Surface Mount Technology

This chapter deals with surface mount technology (SMT), which is a collection of scientific and engineering methods needed to design, build, and test products made with electronic components. The electronic components are mounted to a surface of the printed circuit board without holes for leads. The main reasons to consider implementation of SMT include the following: Reduction in circuit board size, Reduction in circuit board weight, Reduction in number of layers in the circuit board and Reduction in trace lengths on the circuit board. Thermal management issues remain major concerns in the successful design of an SMT board and product. The chapter explains thermal Properties of Common printed circuit board Materials. To better understand solder joint formation, one must understand the make-up of solder paste used for SMT soldering. The new user of SMD must rapidly learn the packaging sizes and types for SMDs.