Kester partners with FEINFOCUS for x-ray inspection and analysis

OCTOBER 8--FEINFOCUS (Stamford, CT; www.feinfocus.com) has announced a strategic cooperative agreement with KESTER (Des Plaines, IL; www.kester.com), a worldwide manufacturer of solders and related materials for the electronics industry. KESTER has installed a multifocus FOX-160.25 x-ray inspection system for analysis of electrically conductive joint interfaces, which use materials such as solder and silver-filled epoxies. KESTER will be offering these x-ray services immediately for customers based in the midwestern region of the United States. FEINFOCUS will collaborate with KESTER on implementing advanced x-ray defect-analysis capabilities in the electronics, industrial, and military markets.

With this strategic relationship, KESTER is combining the latest x-ray inspection technology from FEINFOCUS with its 100 years of experience in interconnects materials to resolve customer manufacturing issues. With the FOX x-ray system, KESTER will inspect a wide variety of interconnect issues.

The ultrahigh magnification and resolution capabilities, coupled with the proprietary FEINFOCUS multifocus x-ray tube, made the FOX the system of choice for KESTER'S advanced inspection requirements. The FOX-160.25 system was the first nanofocus x-ray inspection system in the industry, providing xy feature recognition of 300 nm (0.3 μm) and focal spot size of (less than 1 μm). This precision is combined with a wide dynamic range of manipulation speed settings from 10 μm/s to 80 mm/s. The result is a versatile system with extremely precise measurement and high-speed sample repositioning. The geometric magnification is up to 2400x (total magnification up to 7200x). The new multifocus x-ray tube combines microfocus, nanofocus, and high-power modes, specifically designed for industries that require thorough inspection of a variety of samples differing in size and material.