Qualification Testing

Qualification testing can be performed on bare boards (PCB) as well as electronic assemblies (PCBA). Testing on bare boards would be performed to ensure incoming bare board quality and conformance to any build specifications (e.g. IPC-A-600, IPC-6012 or customer specific test criteria). Such an investigation could include (but is not limited to) the following analytical methods:

• Visual Inspection
• Plating Surface Evaluation (SEM/EDS)
• Plating Thickness Evaluation (XRF)
• Plating Adhesion Testing
• Ionic Cleanliness Testing (IC)
• X-Ray Inspection
• SIR Testing
• Environmental Testing
• Micro-Sectional SEM Evaluation

These analytical methods would provide information on overall fabrication, plating adhesion quality and thickness, conductor and laminate dimensions, conductor solderability and through-hole integrity. Testing on electronic assemblies would be performed to ensure overall process quality and conformance to any built specifications (e.g. IPC-A-610, J-STD-001 or customer specific test criteria). Such an investigation could include (but is not limited to) the following analytical methods:

• Visual Inspection
• Surface Evaluation (SEM/EDS)
• X-Ray Inspection
• Ionic Cleanliness Testing (IC)
• Environmental Testing
• Micro-Sectional SEM Evaluation

These analytical methods would provide information on specification compliance, assembly cleanliness, overall solder joint integrity and long-term reliability of the hardware.