking Heads
  Checksum’s John VanNewkirk.
  Mike Buetow

MONEY MATTERS

• Global Sourcing
  Buying used equipment.
  Doug Eidle

TECH TALK

• On the Forefront
  What comes after lead-free solder?
  Dr. Ken Gilleo

• Screen Printing
  Post-print inspection.
  Joe Belmonte

• Better Manufacturing
  The time is now for reusable stencil frames.
  Phil Zarrow

• Countdown to Lead-Free
  Tracking Material Composition Data
  Richard Kubin and Dr. Nancy Bolinger

• ESD Basics
  Does your process ‘measure’ up?
  ESD Association

• Technical Abstracts

DEPARTMENTS

Industry News
Market Watch
Assembly Insider
Ad Index
SemiCon West Product Preview

On the cover: Underfill improves reliability by distributing stress across the substrate surface instead of through the solder balls. (Henkel)