COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – Dr. William Coleman, vice president of technology at Photo Stencil, will present a paper detailing an alternative rework/repair method for BGA and QFN components at the IPC APEX trade event on April 1, 2008. Instead of printing solder paste on circuit board pads, this new approach prints solder paste directly on BGA solder balls or QFN pads.

Repairing an assembly with a defective BGA, µBGA or QFN package is difficult and tedious, especially in a lead-free environment. Conventional methods require component removal, cleaning, and printing of solder paste on the board using a mini stencil. The stencil must fit in the area vacated by the component, which can prove especially challenging on dense layouts.

Dr. Coleman’s paper describes the application of solder paste directly on to the component using a unique repair tool that is cost-effective and easy to use. A package can be inserted into the tool, printed and placed on the board in about 30 seconds. The tool consists of two components: a master tool that can be re-used for any package, and a stencil/holding fixture that is unique to a specific package. This part of the tool features a standalone metal foil with laser cut or electroformed apertures.

Details on this new method will be presented in the Repair and Rework Technical Session S08 on Tuesday, April 1 at 3:15 pm. The tool will also be demonstrated at the Photo Stencil booth (#1747).