Frequently Asked Questions
Adhesive materials can be used to attach electronic components as well as enable interconnections to be made to them. In general, in some applications, components can be also potted using a number of polymeric/adhesives, encapsulants or potting compounds. For bare die assemblies such as automotive electronic control units, although the unit is packed in a plastic/metal box, the internal electronics are generally protected using a silicone gel. This enables a cheaper, non-hermetic package type to be used, as the silicone protects the circuitry from any water vapour/hydrocarbon that may have entered the unit, (which could in turn cause corrosion problems). For discrete dieassemblies chip-on-board (COB) techniques can be adopted, where the bare die is protected with a resin glob top after wire bonding. Some epoxy based adhesives are also shown to provide sealing as well as bonding characteristics.