A Guiding Influence in the Electronics Industry

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BLOWHOLES AND OUTGASSING

OF PRINTED CIRCUIT
ASSEMBLIES
A SIMPLE TEST METHOD

Produced By:
Bob Willis

at

BLOWHOLES AND OUTGASSING OF

PRINTED CIRCUIT ASSEMBLIES
The subject of outgassing, as it relates to printed circuit assemblies during
the flowsoldering operation, has been an area of debate for many years.
Until recently the soldering equipment always received the blame for pin
holes and blow holes; in recent years the source of the problem has now
been established. It is true to say that any soldering system would have to be
operated well outside effective soldering limits with poor quality control for
outgassing to occur.
Over the years, a number of articles have been published which have put
forward many suggestions as to the cause of the outgassing phenomenon. It
was not until the involvement of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), as
part of the Soldering Science and Technology Club (SSTC), that any
detailed scientific work could be co-ordinated at a national level. The club
worked closely with major companies and with trade groups like the Joint
Telecommunications and Components Working Group. The work of the
joint activity highlighted the following points which have been shown to
affect the degree of outgassing.
Blowholes and pin holes are caused by the escape of gas through the plated
copper hole during the soldering operation. The gas is water vapour which is
super heated during the soldering operation and escapes through the solder
during its molten state. Voids are formed when the gas continues to escape
during the solidification of the solder joint. On examination outgassing may
result in pin holes, blowholes or sunken joints.
Outgassing can be eliminated if the copper plate is uniform in its thickness
and is impervious to the gas escaping. This depends on many factors like the
quality of drilling, the effective deposition of the electroless copper and the
correct thickness of electroplated copper to resist the flow of escaping
moisture.
The drilling may cause a problem due to the irregular surface that the copper
will be required to cover and the need to bridge glass stands protruding into
the through plating. This may provide voids which will allow continued
gassing during the soldering operation.

Outgassing can be reduced during the soldering operation if the printed

boards are baked prior to the soldering process. The baking operation must
be conducted just prior to the assembly and soldering operation if it is to be
effective in removing the moisture from the board. The boards must be
baked at the correct temperature for the correct time duration to be effective.
It should be noted that all glass epoxy is hydroscopic and will take on
moisture during storage. This means that boards which have been baked
need to be used if the baking operation is to be effective.
The incidence of outgassing can be eliminated by correct specification of the
printed circuit board. Most national specifications quote a minimum
thickness of copper plating in the through hole connection. The specification
quotes a minimum of 20um but allows voids to also be present in the
plating; this is, of course, a minimum standard which circuit companies in
the main far exceed in terms of quality.
Many electronics companies can be accused of double standards. In the case
of printed circuits they request boards to be manufactured to the national
specification or, in some cases, have a company document which is slightly
adapted from those specifications. In this situation they are implying that, in
the worst case, they will accept boards which will outgass during soldering.
On the other hand the soldering standards operated in production, or
imposed by a customer for second party manufacture, do not allow pin holes
or voids so they are required to rework the solder joint to improve the
cosmetic appearance. In no case has it been shown that touch up of solder
joints improves the quality of the solder joint but in many cases the reverse
has been shown; damage can be caused through repeated rework.
A simple non-destructive method of evaluating printed boards which may be
conducted at goods receipt or during production is available on VHS video
tape. Generally if outgassing is seen it will continue for a considerable time,
in most cases until the heat source is removed; in cases during video filming
the gassing has continued for over 1 min. The complete oil test and the
results which may be obtained are shown on the video tape, the tape shows
how the test is performed and the outgassing taking place.

Where testing is conducted on a large sample size of boards a range of

results will be seen. It is difficult in most cases to establish the size of the
problem in the actual board but in situations where considerable gassing is
seen it is easy to judge the effect it would have on manufacture. The method
of test is very useful for demonstrating the phenomenon of water vapour
escaping from both thin and voided copper plating. It can also demonstrate
the likelihood of solder voids being seen in production. The test could be
used as a criteria for the need for pre baking of the board prior to soldering
but at best it can only be a guide.
The test has been successfully used in many companies to examine the effect
of other manufacturing processes; its greatest benefit is its simplicity and its
non destructive nature. Suggestions for its adoption as a standard test are
unfortunately limited as who will specify the number of bubbles formed in a
given time, the size of each bubble and the rate of escape?

NON DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION OF

PLATED THROUGH HOLES
The test is used to evaluate printed circuit boards with plated through holes
for outgassing. It indicates the incidence of thin plating or voids present in
through hole connections. It may be used at goods receipt, during production
or on final assemblies to determine the cause of voids in solder fillets.
Provided that care is taken during testing the boards may be used in
production after test without any detriment to the visual appearance or the
reliability of the final product.
TEST METHOD
A sample board or part of a board is selected for examination. Each of the
holes for examination are filled with oil; provided the oil is optically clear
both visual inspection and photography may be undertaken.
The oil is injected into each hole using a hypodermic syringe which makes it
easy to perform and limits excess oil from being applied to the board. For
effective examination it is necessary for the oil to form a concave meniscus
on the surface of the hole to be examined. The concave form allows an

optical view of the complete plated through hole. The easy method of
forming a concave meniscus on the surface and removing excess oil is to use
blotting paper.
In the case of any air trapment being present in the hole further oil is applied
until a clear view of the complete internal surface is obtained. The sample
board is mounted over a light source; this allows illumination of the plating
through the hole. A simple light box or illuminated bottom stage on a
microscope may provide suitable lighting.
A suitable optical viewing aid will be required to examine the hole during
test. For general examination 5X magnification will allow viewing of bubble
formation, for a more detailed examination of the through hole 25X
magnification should be used.
The next stage of the test method is to reflow the solder in the plated through
holes which also locally heats the surrounding board area. The easiest
method is to apply a fine tipped soldering iron to the pad area on the board
or to a track connecting to the pad area. The tip temperature can be varied
but 500oF is normally satisfactory. The hole should be examined
simultaneously during application of the soldering iron. Seconds after the
complete reflow of the tin lead plating in the through hole bubbles will be
seen emanating from any thin or porous area in the through plating.
Outgassing is seen as a constant stream of bubbles which indicates pin holes,
cracks, voids or thin plating.
Generally if outgassing is seen it will continue for a considerable time, in
most cases it will continue until the heat source is removed. This may
continue for 1-2 minutes; in these cases the heat may cause discoloration to
the board material. Generally assessment can be made within 30 seconds of
application of heat to the circuit.
After testing the board may be cleaned in a suitable solvent to remove the oil
used during the test procedure. The test allows fast and effective
examination of the surface of the copper or tin/lead plating. The test may be
used on through holes with non tin/lead surfaces, in the cases of other
organic coatings any bubbling due to the coatings will cease within a few
seconds. The test also provides the opportunity to record the results both on
video or film for future discussion.

TEST EQUIPMENT
1.

Sample Printed Circuit Boards For Evaluation

2.

Microscope with top and underside lighting. Alternatively a suitable

magnification aid of between 5 to 25x magnification and a light box.

3.

Canada Bolson oil or suitable alternative which is optically clear for

visual inspection and can be easily removed after test.

4.

Suitable hypodermic syringe for application of oil in each hole and

blotting paper for removing excess oil.

5.

Soldering iron with suitable temperature control.

A video tape explaining the origins of outgassing and how to conduct the
test procedure above is available from the SMART Group.