This special issue of Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology focuses on the corrosion reliability of electronic devices. Corrosion problems of electronic devices and therefore its reliability under exposure to exterior conditions are proliferating today due to the development of miniaturized devices and their widespread use in mild to extremely harsh environments such as for offshore installations. The formation of tiny corrosion cells on Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) due to the combination of factors such as metallic materials, potential bias, and water layer formation due to humidity contributes to a number of corrosion failure modes and leakage current issues involving electrochemical processes under DC bias conditions.
Corrosion reliability of electronics is an interdisciplinary area and can be regarded as performance of metallic materials and combinations under conditions of potential bias and exposure to external environmental conditions. The result will be micro and macro-scale corrosion and reduction in surface insulation resistance affecting the electrical functionality of the device leading to failure. Looking at it from the corrosion point of view, a number of aspects related to the use of metallic materials and combinations on a Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA), PCBA design and electrical aspects, and process related cleanliness issues could in general be possible to use as a mitigation strategy without compromising the functionality of the devices. However this needs particular attention from the corrosion and materials researchers. The goal of this special issue of CEST is to bring this unconventional corrosion issue into focus in a corrosion-based journal by inviting a series of contributed papers covering material, cleanliness, PCBA design and related aspects, and mitigation strategies.
The original research papers in the issue provide an overview of the ‘corrosion reliability aspects of electronics’ and I hope you enjoy this special issue as much as I enjoyed being part of it.
Rajan Ambat
Guest Editor
Associate Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark,
DK-2800 Lyngby,
Denmark
Email: [email protected]