Thermal methods of quality control of the plated-through hole (PTH) of printed circuit board (PCB) are based on thermal models. However, known thermal models of PTH take no account of heat transfer to PCB material thus not allowing for PTH heat characteristic tying up with adhesion quality. In this work, an axisymmetric thermal model of a single-layer PCB PTH under one-sided heating conditions is considered. It was shown that the ratio of the temperature increments of the upper (heated) and lower end of the PTH in the considered range of heating power does not depend on the power level. A linear thermal equivalent scheme of the PTH has been proposed, which includes the longitudinal thermal resistance of the PTH metallization, de-termined by the parameters and quality of the metallization layer, the thermal resistance, which determines the convection heat exchange between the ends of the PTH with the adjacent PCB surface and the environment, and the thermal resistance of the area of the PCB material adjacent to the PTH, depending on the quality of the metallization adhesion and the PCB dielectric. Thermal equivalent circuit parameters determined by the ratio of the temperature increment of the upper and lower ends of the PTH and their difference can serve as the basis for the development of a nondestructive inspection procedure for PTH quality control by way of its unilateral heating, for example, by a laser beam.
Special Issue/Recent Trend and Future of Surface Finishing for Printed Wiring Boards Reviews. Copper Electroplating for Plated Through Hole of Printed Wiring Boards.