In the manufacture of thin film solar panels or foils (e.g. CIS/CIGS, CdTe) it is crucial to maintain the specified limits of thickness and composition exactly, as this directly affects…
Element of the Month Each month we will explore elements of interest from the periodic table, with a brief history of discovery and development, and a review of uses and…
Hard coatings are used for many industrial purposes. Especially for machining and milling, the tools used are made with hard-coated cutting materials. Depending on the application area, specialised coating solutions…
As the electronics industry makes use of ever thinner coatings, manufacturers increase their demands on measuring technologies to provide reliable parameters for product monitoring and control. The coating system Au/Pd/Ni…
Measuring the true mechanical properties of micron-scale intermediate layers in thin multilayer foils – without influence from the surrounding layers – is a challenge that very few instruments can meet.…
Bronze foils/strips are used for a huge variety of industrial applications, ranging from electrical contacts and membranes to spring elements and switches. The processing industry requires CuSn6 foils with more and…
Ensuring Compliance with RoHS by Using the X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) MethodIt is critical for manufacturers and distributors of many products to be able to detect harmful substances. Various regulations, such…
Due to growing restrictions on the use of lead in electronic products, efforts have been made to find appropriate substitutes. In the advanced IC packaging industry, the formerly ubiquitous, high-quality…
Because EU directives like EU2002/95/EC and EU2002/96/EC prohibit lead and other heavy metals, the solderable coating systems used on printed circuit boards must now be lead free. However, immersion tin…
Modern printed circuit boards (PCBs) are furnished with a huge number of contact points for electrical connections, all of which are coated with metal. The metrological monitoring of these coated…