Analysis of surface insulation resistance related failures in electronics by circuit simulation

Purpose At first, to show that the humidity levels for SIR failures are dependent on the type of activators used in no-clean flux systems, and secondly, to demonstrate the possibility of simulating effects of humidity and contamination on the printed circuit board components and sensitive parts if typical SIR data connected to the particular climatic condition is available. This is shown on representative components and typical circuits. Design/methodology/approach A range of surface insulation resistance values obtained on SIR patterns with 1476 squares was used as an input data for circuit analysis. The SIR data were compared to the surface resistance values observable on the real device PCBA. Surface insulation resistance (SIR) issues at the component and circuit level were analysed based on the parasitic circuit effects owing to the formation of water layer as an electrical conduction medium. Findings This paper provides a summary of the effects of various weak organic acids (WOAs) contamination repre...

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