|
Moisture is known to have an adverse effect on the reliability of products that employ epoxy molding compounds in its packaging. This study investigated moisture uptake as a function of relative humidity, temperature, and molding history. The effects of these variables were systematically studied using a single, commercially available molding compound. The study confirmed that moisture absorption is affected by the following variables: temperature, relative humidity, and molding history (mainly post-mold cure time). Two-variable interaction of temperature and relative humidity was observed to have a significant effect on the amount of moisture absorbed. Increasing the values of the variables studied results in an increase in moisture absorption. Absorption curves showed that the transport mechanism involved is generally diffusion, which can be best described by Fick's Law. The calculated activation energy also pointed to a diffusion process.
|
