The UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL), along with partners In2Tec and Gwent Electronic Materials, have developed a printed circuit board (PCB) whose components can be easily separated by immersion in hot water. The work was part of the ReUSE project, funded by the UK government’s Technology Strategy Board. The aim of the ReUSE (Reuseable, Unzippable, Sustainable Electronics) project was to increase the recyclability of electronic assemblies. The partners designed, developed and tested a series of unzippable polymeric layers which, while withstanding prolonged thermal cycling and damp heat stressing, allow the assemblies to be easily separated at end-of-life into their constituent parts, after immersion in hot water. The project demonstrated a 90% recyclable inverter circuit for an electroluminescent lamp.
NPL research in electronics interconnections is carried out in close collaboration with industry and is aimed at developing new test methods, guidelines and procedures for use in the assembly of microelectronics. The research is disseminated to industry by reports and industry advisory group meetings. NPL has made considerable contributions to solderability testing, participating in the writing of IEC standard 68-2-69 and IPC J-Std 002 and 003. Achieving high reliability is an increasingly critical issue in today’s manufacture, now that very low defect levels in manufacture are obtainable. In order to keep up with the rapid developments in a global market, NPL offers a range of suitable measurement methods to refine the assembly process and thus remain competitive. Services offered include confidential advice, consultancy case studies in issues relevant to production reliability and a range of measurement service facilities.