Soldering Materials

Lead-free and Tin-Lead Soldering materials

Available directly at CAPLINQ.com

Soldering Materials

Soldering materials cover a wide range of products such as solder spheres in jar or solder spheres on tape and reel, bonding wires, solder pastes, solder bar ans solder powders. We offer a wide range of alloys at some of the markets' best prices. Be sure to read this article to find out makes our high quality solder spheres so great. We offer not only a broad range of tin/lead and leadfree solder materials, but also offer the industry's widest range of solder ball diameters ranging from 60 micron to 890 micron (2.4 mil to 35 mil).

In addition to supplying the alloys and purifying the soldering material, we have an innovative diameter and spheroid selecting system of solder balls and an advanced anti-oxidation technology that actually dopes an anti-oxidation element into the alloy in addition to its OSP surface coating process. Not only are our solder spheres High-Tech, but they are made from a unique uniform droplet spraying technology that far outperforms competitors in terms of productivity. This combination of high technology and high productivity allow CAPLINQ to offer its customers the best value for the best product.

CAPLINQ maintains an inventory of many soldering material alloys and sizes, and we specialize in the fulfillment of small orders. This allows us to have low volume flexibility and also offer volume breaks and discounts for our higher volume customers. A complete list of sphere diameters, packaging quantities, volume breaks and discounts can be seen in the respective product categories. Can't find what you are looking for? Contact us for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pb-Free Spheres SAC105, SAC125N SAC305, SAC387, SAC396, SAC405, SnAg or another alloy?


After many years of testing and debating, and with specific exceptions, the semiconductor industry has largely settled on the use of Tin (Sn), Silver(Ag), Copper(Cu) - or SAC - alloy for the assembly of lead free products.

Although the SAC alloy has been settled, which SAC alloy to use is still up for debate. North American and Europe manufacturers favor SAC305 (Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu), while Asian manufacturers generally favor SAC405 (Sn3.8Ag0.8Cu).

What is the SAC alloy history?


SAC305 was first developed by Senju technology, who own the patents herefore. As such, manufacturers are required to pay a license to produce SAC305 which is built into the price charged to customers. SAC305 however has the benefit of being less expensive to produce than SAC405 owing to the lower silver content.

Having said that, studies indicate that there is no significant reliability difference between SAC305 and SAC405, and so CAPLINQ continue to support both SAC305 and SAC405.


Learn More

Soldering is not a new technology by any stretch of the imagination. It used to involve hammers, anvils and blacksmiths, heating up metals and pummeling them until they were welded together. But we've come a long way since then.

Solder pastes, solder preforms, solder spheres, solder bars and preforms are only some of the tools we have today to create connections regardless of substrate and temperature. From sealing and low temperature soldering to braze and high temperature applications, soldering materials and alloys cover the entire range.

Solder Powder Particle Sizes
Powder Description Description Particle size
Type 3 AGS 20 - 45
Type 4 DAP 25 - 38
Type 4.5 (4A) DAP+ 20 - 32
Type 5 KBP 10 - 25

 

Solder flux

Flux is used to remove oxidizing metals, seal out air to prevent oxidization and enhance the wetting characteristics of the substrate to improve amalgamation.

Soldering materials that contain flux are divided into Clean and No Clean materials. Flux can be corrosive so the Clean (meaning Clean it) category needs cleaning while the No Clean category suggests that it can be used without the extra cleaning step.

For "No Clean" flux, this is indeed the case for most applications since they leave little to no residue that doesn't affect the circuits. There are some specific applications environments though where even though the residue is minimal, it can potentially interfere with testing or other accompanying processes. So for high clock speed electronics, to improve the substrate adhesion of packages that will be underfilled and for cosmetic reasons, assemblers tend to go against the grain and clean the "no clean". 

Halide containing, "Clean"  fluxes, while leaving more residues, are easier to clean within a short wash cycle. Ironically enough the halide free "No clean" flux chemistry makes it harder to remove so a proper saponified solution must be used. 

Solder Flux Classification
Flux ingredient Flux activity Halide content (% by weight) Classification Flux designator
Rosin (RO) Low 0 LO ROLO
Rosin (RO) Low <0.5 L1 ROL1
Rosin (RO) Moderate 0 MO ROMO
Rosin (RO) Moderate 0.5-2.0 M1 ROHO
Rosin (RO) High 0 HO ROHO
Rosin (RO) High >2.0 H1 ROH1