Electrochemical migration of electronic components at sea environments - characterizations and solutions

Seawater is associated with two main effects, high humidity and chloride ions, that have direct influence on electrochemical migration (ECM) occurrence in electronic components which might eventually lead to short circuit failure. This phenomenon occurs when metal ions migrate from anode electrode to cathode, via electrolyte, under bias voltages. Other factors contribute to cause this phenomenon such as pH, temperature, chemical composition of the substrate, etc. In order to reduce the possibility of ECM on electronic devices, in this study information and data from other literatures have been collected, to analyse and investigate the interactions between the factors that affect this phenomenon. The main concept in this study is characterisation the interactions and interferences between the chemical composition of substrate, e.g. printed circuit board (PCB), i.e. resin: glass ratio, with ability for absorption, which changes their dielectric properties, and capacitance, and showing how they affect ECM of electronic devices at seawater. Meanwhile, theoretical solutions would be suggested to reduce the effect of this phenomenon at humid environments.