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Whitepaper - Is Your Dry Storage J-Standard Compliant From ECD
Whitepaper - Is Your Dry Storage J-Standard Compliant From ECD
Whitepaper - Is Your Dry Storage J-Standard Compliant From ECD
With the abundance of misleading information, outdated practices, and simple lack of understanding, you may be at risk
of unintentionally producing suspect assemblies.
A dry cabinet, on the other hand (unless it has a baking feature), will simply pause the floor life clock for a given reel or
tray of components. Once a component has exceeded its floor life exposure time, there is no schedule for how long it
would take for it to be reset in a dry (<5% RH) environment.
While it is true that the standard does have a provision for resetting components via a dry cabinet after short exposure
times, it necessitates placing them in the dry environment for five or ten times the length of the short-term exposure (less
than 12 hours for MSL levels 2, 2a, and 3; and less than 8 hours for MSL levels 4, 5, and 5a).
This means that simply storing the parts overnight in a dry cabinet after a day on the floor will not reset them for use the
following day. For example, an MSL 2, 2a, or 3 component that spends eight hours on the floor would require 40 hours in
a dry cabinet to reset; and an MSL 4, 5, and 5a component with eight hours exposure time would require 80 hours in a dry
cabinet to reset.
This is the only way a dry cabinet can be used to “re-dry” parts, if the exposure times are short. This adds to the intricacy
of dry storage logistics and often contributes to the impulse to bake everything.
The floor life clock is determined by the MSL of the component and ranges from MSL 1, which allows for unlimited floor
time, to MSL 6, which requires mandatory baking prior to use 100% of the time. For this reason, the discussion herein
focuses on MSL 2-5, where some limited amount of floor time is allowed without having to bake the component. In general,
the higher the number, the more sensitive to moisture the component is. Some of these levels have subcategories,
delineated as an ‘a’ suffix, which indicates a higher level of moisture sensitivity. For example, an MSL 2 component will
allow for a floor time of 365 days, whereas an MSL 2a component will allow for just 28 days of floor time, and an MSL 3
component allows for 7 days.
Maintaining Compliance
Maintaining compliance is a matter of ensuring MSD parts are not exposed to ambient humidity levels -- or any humidity
levels exceeding 5% rH -- for longer than their specified floor life clock. If they do use up their floor life timer, maintaining
compliance requires baking these components to reset their floor life timer before they are used in manufacturing.
So how do you ensure compliance with this standard in the normal storage of moisture sensitive devices (MSD)? It is
important to set quality procedures and tracking around these J-STD MSL schedules, which can be achieved using various
methods. Below are some storage methods for compliance, each with pros and cons:
Moisture Barrier Bags (MBBs)
Moisture barrier bags (MBBs) are sealable bags made of polyethylene and polyester or aluminum film which protect
against moisture penetrating the bag while it is sealed. MBBs are used in conjunction with Humidity Indicator Cards (HICs)
to notify anyone handling the component if the seal has been compromised or if moisture has otherwise reached the
component. MBBs must be packaged in a dry room, or more commonly with a desiccant packet, so the interior of the
sealed bag is dry at the outset.
Benefits of MBBs used with HICs include convenience, ease-of-use, and low acquisition cost. The drawbacks of MBB use
are increased man-hours for packaging and the residual cost of consuming the bags and cards over time. MBBs are also a
one-time use solution, as once the MBB is opened it must go through the sealing procedure again and requires a new
desiccant packet.
Pros of N2 cabinets include their ability to provide low humidity and inert (prevention of oxidation). By filling the
compartment with nitrogen, oxygen is forced out. This is very helpful in preventing oxidation of metal component leads
that can lead to solderability issues. These are often utilized in clean rooms, as they do not produce any particulates.
Some of cons include the expense of nitrogen supply and the risk of nitrogen being out of compliance with the J-STD
depending on the grade of nitrogen used, as humidity of the nitrogen itself may exceed the 5% requirement. Nitrogen
supplies can range from as low as 3% rH to as high as 8% rH.
To calculator your own cost savings, use our free cost savings calculator tool here.
Benefits of a micro-sieve desiccant cabinet include the ability to maintain <5% rH for long-term storage of components.
However, they are not as adept at inerting as N2 cabinets, and also produce particulates which are not suitable for
cleanroom use. Cabinet accessibility (how often the door can be opened) can also be a hindrance, as some desiccant
cabinets take 30-45 minutes to recover to <5% rH to be in compliance again with the J-STD. This means cabinet access
more than once an hour would risk compliance.
Benefits of modern desiccant cabinets include their ability to comply with J-STD, recovering to <5% rH in under 5
minutes in some cases. Many newer solutions also offer automatic data logging and visible status lighting which is
helpful for compliance purposes. One drawback is that they are not as adept at inerting as N2 cabinets unless they have
the option for nitrogen.
Another fallacy is that a custom bake schedule will be synonymous with an approved J-STD bake schedule. For example,
assuming a bake can be performed at a hotter temperature like 140° C instead of the maximum approved temperature of
125° C to cut down the needed bake time is a common misconception. In short, unapproved bake schedules produce
unapproved and unknown results.
In general, it is best to refer to Table 4-1 of your copy of J-STD-033 for ‘Reference Conditions for Drying Mounted or
Unmounted SMD Packages’. This provides the appropriate time and temperature of the bake for the MSL part, which can
be referenced against the manufacturer specification for the maximum package temperature exposure prior to production.
For customers in high-reliability industries such as defense, aerospace, automotive, and medical, this simply isn’t an option.
The manufacture of missile guidance systems, anti-lock brake controllers, self-driving technology, or pacemakers require
fail-safe quality and control. There are countless examples of faulty airbags in cars, or anti-lock brake malfunction or
airbag deployment mistakes that have resulted in injury, lost revenue and lawsuits far exceeding the cost of implementing
a quality, standard-compliant manufacturing process. It is with these realities in mind that evaluation of quality processes,
and a determination of the need for J-STD compliance is highly encouraged.
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