Surface Mount Technology
To meet the changing needs of the communication equipment market, Cirtek houses an SMT ( Surface Mount Technology ) production area equipped with high capacity, high speed and precision chip mounter machines with fine pitch capability. In addition, the facility includes top of the line process and test equipment such as screen printers, reflow furnaces, frequency analyzers and other equipment.
Topping a range of SMT products manufactured is an RF module designed in a multi-layered ( 10 – 20 layers ), low temperature cofired thick film ceramic. The module involves technology such as chip-on-board ( COB ), standard IC assembly, and ball grid array ( BGA ) processes. Manufacturing commences on the Chip-on-Board process where solder paste are screen printed onto the board at equally consistent and precise alignment. Extremely high density components among which are the smallest chip capacitors, are then mounted. Subsequently, the board passes thru a convection furnace for the solder reflow process.
Assembly includes epoxy die bonding of a GaAs ( Gallium Arsenide ) chip, Au ball wirebonding and encapsulation of the wirebonded chip using a protective covering epoxy known as glob top.
The latest technology of ball grid array is the final process involved. Maintaining consistency and coplanarity, solder balls are attached with a precision ball attach equipment and undergoes solder reflow.
Final module are branded, electrically tested and packed in a customized shipping tray.
Another SMT product is an RF module in a printed wiring board made of a special type of material suitable for high temperature solder reflow. The board comes in an array at customer’s defined number of modules per array.
Assembly likewise starts from screen printing of solder paste onto the board and goes to a high speed chip mounter for the components mounting. Cirtek facility caters to modules involving the smallest component chip in the industry at fine pitch capability. Depending on specific component requirement of a customer, Cirtek’s current module assemblies works on over 100 components per board. With the metal lid included in the mounting process, solder reflow process are either done in Infra-red ( IR ) or a convection type of furnace with nitrogen environment.
Board array assembly are singulated into individual modules at tight mechanical tolerances of no greater than 0.003”. This is done possible using a highly precise K & S dicing machine.
Final module branded, electrically tested and packed in a customized shipping tray.