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Fluxless wave soldering in a nitrogen atmosphere was investigated for epoxy‐fibreglass circuit board coupons having bare copper and solder‐coated through‐holes. The Reduced Oxide Soldering Activation (ROSA™) pretreatment was found to consistently provide good hole filling and through‐hole solder joints of excellent appearance. For preheated coupons, low levels of residual oxygen and short exposure to air after the ROSA treatment were found to have no effect

The recently developed Reduced Oxide Soldering Activation (ROSA™) method is shown to be compatible with long‐term use with mass soldering processes. Prototype regeneration cells operated for as long as six months with minimal maintenance retained their effectiveness for providing short wetting times under a variety of perturbations. The operating window for the process is wide and component degradation caused by exposure to the fully charged solution is minimal. The ROSA treatment provides soldering performance comparable to that attainable with a fully activated rosin flux and offers the promise of providing low soldering defect rates without the use of CFC solvents.

The sequential electrochemical reduction analysis (SERA) method was evaluated in production and demonstrated to provide a non‐destructive, objective measure of the solderability of production printed wiring boards. Approximately 1000 boards were analysed just before wave soldering and the SERA parameters were correlated with the soldering defect occurrence rates. The data show that PWB solderability is determined primarily by the nature of the surface tin oxide, as reflected in the corresponding SERA plateau voltage, rather than by the oxide thickness. By proper choice of the value of the plateau voltage used as the criterion for solderability, the most advantageous trade‐off between the costs of rejected boards and the rework of defects can be made.

To evaluate the oxide formation characteristics of tin (Sn) as a function of conditioning treatment and define a conditioning methodology that rapidly produces a tin oxide thickness and oxide species morphology similar to those formed in ambient oxidation.

Electrochemical reduction analysis and scanning electron microscopy techniques were utilized to identify tin oxide species and oxide quantities on tin samples which were subjected to a variety of conditioning methodologies.

Tin oxide species were identified and oxide quantities measured. Comparisons of tin oxide species/quantities were completed for the different conditioning methodologies used and for other industry oxide investigations. The following conclusions were reached: all conditioning methodologies produced both SnO and SnO₂ tin oxide species; steam conditioning produced the thickest oxides; the conditioning methodologies investigated were found to produce oxide thicknesses similar to those formed under ambient conditions.

Further investigation would be beneficial using this study as a foundation. Additional conditioning methodologies and a larger selection of various tin surfaces would provide a future understanding of the impact of oxide species and thickness on solderability.

The electronics industry has attempted to “predict” a surface's susceptibility to oxidation by using accelerated conditioning techniques. An understanding of the formation of tin oxidation products created by accelerated conditioning techniques could be highly beneficial to the electronics industry. The standardization and use of a realistic accelerated conditioning technique would reduce testing cycle time, increase the predictability and consistency of test results, and lower testing costs.

This paper was incorporated into an original electronics manufacturer's solderability testing/analysis procedures, and the results are being utilized by the electronics industry solderability specification task groups/committees.

The unique advantages of confocal microscopy are used to explore four cases of interest: (i) voids in solder (depth and surface texture determined), (ii) steam vs ambient aged solder coupons (significant differences detected), (iii) integrated circuit construction (sub‐surface contamination by µm‐size particles observed) and (iv) circuit boards and solder pads (non‐destructive optical sectioning through no‐wash flux layers). It is shown that confocal microscopy strongly complements SEM (scanning electron microscopy); SEM alone presents an incomplete description of a solder surface and in fact can sometimes produce misleading results.

This work sets out to characterise the protective properties of conformal coatings and how they degrade.

The approach dosed several commercial coatings with two different contaminants, a synthetic generic flux mixture of dibasic acids in both a solvent‐ and water‐based carrier, and sodium chloride. The protective properties were monitored using three complementary techniques: surface insulation resistance measurements, sequential electrochemical reduction analysis, and diffusion measurements.

The experimental approach was verified and the SIR measurements were shown to be the most valuable. Coatings offered varying levels of resistance to the contaminants, with the silicone coating being the most resistant. The flux variants generally proved more harmful to the coatings, suggesting that flux diffusion through the coating exceeded that of NaCl and hence led to greater electrochemical corrosion. Flux transmission through the coatings was verified by the diffusion measurements.

The project only investigated a limited number of contaminates on simple single sided boards. Future work will investigate coverage effects and a wider range of contaminants.

The work shows that coatings can allow diffusion of contaminates, particularly organics, which can lead to corrosion. The test methodology described here can be used to characterise coating susceptibility.

This work starts to develop for the first time a test methodology to characterise the protective properties of conformal coatings, and shows that flux, and hence other similar organic contaminants, may represent a protection challenge for some coating chemistries.

This chapter offers new insights into the understanding of internal (employee) perceptions of organizational corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and strategies.

This study explores the significance of employees’ involvement and scepticism upon CSR initiatives and focuses on the effects it may have upon word of mouth (WOM) and the development of employee–organisation relationships. Desk research introduces the research questions. Data for the research questions were gathered through a self-completion questionnaire distributed in a hardcopy form to the sample.

An individual’s level of scepticism and involvement appears to affect the development of a positive effect on employees’ WOM. Involvement with the domain of the investment may be a central factor affecting relationship building within the organization, and upon generation of positive WOM.

The chapter offers a conceptual framework to public relations (PR) and corporate communications practitioners, which may enrich their views and understanding of the use and value of CSR for communication strategies and practices.

For-profit organisations are major institutions in today’s society. CSR is proffered as presenting advantages for (at macro level) society and (micro level) the organization and its employees.

Concepts, such as involvement and scepticism, which have not been rigorously examined in PR and corporate communication literature, are addressed. By examining employee perceptions, managers and academic researchers gain insights into the acceptance, appreciation and effectiveness of CSR policies and activities upon the employee stakeholder group. This will affect current and future CSR communication strategies. The knowledge acquired from this chapter may be transferable outside the for-profit sector.

A series of composite solders in 63/37 Sn/Pb was prepared: Cu₆ Sn₅ (10, 20, 30 wt%); Cu₃ Sn (10, 20, 30 wt%); Cu (7.6 wt%); Ag (4 wt%); and Ni (4 wt%). These composite solders were prepared by two procedures: (A) admixture with solder paste; and (B) admixture with molten solder. The original particulates and the final composite solders were analysed and characterised by SEM (scanning electron microscopy) EDX (energy dispersive X‐ray), and ESCA (electron spectroscopy for chemicals analysis); or XPS (X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy). A variety of morphological characterisations, intermetallics and porosities were noted. Good wetting was noted in all cases, and porosity was greater for method (A). The particulates all exhibited excellent binding to the solder matrix.

Purpose: The purpose of the chapter is to provide an overview of sustainability debates and a rationale for the book.

Method: A literature review was conducted prior to starting this book project, and this literature review is analysed and situated within a debate the book fosters.

Originality/Value: The paper outlines debate in the field of sustainability and provide a rationale for the book focusing on human sustainability, thus contributing towards extending knowledge on the sustainability concept and debates.

At the beginning of any conceptual work concerning communication management, there is a demand for a deeper understanding of the problem that needs to be addressed and for the context in which it occurs. Communication management practice mostly relies on instruments like briefings, structured interviews or classic controlling data, when it comes to an analysis of organisational structures. This chapter shows that the potentials of a more constructivist perspective and a qualitative methodology can be useful to find out what is really at stake. It presents creative visualisation of organisational contexts and visual grounded theory methodology by the example of internal communication management.