effect of thickness and phosphorus content on au/pd/ni(p) metal finish of printed circuit board

electroless nickel/electroless palladium/immersion gold [au/pd/ni(p) or enepig] pads consisting of layers of ni(p) (200 μin), pure palladium (pd) or palladium phosphorus (pdp) (2 μin, 4 μin or 6 μin), and gold (au) (2 μin or 4 μin) were prepared using two different processes (wire bonding and lead-free soldering). each of these processes was done with zero- or two-time reflow. different tests on solderability, wettability, wire-bonding capacity, and corrosion resistance were performed on different combinations of enepig pads formed using different combinations of processes and conditions. scanning electron microscopy was also performed to examine the surface characteristics of the pads. it was found that the enepig pad sample with the 4-μin-thick au and 4-μin-thick pdp layers possessed stable wire-bonding capacity and excellent lead-free solder reliability. in addition, the enepig–pdp systems showed better corrosion resistance, which is attributed to the presence of the amorphous pdp layer protecting the nickel layer.