Terpene vs. CFC Defluxing in Hybrid Circuits Manufacturing

Because of the influence of chlorofluorocarbon based solvents on the stratospheric ozone layer, electronics manufacturers worldwide are attempting to find new solvents or methods for defluxing printed wiring boards and hybrid circuits. In this report results are presented from an evaluation of terpene solvent (Bioact EC‐7), CFC‐113 (Freon TF) and ethylalcohol used as cleaning solvents for defluxing thick film substrates. From these results, it was found that terpene cleaning yields test results that are equal to or in some cases better than CFC cleaning. This paper also describes how the strength of adhesively mounted dies and ball‐bond wires on the substrates changes over time (1000 hours).