Conformal Coating Evaluation for Improved Protection against Corrosive Environments, Phase 3

 

Call-for-Participation Webinar

Webinar presentation (December 1, 2022)



Statement of Work & Project Statement 

Statement of Work (v1.1, November 18, 2022)
Project Statement (v1.2, December 9, 2022)
 

Background

Conformal coatings are used to protect printed circuit boards (PCB) and components mounted on them from the deleterious effects of moisture, particulate matter, and corrosive gases. The objective of the project is to develop and expedite a quantitative test for evaluating conformal coating performance on test vehicles that resemble the actual hardware.
 
Phases 1 and 2 of the project established a quick and quantitative test for characterizing the performance of conformal coatings, using planar test vehicles consisting of Cu and Ag serpentine thin films.  There are two shortcomings of the test: (1) The serpentine films are on silicon, not on PCB-like surfaces and (2) the test vehicles are not representative of the 3D structure of actual PCB assemblies.
 

Phase 3 Focus

 Phase 3 plans to:
  • Design test vehicle with 3D structures on PCB substrate, including interface electronics for measuring and heating the test vehicle.
  • Enable comparison of different coating materials, thicknesses, and cleaning methods by the FoS, MFG and IVT during corrosion exposure.
  • Incorporate coating performance evaluation test into industry standards.
 

Contact

Haley Fu
haley.fu@inemi.org