Deflux cleaners & cleners for power electronics

Based on cleaning technologies developed over many years, Kao has been offering "CLEANTHROUGH Series" as an alternative to cleaning agents that contain specified controlled substances and chlorine-based solvents. CLEANTHROUGH has been well received by customers as an alternative to CFCs for the removal of flux, a common contaminant resulting from the connection of components using solder.
 
The use of no-clean flux, or flux that leaves behind very little residue has rapidly progressed, especially in the field of surface mounting applications. In order to reduce the cost of cleaning processes, water-soluble fluxes that can be washed away with water alone are also becoming popular.
Rosin fluxes are used in fields that demand high reliability, increasing the demand for high performance cleaners.
 
Packaging technologies are also advancing at a rapid pace in order to meet the demand for smaller, faster, and high-performance digital information devices, including smartphones, personal computers, and various games. Semiconductor packages such as BGA (Ball Grid Array), PoP (Package on Package), and SiP (System in Package) are becoming smaller, thinner, and multilayered in order to keep up with these high-density packaging technologies.
The requirements demanded of cleaning processes directly linked to product quality are increasing, including fields that call for product reliability, such as automotive substrates and substrates for industrial equipment, leading to a growing demand for high performance cleaning agents and cleaning systems to improve production efficiency and yield.
 
Kao has developed the "CLEANTHROUGH 600" series of high performance deflux cleaners to overcome the problems caused by the narrowing pitch of 3D and high-density packaging. The "CLEANTHROUGH 600" series, like the existing "CLEANTHROUGH 700" series, is a new deflux cleaner that draws on Kao's latest surfactant technology to improve narrow pitch cleaning performance and the removal of tin compounds while maintaining its water-based characteristics and high product reliability.
 
The use of SiC and GaN semiconductors is building momentum in the field of power semiconductors, which contribute to lowering CO2 emissions, marking a shift to interconnect processes that use high-melting point solders and metal sintering agents with a higher melting point. The high reflow temperature required for high-melting point solders results in the generation of large amounts of oxides and carbonized flux that is difficult to remove on the metal substrate. Further, in the case of metal sintering agents, organic matter derived from paste that is not flux, adheres to and remains on the substrate, increasing the failure rate in post processes.
"CLEANTHROUGH MX-500" helps to shorten the production process and reduce the failure rate by simultaneously removing organic substances originating from both high-melting point solders and metal sintering agents, which are difficult to clean when used as interconnects for next-generation power modules.
 
In line with the rapid advancement of IT technologies and the shift to a low-carbon society, it is predicted that problems caused by process chemicals will increase, including new materials with high difficulty in removing.
In order to further promote eco-friendly manufacturing, Kao aims to work on the development of water-based cleaning agents to resolve these issues and contribute to further advancements in the semiconductor field.