Outgassing of Solder Joints: ‘Causes and Cures?’

Financial and commercial pressures have led to the increasing trend for PCB users to want to reduce or eliminate rework after mass soldering. Whilst the phenomenon of outgassing is recognised, it is not generally well understood by either the manufacturers or users of PCBs. It is the intention of this paper to clarify and focus attention upon some apects of the problem from the manufacturing side of the industry.