AREA Consortium

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Partnering with the industry's foremost technology leaders

For over a decade, Universal Instruments' SMT Laboratory has been conducting focused research with the goal of generating applicable knowledge for specific product development and manufacturing processes. This research is funded by a consortium of companies that share the results. Each year the laboratory chooses a set of relevant projects on current and emerging technologies based on member input and conducts analytical and experimental research on these. Manufacturing-relevant materials, process and reliability studies are conducted by a team of staff scientists, professors, post-doctoral students, consultants, and graduate students. Past projects have included topics such as ultra-fine pitch, BGA, CSP, flip chip, PCB technologies, optoelectronics packaging, and assembly for thermal management.

Results are disseminated in research reports posted on a protected website and distributed on CDs, as well as at three major on-site meetings each year. In addition, hundreds of employees of member companies worldwide attend web casts of the same presentations at times scheduled for Europe, Asia, and America, respectively. Member companies are also invited to participate in the research, and some keep residents in the laboratory for periods ranging from days to years.

The 2007 consortium had over 30 members representing leading companies in the electronics assembly industry. Major topics in 2008 include:

• SiP (F2F and TSV) assembly and reliability
• PoP, QFN and FCBGA assembly and reliability
• Thermal Cycling and Mechanical Test Protocols
• Very Early Failures
• Solder Pad Fragility (Pad Finish Issues)
• Component Underfilling
• Automated Thermal Interface Assembly
• No-Pb Solder Assembly & Reliability
• PCB and Component Damage
• Flip Chip Assembly & Reliability

The overall knowledge and understanding generated is intended to be applied by member companies in their business. The Laboratory employs it by conducting design, turnkey process development, process audits and training, and root cause failure analysis for individual customers.

For more information, contact a Universal Sales Rep.