[labnetwork] PCB in e-beam evaporator?

[Michael Geiwitz]

Thank you all for the replies. I've used ENIG for so long, starting during
my PhD because one of my undergrad minions ordered it and I've never had
much trouble. But, I'm going to try ENEPIG next time on all your
recommendations because it seems like it may prevent some of the issues
that occasionally arise. Thanks!

Mike

On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 18:32 CELSO RENATO PETER <cepeter at unisinos.br> wrote:

> Hi Russ,
>
> For wirebonding on PCBs you will need Soft Gold or ENEPIG metallization
> (Electroless Nickel, Electroless Palladium, Immersion Gold), many PCB
> manufactures already offer  ENEPIG metallization.
> ENIG finishing is not apropriate for wire bonding, the gold layer is too
> thin and Nickel is too hard.
> ENEPIG is also a good finishing for Tin soldering (solder paste), so it is
> very flexible.
> For Soft Gold finishing the minimum Gold thickness shoul be 200 nm (0,2
> um), ideal is 300 nm.
>
> Celso Peter
> Coordenador - Instituto Tecnológico de Semicondutores - itt Chip
> Unisinos - Somos infinitas possibilidades
> www.unisinos.br - (51) 3591-1122 / Ramal 3180
> ------------------------------
> *De:* labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> em nome de Russ Renzas <
> rrenzas at unr.edu>
> *Enviado:* quarta-feira, 1 de julho de 2026 23:10
> *Para:* Network Fab <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
> *Cc:* Lihua Xiao <lxiao at unr.edu>
> *Assunto:* [labnetwork] PCB in e-beam evaporator?
>
> For a summer lab class we're trying to have students make a chip and
> wirebond it to a PCB. We're having trouble wirebonding to the immersion
> gold pads though.
>
> Is it okay to put pcbs in our ebeam evaporator to evaporate Au?
>
> We tried a small piece in a Au SEM prep sputter coater and that worked but
> it's too small for the class PCBs.
>
> Thanks, also appreciate any tips on how to spec pcb metalization for
> wirebonding compatibility. We have both Al ultrasonic wedge and Au ball
> bond capabilities.
>
> Russ Renzas
> University of Nevada, Reno
>
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