Sidefill

Exascend’s sidefill technology adds extra ruggedness to Exascend’s industrial SSDs by applying a bonding resin on the side of all integrated circuits (ICs) fastened to the printed circuit board (PCB) with ball grid arrays (BGAs). This dramatically reduces the likelihood that mechanical stress factors such as flexing, vibrations and shocks causing damage components embedded on the PCB by reducing the mechanical load exerted on the BGAs in high-stress environments. Sidefill also reduces the risk of thermal expansion and contraction causing components to come lose, making it an attractive option for applications with considerable thermal cycling.

In contrast to the more traditional underfill technology (also offered by Exascend), sidefill – as the name implies – means only applying a bonding resin on the sides of ICs. With underfill, the entire BGA underneath the IC is covered with resin.

Though underfill provides an even stronger connection between integrated circuits and the PCB, sidefill is adequately sturdy for most applications and comes with benefits that include a lower added weight, easier repairs and faster curing – positioning it an excellent choice for most rugged applications.

Exascend sidefill process includes applying epoxy resin on the sides of all BGA-mounted ICs using a purpose-designed dispenser, curing the resin in a heat chamber and then validating the quality of the sidefill using special equipment. Upon successful quality validation, the sidefill-enhanced Exascend SSD is ready for further processing, for example applying a conformal coating, or final deployment in a customer’s application.