Printed circuit board surfaces

The circuit board surface is responsible for raising the wetting ability of the contact areas for soldering; non-chemical surfaces serve simultaneously as protection against oxidation of the covered copper and improve shelf life characteristics.

The circuit board surfaces vary in shelf life, typical application field and price, but are normally specified by the process, product or desired location for the application.

Available surfaces

	Surface
	HAL SnPB	> 5µm	approx. 12 months	5
	HAL lead-free	> 5µm	approx. 12 months	5
	Immersion tin	> 1µm	approx. 6 months	2
	Immersion silver	0,2 - 0,3µm	approx. 12 months	5
	Immersion gold	4-6µm Ni 0,1µm Au	approx. 12 months	5
	Electroplated soft gold	4-6µm Ni > 1µm Au	approx. 12 months	-
	Electroplated hard gold	4-6µm Ni 0,1µm Au - 2µm Au*	approx. 12 months	-
Values for shelf life and reflow cycles are guidelines from the process supplier!

HAL lead-free

HAL (Hot Air Levelling) is a well-proven method to apply tin as circuit board surface. Every assembler should be able to process circuit boards with HAL surfaces without any problem. HAL is suitable for standard SMD, but exhibits some weaknesses for fine-pitch applications, for which a chemical surface should be preferred (see also HAL vs. immersion gold).

Advantages:

Good solderability
Good reflow properties

Disadvantages:

pads are non-planar

Immersion tin

This is a very popular circuit board surface, which competent assembly companies have no trouble in processing, because its properties are very close to those of HAL. Due to the quick oxidation of the copper, the storability depends on temperature and packaging. It is imperative to avoid fingerprints on the surface.

Advantages:

Absolutely flat
Good for fine pitch
Good for SMD
Good for press-fit

Disadvantages:

Extra charge
Critical manufacturing process
Faster oxidation, thus limited storability

Immersion silver

This circuit board surface is very similar to immersion tin, with better properties for oxidation and contact applications.

Advantages:

Absolutely flat
Good for fine pitch
Good for SMD
Good for press-fit
Better storability than immersion tin

Disadvantages:

Extra charge

Immersion gold

Just as with immersion tin and immersion silver, immersion gold is an extremely flat circuit board surface, and has very good oxidation properties. It is perfectly suited for fine pitch and bonding (aluminium wire) applications.

Advantages:

Absolutely flat
Very good for fine pitch
Very good for SMD
Very good wetting characteristics
Good for press-fit
Good storability

Disadvantages:

Extra charge

Additional information

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Pricing Examples

Printed Circuit Boards always include:

- E-Test
- Solder-stop 2x
- Marking print 1x
- Gerber-Import
- Scoring (series)
- Design-Rule-Check

- Tooling costs
- Photoplot
- Conductors 150μm
- Drill holes 0,3mm
- Unlimited drilling
- HAL, FR4 1,6, 35μm Cu

Prototypes

2 layers - 6 WD	41,- €
1 Printed circuit board 100x100mm
4 layers - 8 WD	118,- €
1 Printed circuit board 160x100mm
6 layers - 8 WD	148,- €
1 Printed circuit board 160x100mm

Series

e.g. 100 pcs. Eurocard 100x160mm

2 layers - each	4,92 €

4 layers - each	7,05 €

6 layers - each	10,67 €

8 layers - each	16,99 €

SMD Stencils

max. 200x300mm - 3WD	47,50 €
1 Stencil, including 1000 pads
max. 600x600mm - 3WD	90,44 €
1 Stencil, including 2500 pads

We solely sell to entrepreneurs.
Prices plus VAT and delivery costs.

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