Investigation of the effect of solder flux residues on RF signal integrity using real circuits

Purpose - Provide information on the effects of flux residues from surface mount assembly on radio frequency (RF) performance. Design/methodology/approach - A series of test vehicles designed to evaluate the RF performance on various test patterns and some simple circuits. Empirical testing is used in determining the data. Findings - Provides a methodology for checking the performance of flux residues as well as information on the performance of a few different flux residue types. Research limitations/implications - This is not an all encompassing project and the results may not extrapolate out to higher frequency ranges. Practical implications - A good source of reference that can be used to understand the impacts of the assembly process on RF performance. Originality/value - This paper shows the effect of assembly materials (flux residues) on a real circuit and not just test patterns. It can give a basic understanding to process engineers of the potential impact of the assembly process on a RF circuit.