SERVICES PROJECTS PRODUCTS PUBLICATIONS CONTACT User Area Material & Processes Laboratory | EEE Parts Materials and Processes laboratory combines accurate characterisation techniques and inspection tools with deep scientific and technological background in materials science. The mission of this area is to thoroughly assess the reliability of materials and processes involved in the manufacturing of spacecraft components. Materials and Processes task involves three types of interrelated activities. PCB and soldering verification PCB assembly of SMD devices and soldering operations remain amongst the more delicate space-componentsfabrication task as they may compromise the integrity and performance of the whole system. These processes requires specifically trained and skilled operators. Hence ESA pays special attention to the workmanship assessment and have issued specific regulations concerning this issues, ECSS-Q-ST-70-08C and ECSS-Q-ST-70-38C, some of them recently updated. Alter Technology Material and Processes area conducts full soldering and SMD verification test-programmes according to the ESCC specifications. For this purpose, our facilities include a full equipped laboratory to carry out microsectioning inspection together with an environmental laboratory to perform the temperature and vibration test required for PCB and SMD verifications. The facilities and the involved stuff are about to complete the process to become an ESA recommended laboratory to perform these evaluations. Materials Analysis Elemental chemical analyses provide accurate information about the elemental chemical composition of the inspected materials. They are a critical in different Hi-REL- verification programmes to assess the compliance with the international regulations (e.g. MIL-DTL detail specifications of the USA Defense and Logistic Agency (DLA), ASTM international, NIST standards as well as ESCC regulations of the European Space Agency). Therefore, they are routinely used to: Verify that the inspected material fulfils the required compositional specifications. Discard the presence of prohibited elements and trace-element contamination, corrosion (oxidation) and others. On the other hand, fine elemental analysis together with advanced microscopy techniques play a critical role in failure analyses to ascertain and understand the root cause and prevent future fails. Alter Technology compositional-analyses capabilities cover most of the international regulation requirements and are adapted to the customer needs in term of: Analyses volume: Bulk, surface or depth profiling analyses. Destructive or non-destructive character and sample preparation. Sensitivity/cost balance: From major components identification to trace-elements quantification. Microscopy The microscopy facilities available at Alter Technology are perfectly adapted to conduct either conventional inspection task as well as fine analyses requiring advanced instruments. Amongst others, it is worth remaking the FIB capability to perform accurate SEM microsection inspections on semiconductor systems. Check here Short Technical Notes in the Microsectioning field Equipment and main technical capabilities: Focused Ion Beam (FIB) + Electron Microscopy (SEM) for serial nano-sectioning. Non-destructive internal inspection by C-mode Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (C-SAM). 3D Radiographic tomography and virtual micro-sectioning. Bulk (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy- XRF), surface (X-ray photoemission spectroscopy- XPS) and depth profiling compositional materials analyses. High resolution Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray compositional microanalysis (EDS) normal and cross section view. Microsectioning + fluorescence Microscopy. Main Test Services: Soldering Verification. Component defects evaluation. Raw material evaluation PCB coating evaluation. Blistering and delamination analysis. Tin wisker testing Moisture and Insulation Resistance Dielectric Withstanding Voltage Thermal Shock Temperature cycling. Thermo-mechanical failures. 3D Dimensional verification Vibration test. VIRTUAL LAB Access to your test results in real-time. Live Chat with our inspectors Time Cost Saving. Click here and enter in Virtual Lab Full Accredited: ESA recommended Microsectioning Laboratory in accordance with ESA-TECMSP-MO-013165, ISO/IEC 17025:2017, and ESA certified inspectors in accordance with ESA-STR-258. SORT BY NONE SHOW ALL (23) MATERIAL EEE PARTS (11) PROCESSES EEE PARTS (14) MICROSCOPY (9) MACROVOIDS IN ASSEMBLED BGA PACKAGES MC LOPEZ BGA device assembled to a PCB has been submitted to the ECSS verification programme following the guideline defined in the ECSS standard ECS... READ MORE MICROSECTION INSPECTION / CONSTRUCTIONAL ANALYSIS MC LOPEZ Cross-section analysis is a very useful way of determining the construction and material composition of electronic devices. The FP device... READ MORE SOLDERING VERIFICATION PROCESSES MC LOPEZ High reliability assembled PCB prototypes as well as novel surface mounted devices (SMD) and mixed systems must be assessed according to wel... READ MORE PCB FAILURE ANALYSIS: PAD CRATERING MC LOPEZ Pad Cratering One of the major failure modes encountered in PCB assembly is Pad cratering. This term is coined to describe a fracture at th... READ MORE NONCONTACT 3D CHARACTERIZATION USING CONFOCAL LASER SCANNING MICROSCOPY (CLSM) FERNANDO TEBERIO At Alter Technology, we can perform 3D characterization using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy and the world’s most integrated and flexibl... READ MORE PTV FAILURE: MANUFACTURING DEFECTS MC LOPEZ In Alter Technology micro-sectioning is accomplished in a specifically dedicated laboratory and by ESA certified staff on PCB/SMD inspection... READ MORE PLATED THROUGH VIA FAILURES MC LOPEZ Plated Through Vias (PTV) are critical elements in PCB systems and special care must be paid during their inspection in order to ensure the... READ MORE THERMOMECHANICAL FAILURES IN PLATED THROUGH VIAS (PTVS) FRANCISCO JAVIER APARICIO REBOLLO Thermomechanical stress in PCB/PWBs is generated by the mismatch between the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the materials compris... READ MORE FAILURE MECHANICS AND CAUSES IN CRIMPED CONNECTORS FRANCISCO JAVIER APARICIO REBOLLO Crimped connectors are extensively present in EEE systems because of the good performance and easier installation at reduced dimension. Due... READ MORE IMPROPER DEGREE OF COMPRESSION IN CRIMPED CONNECTORS FRANCISCO JAVIER APARICIO REBOLLO Improper degree of compression: Stress relaxation, Improper crimping, Diagnosis tools and Inspection conducted in Alter Technology laborator... READ MORE LOAD MORE SERVICES & CAPABILITIES Corporative Site Updates Deimos Space and Alter Technology working together in the Neptune Structural Model Adopted measure by Alter Technology due to Coronavirus Seville New Space Forum 2019 Alter Technology at ESCCON 2019 Microsection study will be present at the EMPS Follow Us facebook twitter linkedin googleplus youtube vimeo Copyright © 2019. ALTER TECHNOLOGY TÜV NORD S.A.U Contact Privacy Policy and Legal Notice Cookies English Español