Guest editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, Volume 28, Issue 1
IMAPS 2015 Poland
The International Microelectronics and Packaging Society (IMAPS) Poland Chapter was established in September 1982. In the beginning, it was the ISHM-Poland Chapter and, from 1997, it became the IMAPS-Poland Chapter. The IMAPS is a non-profit-making organization whose aim is to spread knowledge relating to hybrid microelectronics – a key technology in the assembly and application of semiconductors, thin-film circuits and printed circuit boards (PCBs) to form practical miniaturized electronic equipment. In 2008, the IMAPS joined with the IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology (CPMT) Society, bringing into formation the IMAPS–CPMT organization.
The 39th IMAPS Poland International Conference was held in Gdańsk, at the hotel Dwór Prawdzica, and took place between September 20-23, 2015. This event was organized by the Gdańsk University of Technology. The scope of the Conference covered “everything in electronics between the chip and the system”. The conference was attended by 99 participants, including 21 guests from abroad. During the Conference, 18 invited lectures and 78 posters were presented. The conference was supported by five international journals indexed in the Journal Citation Report database.
This year, for the first time, two young scientists were acknowledged with an award; each one winning the conference fee for next year’s IMAPS 2016 Poland Conference.
In this special issue of Soldering and Surface Mount Technology, six papers have been selected from the conference, covering the processes and procedures associated with soldering and assembly technology.
In the first paper, Illés et al. report on how the conductivity of ICA joints can be characterized via the mean intercept length of the conductive flakes in the cured joints. Géczy et al. then present, in the second paper, a comparative study of thermocouple attachment methods for vapor phase-soldering profiling. The next paper (by Garami et al.) proves that reducing the sample rotational increment increased the sharpness of the captured images and the accuracy of crack length measurements inside solder joints. The research of Borecki et al. shows the influence of the individual parameters of the soldering process on the mechanical strength of solder joints, as well as the mechanism of damage of solder joints under the influence of shear force. Nowak et al. then discusses the mechanical properties of SMD interconnections on flexible and rigid substrates. Osypiuk et al. then describe the influence of mechanical exposure on the electrical properties of thin- and thick-film flexible resistors and conductors.
I would like to thank all of the authors for their scientific work and contributions that have led to the development and publication of this special issue of Soldering and Surface Mount Technology. I do hope that it will be of interest to readers of the journal and that it will help them to find novel solutions, contribute to the creation of new ideas and initiate many varied discussions about new developments in this very important area of electronics assembly. I believe that this branch of science and technology will continue to be effectively developed in the future.
Agata Skwarek
Guest Editor
