CAVE CREEK, AZ -- The High Density Packaging (HDP) User Group is launching a project to update the industry protocols for electrochemical migration testing. 

ECM-2 seeks to revisit the current industry standard test protocols, which were originally developed to identify highly ionic contaminant levels (halides) after a cleaning process. These test protocols are not completely effective at identifying ECM exposures from no-clean flux residues, however, HDP says.

The consortium's goals for the project are to develop and propose modifications to IPC and JEDEC specifications used for manufacturing printed circuit boards and assemblies.

Various forms of corrosion and electrochemical migration failures on products that pass the current cleanliness and corrosion resistance test protocols have demonstrated that these test procedures are not totally effective, HDP said. The failure mechanism is the same regardless of the application the PCBA is used for. Current testing also does not take into consideration various acceleration factors associated with no clean flux and product design features.

This will be the second go around for HDP in the area of ECM. In phase one (ECM – 1), HDP demonstrated the ability of the test vehicle to identify pitting/crevice type corrosion in the presence of no-clean flux residues. The aim of this portion of the project is to improve the design of the current Test Vehicle and subsequently verify the existence of pitting/crevice type corrosion using multiple suppliers’ fluxes and multiple types of fluxes.

Those interested in joining the project may sign up through the HDP website or contact project facilitator Robert Smith at Smitty@hdpug.org.

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