Plasma Surface Treatment Before Conformal Coating
Plasma Pre‑Treatment Improves Conformal Coating Coverage Without Affecting PCB Electrical Performance
Download the Technical Paper:
The Effects of Plasma Treatment Prior to Conformal Coating
Learn how RF plasma pre‑treatment improves acrylic conformal coating coverage on PCB assemblies—especially around Ni‑Pd‑Au terminal knees—while maintaining full electrical functionality.
Manufacturing Problems Solved by Plasma Treatment Systems
Applying plasma treatment before conformal coating resolves several critical manufacturing challenges by:
- Removing organic contaminants
- Eliminating flux and mold release residue
- Enhancing surface wettability
- Enhancing lead coverage
- Improving adhesion
Electronics Applications That Benefit From Plasma Cleaning Equipment
Plasma treatment before conformal coating significantly improves device reliability in high‑performance and mission‑critical applications such as:
- Medical and surgical devices, as well as wellness collection and analysis devices
- Military, aerospace, and strategic defense electronics
- Automotive, environmental data collection and analysis, and facility integrity confirmation monitoring
Common Adhesion Challenges in Automated Conformal Coating
Plasma treatment before conformal coating effectively resolves adhesion challenges introduced by advanced materials, complex geometries, and hidden contaminants, such as:
- RoHS requirements have driven PCB-assembly materials to higher-temperature capabilities, but these materials can exhibit poor adhesion or cause delamination.
- Fine pitch, high frequency component geometry that requires low dielectric constant (DK) materials, primarily PTFE, which have poor adhesion rates.
- The use of Ni/Pd/Au leads, which can corrode in humid environments and have “knees” that can challenge adhesion success.
- Residual flux and mold-release compounds can contaminate boards and components, even when there is no visible evidence.
For additional support on using plasma for your conformal coating process, please contact us at [email protected].