Description
[11/2016]
Electrochemical migration is an important topic for the reliability and durability of electronic assemblies, and is frequently discussed as the cause of malfunctions in the field.
In the first part of this article the preconditions for the development of electrochemical migration (ECM) were explained, the development mechanism was examined in detail and the distinction between ECM and other dendrite failures and their consequences was shown.
The main focus in this special article will be on how to prevent Electrochemical Migration in order to avoid the resulting field failures. Four different approaches for preventing ECM will be presented.
Dr. Helmut Schweigart
Head of Reliability & Surfaces, ZESTRON EUROPE
Dr. Helmut Schweigart obtained his doctorate for research into the reliability of electronic sub-assemblies, and he has been employed at ZESTRON Europe since the early days of the company. He is now Head of Reliability & Surfaces Team. He is also a member of the Board of Management at GfKORR (Gesellschaft für Korrosionsschutz - a company specialising in corrosion inhibitors) as well as an active member of GUS (Gesellschaft für Umweltsimulation - an environmental simulation company) and of the IPC. He has already published numerous technical articles.
Sandra Pilz
Group Manager Product Management, ZESTRON EUROPE
Sandra Pilz has been working in product management at ZESTRON for more than 15 years and is responsible for the fields of component cleaning, power electronics and advanced packaging as well as for the global coordination of product management. In addition to product development in Europe, she oversees the activities of the local teams in North Asia, South Asia, Japan and the USA. In addition, she organises ZESTRON's trade fair appearances at SMT and Productronica and contributes to various technical articles. 
