Presentation to Institute of Technology Tralee 26 th March 2013
Metal Improvement Company LLC A Subsidiary of Curtiss-Wright Corporation Our Corporate Profile Today A strategically focused multinational provider of highly engineered products and services Strong position in high technology markets built upon: Engineering and technological leadership Strong relationship with our Customers Organised into three operating groups and reporting segments: Metal Treatments Motion Control Flow Control
PCS acquired by Metal Improvement Company in 2008. Over 20 years experience in Parylene Coating of PCBs and medical devices. Major Medical Device Customers Include: Abbott CR Bard Hollister Creganna Accellent
Parylene Coating Facilities Galway Minneapolis California Russia (2) Connecticut Katy, TX
Why Parylene? Completely conformal Ultra-thin and lightweight Free from pinholes and defects Moisture & chemical barrier High dielectric strength Chemical insolubility Dry film lubricity Particle immobilization Hydrophobic Optically clear colorless Chemically pure, inert and free of catalytic, plasticizer and solvent residues No outgassing No leachable ingredients No cure forces/stresses Environmentally friendly No thermal stresses during room temperature deposition Biocompatible and biostable
Comparison to Teflon Excellent lubricity,(similar to Teflon). No pooling or bridging on complex geometries. Excellent durability on process mandrels, etc Can be used in manufacturing process up to 300deg C (for short periods). Does not chip or flake, which can cause particulate contamination. Parylene coating significantly thinner than Teflon for similar results.
Conformance to Substrate Topography Parylene conformal coating Conventional coating Conventional coating process
The Coating Process The most commonly used is Parylene C Better Dielectric Properties with Parylene N High temperature applications Parylene AF4
Advantages for Medical Devices Absolute conformance to substrate topography Barrier properties including; Chemical, Moisture, Bio-fluids Electrical (Dielectric); Hydrophobic: Acts as a dry film lubricant. Parylene is non-thrombrogenic on medical implants Biocompatible and biostable FDA USP class VI package & ISO 10993 approved Can be sterilised; Gamma, ETO, E-beam, Steam Remains pinhole-free even at very thin applications Single coating (at ambient temperature) < 1 micron. Excellent adherence to metals, rubbers and plastics
Medical Device Coating Applications Cardiac assist devices and components ICDs, pacemakers, VADs Drug delivery devices Stents, inhalers (MDI, DPI, nasal) Cochlear and intraocular implants Catheters & Delivery Systems Neurostimulators Gastric balloons and cuffs Endotracheal tubes Laboratory devices Electronic devices
Advanced Electronics Applications MEMS wafers Sensors Probes / pins Stators Lab-On-A-Chip Pseudo Electric Actuators Neurostimulators
Sensors and MEMS Electrical insulation Environmental protection Extremely high penetrating power Highly conformal and pinhole-free Transparent, ultra-thin and high quality coating No stress process
Tin Whiskers Tin whiskers were first reported by Bell Labs around 1947 They are spontaneous hair-like growths from surfaces that use Pb-free tin (Sn) as a final finish. They are; Electrically conductive Can start growing after years of dormancy or in a few hours May grow in hours, days, weeks, or years Whiskers can start growing, stop, and then resume growing Whisker shapes and forms vary considerably Lengths range from few microns to over 20 millimeters 23 millimeters is the current record holder
Why are Tin Whiskers a Major Concern? Small circuit geometries Whiskers can easily bridge between contacts Adjacent whiskers can touch each other Broken off whiskers can bridge board traces and foul optics or jam MEMS Low voltages Whiskers can handle tens of milliamps Whiskers are extremely difficult to detect Many No Defect Found/Could Not Duplicate/No Trouble Found faults may be due to tin whiskers A number of medical device product recalls due to tin whiskers. FDA; Pacemaker recall March 1986
Human Hair V s Metal Whiskers
RoHS The EU issued the Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive in 2003 Lead (Pb) not allowed in concentrations of greater than 0.1% by weight in component termination finishes and solder RoHS will fundamentally alter the electronics industry worldwide! Medical electronics must be RoHS compliant in the EU by 2014 Defibrillators exempt until 2021. In 2005, Intel made the following statements Intel's ($34.2B annual revenue) efforts to remove lead from its chips have so far cost the company more than $100 million and there is no clear end in sight to the project's mounting costs
Summary MIC has a history of building strong partnerships with high profile customers. Work with customers to provide a quality service in diverse, complex engineering and technology challenging environments. Developed parylene coating solutions for a large number of medical device companies. Located in Galway to provide quality coating and development services to local medical device companies and with minimum lead time requirements.