Your Excellent ENEPIG PCB Manufacturer in China

Your #1 ENEPIG PCB Supplier – PCBMAY

PCBMay is a well-known supplier and manufacturer of ENEPIG PCB in China. If you’re looking for an effective and cost-efficient ENEPIG PCB, PCBMay deserves your attention. We are committed to deliver the most satisfying ENEPIG PCB product suitable for your business.

ENEPIG PCB is short for Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold. ENEPIG is a metal plating finish for printed circuit boards, or PCBs. ENEPIG PCB provides multiple features and benefits that make it suitable for different applications. It offers an outstanding and reliable function for various applications.

ENEPIG finishes for printed circuit boards help maintain their high durability, reliability, and functionality. It is utilized in industries like automotive, medical, aerospace, and military and defense, and etc. The ENEPIG PCB surface finish is suitable for aluminum wire bonding, soldering, as well as gold wire bonding.

• High density and high-speed designs
• Extend the functional shelf life of PCB
• Durable, corrosion-resistant
• Perfect for conductive adhesives
• ENEPIG offers a greater pull strength for wire bonding applications
• Cost-effective alternative to direct soft gold plating
• Follows RoHS standards

As one of the famous supplier and manufacturer of PCBs, we provide custom ENEPIG PCB for your specifications. You can send the complete details of your PCB, thicknesses, sizes, hole size, line spacing, solder mask color, etc. to us. All products we provide are strong and are made of high-end materials. We have full capability to develop ENEPIG PBC according to your requirements at any quantity.

PCBMay ENEPIG PCB is manufactured using advanced technology and quality production lines. We perform meticulous inspection and testing to your ENEPIG PCB to ensure durability and reliability. In our facility, we stock thousands of ENEPIG PCBs ready to ship anytime, anywhere.

PCBMay is composed of an experienced and well-trained team. We guarantee offering you world-class PCB components. If you need high-quality and cost-effective ENEPIG PCB, you can fully rely on PCBMay. We have 10+ years of manufacturing and exporting experience in supplying ENEPIG PCB to the global market. More than 3000 customers around the world trust our reliable products and services. Be one of our satisfied clients now!

Aside from ENEPIG PCB, PCBMay delivers second-to-none HASL PCB, OSP PCB, Hard gold PCB, Immersion Silver PCB, Immersion Tin PCB, and many other products. PCBMay is your one-stop solution for any PCB surface finishes in China.

For further details, contact us now and receive an instant quote!

ENEPIG PCB: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

Are you looking for a highly durable circuit board?

ENEPIG PCB delivers impressive durability, high functionality, and reliability to electronic devices. This surface finish technology prevents decay on PCB surfaces.

Do you know the basics about this type of PCB surface finish? If not, this FAQ guide is a reliable resource for you. PCBMay commits to supply the most dependable ENEPIG PCB for your projects. We hope your journey with us will be great. Let’s start.

What Is ENEPIG PCB?

ENEPIG PCB is a metal plating finish for the electric circuit board. Its full form is “Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium Immersion Gold Printed Circuit Board”. This PCB delivers outstanding solderability along with impressive functionality to numerous electronic projects.

ENEPIG PCB consists of a palladium layer between gold and nickel plating. Usually, the lowest thickness of the electroless nickel layer is around 118 microinches. This thickness is a minimum of 2 microinches and 1 microinch for electroless palladium and immersion gold, respectively.

ENEPIG PCB

Now, gold and palladium are chemically and mechanically stable elements. That is why this type of PCB reduces manufacturing time, it also costs less.

The ENEPIG surface finish for PCBs ensures reliable protection against surface decay and oxidation. That’s why the longevity of an appliance improves significantly if ENEPIG is used. Besides, it is a perfect choice for conductive adhesives.

All of its effective features make this PCB compatible with high-speed and high-density PCB designs.

Is ENEPIG PCB Wire Bondable?

ENEPIG PCB is the best choice for wire bondable applications. This circuit board is supportive of both aluminum and gold wire bonding processes. ENEPIG surface finish delivers impressive pull strength to the PCB surface.

The reason behind this is its capability of resisting around 10 gm and 8 gm force in the case of aluminum and gold wires, respectively. These measurements are multiple times better than ENIG and soft gold surface coating technologies.

ENEPIG PCB Wire Bonding

Since wire bonding connects the PCB components during manufacturing, it requires higher pull strength. This PCB’s commendable pull strength makes it a reliable option for wire bondable PCB projects. Usually, Au (Gold) wire bonds are 30 micrometers.

Generally, electrolytic nickel and gold coatings are not useful options for leading-edge projects because electroplating of nickel layer on the PCB surface increases the gold layer’s thickness. This increases production costs significantly.

Since ENEPIG is an electroless metal plating process, it is free from such limitations. That’s why this is an ideal choice for high-density projects.

Watch this video about wire bonding to know more about the topic.

How Does ENEPIG PCB Work?

An ENEPIG PCB is a PCB that is ensured to have effective impedance against oxidation and decay on its copper surface in numerous applications. A metal coating (the ENEPIG) is applied to create a barrier on the PCB’s surface.

In this case, the copper surface is covered with nickel and gold layer along with palladium (Pd) plating. Pd is placed between these two layers. This element protects the gold layer from nickel’s migration.

Functional ENEPIG PCB

This step then reduces the potential oxidizing of PCB components because of its plating treatment is effective. The ENEPIG surface finish also fulfills the requirements of lead-free technology. One more added benefit is that its standard solderability makes the circuit board reliable for robust PCB designs.

What Are the Benefits of ENEPIG PCB?

Compared to other surface finishes, ENEPIG PCB is more advantageous in many aspects. Here, we are going to explain its most noteworthy benefits for your convenience.

Free From Black Pad

The ENEPIG surface finish prevents the production of black pads on the PCB surface. It delivers effective impedance against oxidation in the nickel layer. Due to having a palladium layer, nickel can’t be diffused to the gold layer. That’s why there is a low possibility of the occurrence of black pads.

PCB Surface Protection

This PCB delivers impressive durability because of its strong surface protective feature. The metal coating of nickel, palladium, and gold protects the copper surface from exposure to external atmosphere. The end result is that the circuit has a longer life span.

High Reliability

The ENEPIG surface coating makes numerous electronics applications become more reliable. The coating makes the PCB stable enough so that the PCB is compatible with more sophisticated, commercial PCB applications. This coating prevents serious damage from happening to the circuit board in case the circuit board is exposed to extreme cold or hot temperatures.

ENEPIG PCS can be used in mixed-signal technology. ENEPIG treated PCBs can deal with digital signals as well as RF signals.

Strong Wire Bonding

This advantage makes the ENEPIG PCB unique from other circuit solutions in the electronics world. The ENEPIG surface plating renders sufficient pull strength to gold wires in order to connect the PCB elements efficiency.

Functionality

The ENEPIG surface finish treatment renders the PCB appropriate for use in high-density applications. It enables designers to reduce the size of components so that there is higher functionality in electronics appliances which require high integration density.

Moreover, the ENEPIG surface treatment provides effective solderability. This comes along with outstanding welding reliability for electric circuits. These two main reasons are why the ENEPIG is chosen compared to electroplated metal coating or organic surface finish technologies.

High-Quality ENEPIG PCB

Cost-Effective

The palladium layer used in the middle of the gold and nickel layer reduces the thickness of the gold layer. This is the reason why the manufacturing cost can be decreased significantly.

High-frequency Compatibility

Usually, the nickel layer impedes high-frequency signals considerably. But with the ENEPIG coating, the palladium element lessens the impact of the nickel layer. So this results in the ENEPIG PCB showing superior compatibility with electronic projects dealing with high-frequency data transmission.

What Are the Thicknesses of ENEPIG PCB Layers?

ENEPIG plating thickness is taken into account when designing supremely durable PCBs. In this regard, all of the metal coatings have sufficient layer thickness that ultimately promotes the product’s performance.

Layer Thickness (um)

• Nickel 6um
• Palladium 0.02 um
• Gold 0.06um

You can customize the layer thickness based on your project design and current conduction capacity. You should consult with a trustworthy PCB manufacturer to take care of this thickness issue.

ENEPIG PCB Thickness

Is ENEPIG Surface Finish Better Than HASL in PCB?

ENEPIG and HASL are both useful surface finish technologies applied in PCBs. But, ENEPIG PCB finish delivers better performance compared to hot air solder leveling in versatile electronic gadgets.

Let’s look at some distinguishing factors between these two PCB surface finishes.

PCB Assembly

ENEPIG surface finish improves the PCB assembly to a great extent. Its effective layer thickness allows reliable component placement on the PCB surface. In the case of fine pitch and BGA (Ball Grid array), this is a better option than HASL surface finish.
Besides, ENEPIG plating thickness broadens the PCB surface. It also makes the surface flat enough to be viable to countless high-pin count applications.

Nature-friendly

When you are looking for a more eco-friendly process for circuit board treatment, the ENEPIG finish gives better performance. HASL surface coating contains some hazardous chemicals that cause harm to the environment. These harmful HASL elements include lead, flux, cyanide, and etc. These harmful elements are best avoided. In contrast, the ENEPIG surface finish is far away from lead and cyanide contamination. That is why it is proven that ENEPIG PCBs play a vital role in maintaining a business’ eco-friendly stance.

Surface Protection

HASL surface plating is not capable of rendering top-class protection to the PCB surface like ENEPIG PCB finish. Although HASL is corrosion-resistant, an electroless surface coating mechanism containing Ni-Pd-Au layers (which the ENEPIG has) creates a stronger barrier outside of the copper surface.

Cost

ENEPIG surface finish is less expensive compared to HASL. Here, the palladium (Pd) coating reduces the thickness of the gold plating. This results in lower manufacturing costs.

ENEPIG vs HASL PCB Surface Finish

Functionality

The ENEPIG PCB finish is supportive of mixed mechanisms transferring high-frequency and digital information. This is not available in the case of HASL surface finish.

Another benefit to consider is that the ENEPIG is compatible with highly dense PCB designs due to the ENEPIG’s reliable wire bonding feature. For the HASL, it is not as effectively wire-bondable in most PCBs.

HASL, however, delivers better performance than ENEPIG PCB finish in some cases. (When solderability and robustness are considered, for example.) So, it is ultimately up to you to choose the most effective surface finish after considering your individual project requirements.

Is ENEPIG PCB Finish Compatible With Lead-free Technology?

Yes. ENEPIG PCB finish is compatible with lead-free soldering technology. This applies tin-silver-copper solder during the PCB assembly.

Even if lead-free, the ENEPIG surface finish delivers equal soldering strength. It performs just as well as lead-based soldering finished. Unlike lead finishes, however, ENEPIG causes no serious damage to the environment.

Lead-free ENEPIG PCB

Because it is lead-free, this ENEPIG PCBs are RoHS-compliant, and thus gains the trust of countless PCB designers and manufacturers in the current moment.

What Is the Loss Tangent of ENEPIG PCB?

Loss tangent is also known as the dissipation factor in the PCB world. A higher value indicates a higher deficiency in signal transmission service. ENEPIG PCB ensures a low loss tangent in most electronic gadgets.

This feature is inversely proportional to signal frequency. That means a lower DF is an indicator of compatibility with high-frequency data transmission systems. ENEPIG PCB finish supports the use of dielectric materials during the fabrication of the circuit board.

ENEPIG PCB Loss Tangent

The materials in ENEPIG ensure a low dielectric constant that plays a significant role in controlling the loss tangent. It greatly improves the effectiveness of printed circuit boards.

What Are the Types of ENEPIG PCB?

The ENEPIG PCB has several types. These are used in numerous projects because the product has sound reliability. ENEPIG PCB types vary considering plating thickness, layer count, and customization, etc.

Its most significant classifications are:
● High-frequency ENEPIG PCB
● 2mm ENEPIG PCB
● ENEPIG multilayer PCB
● Custom ENEPIG PCB
● Double-sided ENEPIG PCB

All of these types have distinct features that are beneficial to electronic appliances. For example, the 2mm ENEPIG plating thickness has a long operating life.

Two-layer ENEPIG PCB

The processing of ENEPIG high-frequency PCB finish is easier than other metal plating treatments. An authoritative manufacturer like PCBMay would be able to offer ENEPIG PCBs of various categories based on consumers’ priorities.

Is ENEPIG PCB Waterproof?

ENEPIG PCB finish supports the required technology to make a PCB waterproof to a certain extent. This treatment is fully resistant to moisture and dust. That is why ENEPIG PCBs remain operational for a longer period of time.

Usually, waterproof PCBs contain definite types of coating and materials. You can easily incorporate conformal coatings like Parylene, Silicon, and etc. in the ENEPIG surface finish so that it will have sufficient resistance against mild water flow. But these coatings are not always effective for the excessive amounts of water which may come in contact with selected electronic devices.

Waterproof ENEPIG PCB

In these instances, you need to keep the circuit board inside a PCB enclosure made of robust and durable materials. You can also apply resin encapsulation to the surface finish. Resin adds a reliable shield on the PCB surface to keep its components protected from moisture and water.

What Are the Major Applications of ENEPIG PCB?

ENEPIG PCB finish has many applications in versatile fields. Its most prominent uses are in the following sectors:
● Aerospace applications
● Automotive industry
● Defense industry
● Medical equipment
● Military mechanisms
● Navigation gears
● Telecommunication components

Major Applications for ENEPIG PCB

What are the Differences Between ENIG, ENEG, and ENEPIG PCB?

ENEPIG, ENIG, and ENEG all are popular electroless plating used in current PCB surface plating. Among these three, ENEPIG is the most widely used due to its features and solid advantages.

The main differences between these surface finishes include:

• ENEPIG offers better resistance against high temperature compared to ENIG and ENEG processes.
• As ENEPIG consists of a Pd layer, it prevents the migration of nickel towards the gold layer. That’s why its oxidation resistance is commendable. But, electroless nickel electroless gold and immersion gold with electroless nickel can’t deliver such electronic performance due to the absence of the Pd layer.
• In the case of the ENEPIG surface finish, the thickness of the gold layer is comparatively lower than the others. It reduces the production cost. Thus, ENEPIG is more popular in basic to advanced level electronic applications.
• ENEPIG plating process allows both aluminum and gold wire bonding techniques. But, ENIG and ENEG are not supportive of gold wire bonding due to problematic characteristics between tin and gold.
• Solder joints are stronger and more reliable in ENEPIG surface finish because of higher pull strength.
• ENIG suffers from corrosion of the nickel layer due to a deficiency of surface plating. ENEG PCB finish can’t deliver sturdy mechanical stability to the PCB components. In contrast, the ENEPIG finish ensures superior stability to both electrical and mechanical properties of the PCB.

ENEPIG vs ENIG PCB

Watch this video to get a better idea about different surface finishes (ENIG, ENEG and ENEPIG).

How Do You Choose the Best ENEPIG PCB?

ENEPIG treatment improves PCB performance because of its positive features. As a consumer, you need to check some important things while choosing the best PCB having ENEPIG surface finish. The important factors are:

● Competitive cost
● Dielectric materials
● High decomposition temperature
● High transition temperature
● IPC rating. – IPC class 2 and class 3 standard ENEPIG PCBs are trustworthy.
● Low dissipation factor
● Low moisture absorption rate
● Low thermal expansion coefficient
● Operating temperature range
● Reliability of manufacturer
● RoHS compliance by manufacturer
● Shelf life of the product

Effective ENEPIG PCB

What Are the Effects of Using Palladium in ENEPIG PCB?

Palladium (Pd) has a positive impact on the efficiency of ENEPIG PCB. Its most noteworthy effects are:

● Palladium obstructs nickel diffusion.
● Pd layer decreases the gold thickness, this reduces cost.
● Pd and Au layerings provide sufficient resistance against surface decay and oxidization.
● This metal coating improves the internal strength of the PCB materials.

What Are the Limitations of ENEPIG PCB?

The most notable limitations of ENEPIG PCB include:

• It doesn’t always deliver top-class solderability due to its thicker palladium layer. In this case, ENEPIG surface finish is not the first choice for the consumer.
• Sn-Pd layering on nickel coating makes the circuit board vulnerable to fractures in some cases.
• This surface coating renders mid-level performance in high temperatures.

Trouble-free ENEPIG Printed Circuit Board

You can minimize these drawbacks by choosing a reliable manufacturer for this PCB surface finish. PCBMay has been designing high-quality ENEPIG surface plating on the PCB surface for more than 10 years.
PCBMay supplies highly durable PCB products at a reasonable price. Contact us immediately for inquiries!

Which Materials Are Used in Multilayer ENEPIG PCB Manufacturing?

ENEPIG PCB finish is supremely compatible with multilayer PCB designs. It is composed of useful materials like FR-4, resins, CEM-1, fiberglass, etc. These elements are responsible for consistent dielectric properties along with superior thermal management in multilayer manufacturing.

ENEPIG Multilayer PCB

The relative permittivity of PCB materials is low and covers a wide range. Because of this, it is easier for the manufacturer to ensure effective thermal and electrical properties for each layer. Aside from this, PCB via placement becomes easier due to the PCB surface plating process.

This results in ENEPIG promoting efficient high-frequency multilayer stack-up characterized by reliability.

What Is the Shelf Life of ENEPIG PCB?

ENEPIG PCB finish is an effective way to improve the longevity of electronic gadgets. Longer shelf life is possible due to having a Pd layer with nickel and gold coating. Gold and palladium are resistant to oxidation effects.

These metals do not tarnish easily like copper, silver and other sub-par metals used in PCB surface finishes. That is why you can use a printed circuit board coated with an ENEPIG surface finish for a longer time-span than other PCBs.

Moreover, Pd and gold coatings keep the circuit board protected from moisture and dust contamination. Because of this protection, the ENEPIG PCB-based electronic product has higher durability and prolonged operating life.

How is Quality Control Used in ENEPIG PCB?

Quality control is a vital point of PCB manufacturing. It ensures reliable and top-notch electrical performance of ENEPIG PCBs. We share with you some effective techniques to maintain the quality standards in this operation:

Component Maintenance

To control the quality of ENEPIG PCB finish, proper component sourcing and maintenance are needed. You can enjoy the optimum PCB performance if it consists of the best component materials.

Assembly Checking

It is important to check solder connections from time to time. Again, the entire assembly process should be kept under proper inspection for achieving better quality.

Certification

PCB products and technicians must be IPC-certified in the soldering, fabrication, and drilling processes.

ENEPIG PCB Inspection

Controlled Processing

The total manufacturing process should be documented so that you can assure consistency in the manufacturing procedure.

Inspection and Testing

These comprise of the most crucial part in the quality assurance process. Various automated and human-controlled inspection technology are available. Such as:

● AOI (Automated Optical Inspection)
● AXI (Automated X-ray Inspection)
● FPT (Flying Probe Test)
● ICT (In-circuit Test)

These inspections are dependable in detecting faults in terms of design layout and electrical functions. These inspections assure functional testing so that the real behavior of the PCB can be checked for defects.

What Are the Effects of the PdP and Pd Layers in ENEPIG PCB?

ENEPIG PCB finish usually contains two types of catalytic palladium bath. Namely:

● Pure palladium
● Palladium with co-deposited phosphorous.

Both of these layers consist of different reducing agents. Another thing to consider is that there are dissimilarities in terms of crystal structure, hardness, solder spread, etc.

Pure Pd is softer than the alloy of Pd and phosphorous. That’s why the wire bonding process window is more impressive in the PdP-based ENEPIG surface finish. The Pd-deposited ENEPIG PCB finish delivers a higher pull strength along with a low gold thickness.

ENEPIG Surface Finish

On the other hand, ENEPIG with a PdP layer can’t render much pull force like pure Pd. Wetting performance is a crucial factor in this circuit board. It is measured through the solder spread of Pd or PdP baths.

ENEPIG with phosphorus-free Pd shows significantly better efficiency in wetting. However, its internal stress is lower than PdP-deposited ENEPIG plating for the circuit boards.

Conclusion

ENEPIG is an effective metal plating finish for your electronic applications. Its superlative benefits and features make it a worthwhile circuit solution. PCBMay manufactures top-notch circuit boards with great reliability for your project needs.

We have accomplished our task of explaining the ins and outs of ENEPIG treatment for PCB in this article. We hope it helped you answer any questions you may have about the product. If you have more queries, feel free to contact us.