Christopher Nash, Solder Paste Product Manager
It is truly an exciting time to be involved in the electronics assembly industry. Indium Corporation has seen tremendous growth in 2018 and future growth appears inevitable with the abundance of new technoloy, technological advancements, and electronics finding their way into every aspect of our lives.
The internet of things is providing a great growth opportunity for electronics, whether it is controlling your home and appliances, or connecting with your doctors. Automobiles are also driving growth, and we have seen a remarkable increase in electronics—from a vast array of sensors to control modules and infotainment. With autonomous vehicles on the horizon, and electric vehicles becoming more popular, growth of electronics in vehicles will surely continue. Although mobile phones have plateaued in growth, new technological capabilities will continue to drive sales, and growth in emerging markets will shift demand from feature phones to more technologically-advanced smart phones.
With new and improving electronics technology comes new assembly challenges. Miniaturization will continue to be a top conern, as it has been for the past decade. Finer powder sizes and advanced flux technology will enable the continued use of solder paste as printed deposits become microscopic. Higher reliability requirements are also emerging from low stand-off components and harsh operating enviornments. Enhanced electrical reliability (SIR/ECM) and improved mechanical and thermal reliability have become increasingly important to ensure products will work as they were intended to while in the field. Thermal cycling performance is critical to underhood applications where operating temperatures can fluctuate between -40˚C and 150˚C. Low-voiding is often required in applications where heat transfer is needed. Improved drop shock performance has become essential where typical bismuth-based low-temperature alloys often fall short.
Indium Corporation has an extensive line of solder pastes that will help eliminate manufacturing challenges and end-of-line defects. This coupled with our superior applications engineering expertise makes Indium Corporation the ultimate partner to build your next electronics assembly. As the industry leader to help you Avoid the Void®, we are yet again poised to release exciting new soldering products in 2019 that address new and future assembly challenges and help our customers avoid rework and decreased yields, and eliminate field failure.
