The Road to Tin Whisker Detection

Michael WeberSAIC Intern

Purdue Technology CenterAugust 10, 2010

Fisher Scientific Micromaster Microscope

Canon G10 Camera USB Digital Microscope Fiber-Optic Light Source • 360 Ring lamp• Bifurcated light guide

7 In. Tile Wet Saw Hand Dremel tool

Previous Equipment

Fisher XDAL X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer

• Perform elemental analysis of samples; returns weight percent of elements

• Design programs to calculate thickness of layers

• Automated arrays of inspection points• Generate tabular and graphical results

New Equipment, cont’d

New Equipment, cont’d

Nibbler• Designed for soft sheet metal• Cuts boards well but poor maneuverability

New Equipment

Diamond Tech DL3000 XL Band Saw• Variable speed, diamond-tipped blade• Integrated water pump with filters

New Equipment, cont’d

Hitachi TM-1000 Tabletop SEM

• 20x – 10,000x magnification; 15 kV voltage

• 70 mm maximum specimen size• Integrated software for all image

manipulation, capture, editing• Acrylic enclosure with filter-fed air for

clean environment

New Equipment, cont’d

New Equipment, cont’d

New Equipment, cont’d

Well-documented data base of inventory; backlog of parts still needed to be examined

Instruments with sufficient capabilities for elemental analysis, cutting, and inspection

Developed routine for inspection (Logging, XRF, component extraction, SEM)

Conclusions

Continue to search for parts; need a more reliable Pb-free source

Refine methods; namely a method to clean debris from boards without removing whiskers

Continue examination with possible acceleration of commercial whiskers

Path Forward