An Overview of IPC Plating Specification

Completions, Revisions and Future Plans

George Milad
Uyemura International Corporation

IMAPS
New England Section 42nd Annual
Symposium Technical Sessions ‐ May 5, 2015
 IPC Specifications
Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
Specifications are reference documents to be called
out by designers and original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs).

Designers may take exception with one or more items

in the specification to ensure that the product meets
the requirements of its intended use.

The term “AAUBUS”, (As Agreed Upon Between User

and Supplier); is part of any specification.
 IPC Specifications
Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
Specifications are consensus documents

They are agreed upon by a panel of interested

industry participants composed of
1. Suppliers,
2. Manufacturers,
3. Assembly houses
4. End users (OEM).

The IPC Plating Sub‐committee 4‐14, is no

exception.
 IPC Specifications
Plating Subcommittee 4‐14

If there is consensus then the committee

documents it in a specification.

In cases where no consensus is readily arrived at,

the committee undergoes its own testing in what
is commonly referred to as a “Round Robin” (RR)
study.
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
Round Robin Investigation

In a RR investigation, an agreed upon test vehicle (TV) is

designed and manufactured.

TVs are then sent around to the different suppliers who

deposit the agreed upon thicknesses to be investigated.

The TVs are collected and the deposit thicknesses are

verified and documented.

The TVs are then coded.

The Test Vehicle
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
Round Robin Investigation

The TVs are sent around again to the different testing

sites that test for the desired attribute like soldering,
contacting and wire bonding capabilities of the
different finish thicknesses.

The data is then collected sorted out and documented.

At this point a new attempt at consensus is made and

upon arrival the thickness specification is set.
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
The Document
Draft
After consensus is complete a draft is prepared.

Peer Review
1. The draft is then posted for peer review.
2. Any IPC member can review the document and
suggest technical or editorial changes
3. All comments are then reviewed and all issues are
resolved before the final draft is issued.

Publication
At this time the IPC takes on the task of publishing the
document in its final format.
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
The Committee
Active since 2001

Co‐chaired by George Milad and Gerard O’Brien

IPC liaison is Tom Newton

An Extensive Member List.

OEMs
Assembly Manufacturers
Board manufacturers
Suppliers
Labs and Consultants
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
Member Companies 1 of 2
OEM and CM
Lockheed Martin. Raytheon, Oracle, Adtran, Rockwell
Collins, Heweltt Packard, Alcatel‐Lucent, Dell, St Jude
Medical, Delphi, Schneider Electric, Continental
Corporation, Panasonic, IBM, Northrop Grumman, BAE
Systems, Honeywell, Boeing, Tyco Electronics,
Peregrine Semiconductor, Space Systems /Loral,
Amonix, Celestica, Winstron
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
Member Companies 2 of 2
Board Manufacturing
Viasystems, TTM, I3, Molex, Superior Processing,
Alternate Final Finishing,

Suppliers
Macdermid, OMG, Uyemura, Atotech, Cookson
Electronics, MEC, ECI Technology, Kulick & Sofa,
Metalor, Fischer Technology, Hesse‐Mechatronics, HZO

Labs and Consultants

ST and S Group, Sandia labratories, DFR Solutions, TAS
Consulting
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
Member Companies
Operation
o The committee operates thru one hour bi‐weekly
conference calls.
o All decisions are made in the concalls by those in
attendance.
o The call minutes are documented and circulated.

Acknowledgement
To date all committee activities have been voluntary
and acknowledgement is in order for the members and
equally important to their management that allow for
the voluntary time invested by their employees.
 IPC Specifications
Plating Subcommittee 4‐14

Since its inception the IPC Plating Sub‐committee 4‐14

has issued the following:
IPC‐4552 ENIG Specification 2002
IPC‐4552 ENIG Specification Amended 2012
IPC‐4553 Immersion Silver specification 2005
IPC‐4554 Immersion Tin Specification 2007
IPC‐4553A Revised Immersion Silver 2009
IPC‐4554 Amended Tin Specification 2011
IPC‐4552 Amended ENIG Specification 2012
IPC‐4556 ENEPIG Specification 2013
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4552 ENIG Specification (2002)
The ENIG IPC‐4552 Specification was issued in 2002,
No lead free (LF) solder in use.

For thickness IPC‐4552 stated :

oThe EN thickness shall be 3 to 6 µm [118.1 to 236.2 µin]

oThe minimum IG thickness shall be 0.05 [1.97 µin] at four

sigma (standard deviation) below the mean. The typical
range is 0.075 to 0.125 µm [2.955 to 4.925 µin].
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4552 ENIG Specification (2002)

To arrive at these numbers

o The committee had conducted a series of test in a round
robin (RR) study
o The study included suppliers, PCB manufacturers, EMS
providers and OEMs.
o The data collected is summarized in the Appendix of the
specification.
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4552 ENIG Specification (2002)

To arrive at these numbers

o The committee had conducted a series of test in a round
robin (RR) study
o The study included suppliers, PCB manufacturers, EMS
providers and OEMs.
o The data collected is summarized in the Appendix of the
specification.
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4552 ENIG Specification (2002)

To arrive at these numbers

o The committee had conducted a series of test in a round
robin (RR) study
o The study included suppliers, PCB manufacturers, EMS
providers and OEMs.
o The data collected is summarized in the Appendix of the
specification.
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4552 ENIG Amended Spec (2012)

The lower limit for Gold thickness was reduced from 0.05 µm
to 0.04 µm (1.6 µin)

With Restrictions:
o Limited time from manufacturing to assembly
o Demonstrate the consistency of the plating process.
o Ability to measure low Gold thickness
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4552 Rev‐A ENIG Specification
The IPC‐4552 A, ENIG Specification Revision is in progress.
Expected completion 2015
The Purpose
o To reduce the lower limit of Gold thickness and to set
an upper limit. Under consideration 1.6 to 4.0 uins

o Determine if the restrictions could be lifted.

o This entails an extensive RR study

o Testing to include LF solder and LF stressing conditions

 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4552 Rev‐A ENIG Specification

The revision of IPC‐4552 A would include the following

Additional Documents:

o Test Method (TM) for stripping Immersion gold

during failure analysis

o Test Method (TM) for determining the phos

content of electroless nickel

o Acceptability criteria for nickel corrosion (Black

Pad). Include a CORROSION CHART
 EXAMPLES OF CORROSION CHART

Target condition – no hyper corrosion Acceptable condition < 10

defects or enhanced grain boundary observations in the field of view
definition
 EXAMPLES OF CORROSION CHART

Acceptable condition < 10 Rejectable – more than ten

observations in the field of view observations in the field of view
 EXAMPLES OF CORROSION CHART

Rejectable – penetration to the Rejectable ‐ Evidence of contiguous

copper surface corrosion with depth penetration > 10%
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4553 Immersion Silver (2005)

o In 2005 there were 2 distinct types of commercialized

immersion silver with different thickness
recommendations, referred to as “Thin” and “Thick”.

o Each required its own thickness specification.

o The initial 4553 specification stated the following for

thickness of deposit
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4553 Immersion Silver (2005)

Two Thickness Specification:

Thin Silver : 0.05µm(2µ”) minimum at ‐2σ from process

mean as measured on a pad of area 2.25²µm (3600²
mils). Typical value 0.07µm (3µ”) to 0.12µm (5µ”)

Thick Silver: 0.12µm (5µ”) minimum at ‐4σ from process

mean as measured on a pad of area 2.25²µm (3600²
mils). Typical value of 0.2µm (8µ”) to 0.3µm (12µ”).
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4553 A Immersion Silver (2009)
A single Thickness Specified

o 0.12 µm [5 µin] minimum to 0.4 µm [16 μin] maximum

at ± 4σ from process mean

o As measured on a pad of area 2.25 mm² or 1.5 mm X 1.5

mm [approximately 0.0036 in² or 0.060 in X 0.060 in.

o Typical value between 0.2 µm [8 µin] to 0.3 µm [12 µin].

oAn Upper Limit was set.

 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4554 Immersion Tin (2007)

For immersion tin the committee specified a lower limit

for thickness. The relatively thick value of 1 micron was
chosen to ensure that enough virgin tin would be available
at the surface for soldering after storage.

It is well understood that tin forms an intermetallic (IMC)

layer with the underlying copper, and that this layer
continues to grow in thickness over time.
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4554 Immersion Tin (2007)

The immersion tin thickness will be:

1.0 µm (40µ”) minimum at ‐4σ from process mean as
measured on a pad of area 2.25²µm (3600² mils). Typical
value of 1.15µm ( (46µ”) to 1.3µm (52µ”).

The immersion tin Specification IPC‐4554 was amended in

2011. The amendment addressed solderability testing and
specified the allowed stress testing conditions for the
deposit and the type of fluxes to be used for both tin/lead
and LF testing.
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4555 OSP Specification (No Date)

After more than one year of struggling with specification

IPC‐4555; organic solderability preservative (OSP). Nothing
was specified.

There was no consensus arrived at.

Mostly this was due to the wide assortment of organic

products that were used for solderability preservation for
the various application; each with its own thickness
recommended values.
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4556 ENEPIG Specification (2013)
This is the last specification issued by the committee. The
document produced is very comprehensive and includes a
wealth of information from the RR studies that were
conducted.

The Appendix contains a documentation of these studies;

each authored by the principle who conducted the testing.

It also includes a section on the proper methods of

equipment setup for a reliable measurement of very thin
layers of metal deposits.
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4556 ENEPIG Specification (2013)

Appendices 1 thru9
1. Chemical Definitions and Process Sequence; Martin Bayes
Dow Chemical Company
2. Round Robin Test Summary; George Milad Uyemura
International Corporation
3. ENEPIG PWB Surface Finish XRF Round Robin Testing;
Gerard O’Brien S T and S Group.
4. Factors Affecting Measurement Accuracy of ENEPIG
Coatings by XRF; Frank Ferrandino, Calmetrics Inc.
5. ENEPIG PWB Surface Finish Wetting Balance Testing;
Gerard O’Brien – President S T and S Group.
6. Solder Spread Testing; Brian Madsen, Continental
7. ENEPIG PWB Surface Finish Shear Test Project; Dave
Hillman,et al.Rockwell Collins Inc.
8. Gold Wire Bonding; Stephen Meeks St Jude Medical
9. XRF Thickness Measurements of thin Au and Pd (ENEPIG):
Recommendations for Instrumentation (Detectors) and
their Limitations; Michael Haller Fischer Technology
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4556 ENEPIG Specification (2013)
The thickness specification for ENEPIG states
Nickel: 3 to 6 µm [118.1 to 236.2 µin] at ± 4 sigma (standard
deviations) from the mean.

Palladium: 0.05 to 0.30 µm [2 to 12 µin] at ± 4 sigma

(standard deviations) from the mean. No upper limit.

Gold: minimum 0.030 µm [1.2 µin] at ‐ 4 sigma (standard

deviations) below the mean.

All measurements to be taken on a nominal pad size of 1.5

mm x 1.5 mm [0.060 in x 0.060 in] or equivalent area.
 Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
IPC‐4556 ENEPIG Specification
Amended 2015
The thickness specification for ENEPIG states
Nickel: 3 to 6 µm [118.1 to 236.2 µin] at ± 4 sigma (standard
deviations) from the mean.

Palladium: 0.05 to 0.30 µm [2 to 12 µin] at ± 4 sigma

(standard deviations) from the mean. No upper limit.

Gold: minimum 0.030 µm [1.2 µin] at ‐ 4 sigma (standard

deviations) below the mean, maximum 0.07 µm [2.8 µin] .

All measurements to be taken on a nominal pad size of 1.5

mm x 1.5 mm [0.060 in x 0.060 in] or equivalent area.
 IPC Specifications
Plating Subcommittee 4‐14
Committee conference calls are held every other
Wednesday at 11:00 am EST.

Call in Number is 847 597 2999

Pass Code is 013 98 92 #

Everyone is welcome to participate.

A notification e‐mail is sent out before each

conference call
IPC Plating Committee 4‐14

Thank You
George Milad
gmilad@uyemura.com

IMAPS
New England Section 42nd
Annual Symposium Technical Sessions ‐ May 5, 2015