Contamination Control: Quo Vadis?

This paper essentially describes what is believed will become the norm in contamination control over the next decade, as applied to laminate and PC manufacture, components, assembly, soldering and protection. Particular attention is paid to the special requirements imposed by the increasing use of surface mount technology, especially when trying to extrapolate current techniques towards modern applications. Test methods are mentioned and these are also likely to undergo considerable development over the next few years but, above all, more precise, scientifically‐established standards are urgently needed for both ionic contamination and surface insulation resistance testing. Cleaning technology is, of course, an essential part of contamination control and future development of both solvent and aqueous methods will lie in a better understanding of the time‐energy relationship required to break contamination‐substrate bonds at a molecular level.