Answering growing concerns about manufacturing yields for PCBs populated with increasingly smaller components, Littelfuse has introduced a nickel barrier termination option for its complete line of 0402 (EIA 1005) size multilayer varistor (MLV) products.
This feature enhances their solderability by improving the wetting characteristics of the termination and thus resisting sliding and tombstoning during board assembly, says the company. The improved solderability is especially important in the manufacturing of small digital consumer technology products where board space is at a premium. The propriety nickel barrier treatment provides a component with greater flexibility in board layout and processing. Littelfuse says this maintains high quality solder coverage, superior fillet heights and resistance to tombstoning. In addition to its 0402 sizes, the company is now able to offer the nickel barrier option for all of its MLV products.
Circuit board layout issues such as solder pad size and orientation or proximity to larger components (that act like heatsinks) can contribute to poor solder performance, as can choice of time versus temperature profile. Extremely small components (ie, 0402 outline) with silver-based termination options, are more susceptible to these soldering issues than devices with nickel barrier terminations. In the nickel barrier process, a plated nickel layer is placed over the standard silver termination to ensure that the termination is immune to solder leaching. Tin plating is then placed over the nickel layer to improve solder wetting characteristics.
With the new addition to the multilayer varistor families, Littelfuse has added to its leading electrostatic discharge (ESD) suppression portfolio that protects data lines, signal lines, and power buses. The portfolio includes multilayer varistors (MLVs), silicon rail-clamp and TVS diode arrays as well as ultra-low capacitance PulseGuard polymer products to provide design engineers with one of the broadest range of electrostatic discharge (ESD) solutions in the industry.
For additional information regarding the new nickel barrier termination option for Littelfuse multilayer varistors or to learn more about ESD protection see www.littelfuse.com
For more information contact Ashley Sundraj, Arrow Altech Distribution, 011 923 9600, [email protected]
| Tel: | +27 11 923 9600 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
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