This post will provide a review of the concepts of gelation and vitrification in thermosets.  This is important in the processing of many materials used in electronic applications.  For example, epoxy mold compounds (EMC) used in a variety of electronic packaging applications are cured in the mold to just past the gel point.  As we will see, after gelation, the growing network ... [Click to Continue...]

Thermosets are unique in that during processing a chemical reaction (curing) transforms small molecules into a large crosslinked network as depicted in the schematic on the left. The use of small molecules as starting materials allows for many types of processing such as adhesive dispense, flip chip underfill, molding of epoxy mold compounds, application of protective coating ... [Click to Continue...]

Polymers are a key enabler in electronic packaging.  The logical question is: what types of polymers are well-suited for electronics?  There are two basic classes of polymers; thermoplastics and thermosets.  As shown in the schematic on the left, polymers (poly meaning many, and mers meaning units) are long chains of repeating chemical units.  Polymers can be linear ... [Click to Continue...]

Happy New Year and Best Wishes for a Prosperous 2018! Last year I had a series of posts on specific uses of polymers in electronic packaging.  I am in the process of developing an eBook on this topic and have identified new content that I want to include.  I will add the content during my weekly blog posts and then complete the eBook later in the year . Let’s get started ... [Click to Continue...]

It's time for the Chemistree!   To all my readers, Have a safe and happy holiday season. Happy New Year and best wishes for a prosperous 2018 ... [Click to Continue...]