The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 10, 2004
Filed:
Apr. 18, 2003
Heng Ee Ooi, Penang, MY;
Salmi Abdul Rahman, Kedah, MY;
Chin Yee Fong, Penang, MY;
Siew Leong Chaw, Penang, MY;
ASE Electronics (M) Sdn. Bhd., Penang, MY;
Abstract
An electroplating process reduces the whisker formation rate that results from an interruption of the electroplating process for an alloy. The process forms a tin strike or a thin layer of a pure(>99.9%) metal on the alloy during an activation operation, so that an interruption in the electroplating process during which the lead frame or other work piece remains in an activation solution etches the pure metal layer rather than the alloy and thus does not unacceptably roughen the surface of the work piece. An exemplary embodiment forms a tin strike on a predominantly copper lead frame during an activation operation and forms an Sn—Pb solder layer on the tin strike during a plating operation. The solder layer is generally more than five times as thick as the tin strike layer.