SV/F SERIES
7. Cleaning
Generally, several organic solvents are used for flux cleaning of an electronic component after soldering.
Many cleaning methods, such as immersion cleaning, rinse cleaning, brush cleaning, shower cleaning, vapor
cleaning, and ultrasonic cleaning, are available, and one of these cleaning methods may be used alone or two
or more may be used in combination. The temperature of the organic solvent may vary from room temperature
to several 10˚C, depending on the desired effect. If cleaning is carried out with emphasis placed only on cleaning
effect, however, the marking on the electronic component cleaned may be erased, the appearance of the com-
ponent may be damaged, and in the worst case, the component may be functionally damaged. It is therefore
recommended that the SV/F series solid tantalum capacitor be cleaned under the following conditions:
[Recommended conditions of flux cleaning]
(1) Cleaning solvent ……… Chlorosen, isopropyl alcohol
(2) Cleaning method …… Shower cleaning, rinse cleaning, vapor cleaning
(3) Cleaning time ………… 5 minutes max.
∗ Ultrasonic cleaning
This cleaning method is extremely effective for eliminating dust that has been generated as a result of me-
chanical processes, but may pose a problem depending on the condition. As a result of an experiment conducted
by NEC, it was confirmed that the external terminals of the capacitor were cut when it was cleaned with some
ultrasonic cleaning machines. The cause of this phenomenon is considered metal fatigue of the capacitor termi-
nals that occurred due to ultrasonic cleaning. To prevent the terminal from being cut, decreasing the output
power of the ultrasonic cleaning machine or shortening the cleaning time may be a possible solution. However,
it is difficult to specify the safe cleaning conditions because there are many factors involved such as the conver-
sion efficiency of the ultrasonic oscillator, transfer efficiency of the cleaning bath, difference in cleaning effect
depending on the location in the cleaning bath, the size and quantity of the printed circuit boards to be cleaned,
and the securing states of the components on the boards. It is therefore recommended that ultrasonic cleaning
be avoided as much as possible.
If ultrasonic cleaning is essential, make sure through experiments that no abnormality occur as a result of the
cleaning. For further information, consult NEC.
8. Others
(1) Do not apply excessive vibration and shock to the capacitor.
(2) The solderability of the capacitor may be degraded by humidity. Store the capacitor at (–5 to +40˚C) room
temperature and (40 to 60% RH) humidity.
(3) Exercise care that no external force is applied to the tape packaged products (if the packaging material is
deformed, the capacitor may not be automatically mounted by a chip mounter).
DATA SHEET EC0003EJ3V1DS00
15